Something's up..

[fpv930]

I have a 10g also with snails, two clowns, hermits and one starfish. It runs on an Aquaclear 70 and a Koralia 240. Nothing else. I use RO/DI water and have no issues with the tank. Other than my daughter not taking such good care. Haha.
I live near Great Northern. Probably get the same water you do. The TDS meter shows up to 120ppm prior to entering into my filtration.
If you would like to start using RO/DI water get some small storage containers and hit me up. I will give you as much as you need.

 

[tmz]

I don't know what killed your hermit . The other inverts are thriving in a different tank,corect? If newer water is in the newly set up tank ,it could have a higher concentration of free metals vs bound metals( those that are bound to organics and thus detoxified ),this binding happens aquariums ultimately reducing free metal toxicity..Also tap supply might vary if in impurities or pipes may leach unevenly ; so, one tank may be much different than the other in terms of metal toxicity even though they use water from th same tap.
Is their a big temp difference between the two tanks, perhaps?

What about the salt water for the 10 gallon ? If a new mix ,was it aged and aerated for at least several hours before use?
What salt mix was used? Was it the same as for the other tank? Some salt mixes contain organic ligands to help bind free metal impurities which might counter any in the tap water a bit ; while others don't.

Was tank water used?, If so it could have brought in organics and decaying matter in the water column and no biofiliter to cope with them in terms of an ammonia issue

 

[Neoz]

Britt you have Pm. I will ship it tomorrow. For me a refractometer is a MUST have tool. Enjoy..

 

[Capt_Cully]

Britt you have Pm. I will ship it tomorrow. For me a refractometer is a MUST have tool. Enjoy..

Agreed Dave. I made due with an old swing arm hydrometer for my first year or two. Then one day after my 180 was up and thriving, ALL off my SPS went from bright neon colors to muted pastels. I freaked!!! I tested all of my parameters, but the last thing I checked was my SG. I even had a refractometer but was just being lazy. My hydrometer read 1.025. The refracto read 1.030!!! Hydrometer went in the trash. Lesson learnt! Disaster averted.

Perhaps your Halloween crab martyred him (or her) self for the betterment of your other specimens....

 

[LittleBee]

I'm thinking I just didn't acclimate him long enough. Stupid me.. But that doesn't explain why the snails are lethargic.

Lots of questions haha ill try to answer them all. The 10g has been up longer than the 93 actually so it's not a new tank. It's been up for over a year and I haven't changed a thing. Well except lighting and that won't kill inverts. I use intanst ocean salt. The reef crystals with tap. Have been since I first started the hobby in 2011.

So the hermit I might have killed but now we have the lazy snails.

 

[LittleBee]

Britt you have Pm. I will ship it tomorrow. For me a refractometer is a MUST have tool. Enjoy..

Thank youu!!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

So the hermit I might have killed but now we have the lazy snails.

aww.. don't be so tough on yourself!

MAYBE that hermit died of old age! With another hermit doing fine in the smaller aquarium ya gotta wonder...

and snails.... aren't they lazy by nature?
Usually more active at night? I believe commercial turbans occur in cooler waters... maybe they're just over heated?

 

[LittleBee]

I think I have terrible luck sometimes lol. I want to put another crab or snail in there but now I'm afraid. I can take another one out of the 93. But I will test everything first and lower the temp maybe a degree. The snails sleep all day and sleep all night lol. They haven't moved more than 2 inches in three days. Hibernating snails lol maybe nothing is wrong and I'm being paranoid. I was going to put my fighting conch in there to keep the sand clean until this algae bloom subsides. I'm scared now to move him.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

make sure the "algae bloom" isn't actually a toxic Dinoflagelette bloom

 

[LittleBee]

This is what the algae looks like. I figured its bc I overfeed sometimes. Want to make sure my mandarin stays chubby.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

can't see it well

can't see it well

sometimes phones are no good for this stuff

 

[LittleBee]

Yea ik. All I have for a camera :/

 

[LittleBee]

Okay here's the results of the 93

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5-10ppm
Calc 370
Alk 5.9dkh
Mag 1160
Temp 82
Sg 1.025

10 gallon was
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate less than 5
Calc 320
Alk 8.1
Mag 1240
Temp 78
Sg 1.025

It's almost water Change day for the 93 so the calc, alk and mag are low. Also the temp is pretty high which is strange bc the heaters are set for 76. I have heated floors so I think that's what is heating the tank a bit more. But I don't think that's what did it bc the water would have cooled down a bit while acclimating.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Didn't we establish the hydrometer was suspect? Temperature also jumps out to me. May not be as big a deal.

 

[LittleBee]

Maybe it is a suspect but if the hydrometer is giving the same results for the 10 and 93 then that shouldn't be the issue unless the Sg is higher than what it's showing. But still the crabs and snails in the 93 are fine

 

[Capt_Cully]

It may be, but they are unreliable, and it may not be as sensitive. I mean it might have a margin of error of say +\- .005?Everything from 1.030-1.020 could be reading 1.025 as demonstrated by the LFS reading of 1.030. I may be exaggerating and beating a dead horse, but unreliable is unreliable.

No offense intended, I'm just so darned prejudiced against those things.....my issue I guess.

Proceed with lazy snail investigation

 

[LittleBee]

Hmm. You're right. Even though it says 1.025 in the 10 it can still be higher. I'll be heading to the lfs tomorrow so I can bring a water sample with me and have him check it. Pretty soon ill be able to check my own some nice people around here. That way I can know whether or not to rule out the Sg. One step at a time I guess. As soon as I can eat these snails movin their behinds the darn ugly algae will be gone!

 

[Neoz]

Brittany I'll also be adding a bottle of refractometer calibration solution for you as well. Just make sure you calibrate the refractometer before using it. I'll let you do the calibration so you get the hang of it If your not sure how we will help you get that done as well.

 

[tmz]

Beats me . The nos. for alk mag and temp for the 10g look better than the 93, Calcium should be higher but I doubt that would hurt a crab.Th algae does not appera to be dinoflagellates from the picture but it's hard to be sure( it's not brown and snotty with air bubbles asfar asI can tell).Sometimes things just die but metals could be an issue. REgardingtehalge doe you know teh PO4 level?BTW, Reef Crystals does have organics ,Instant Ocean does not.

 

[LittleBee]

Thanks Dave, if I need any help I will give y'all a shout.

Idk...Im stumped. I did have a touch of phosphate last time I checked which was about a few months ago. I dont have a test kit for that so I have to bring it to my lfs to check it for me. That wouldn't kill a crab though or make snails lethargic would it?