What am I doing Wrong?(Answer my own Question?!)

[Midus]

I've had 3 invert casualties altogether. All three have been after only hours after they've been added. Longspine Urchin, Arrow Crab, and most recently, my Coral Banded Shrimp.

I drip acclimate them for over an hour(The Coral Banded stayed in for 3 hours). Put them into the tank and watch them for awhile. I then go about my own business. Hours later I find them dead and covered in Snails :eek:

Parameters are quite normal. I think that my tap water may be the problem. I plan on getting a RO unit very soon(By the end of the month). Could copper be the cause or am I doing something else wrong. What are some normal newbie mistakes?

[reefguru2]

It's not copper. If it was, the acclimation would have killed them.

[chrisstie]

If you're using tap water its very possible you have very high phosphates in your tank. I would do some testing for that first (use a salifert kit or have a reputable LFS test, for accuracy avoid the dip strips they make) High phosphates can be potentially lethal to near everything in your tank in high enough concentrations and is a HUGE fuel to algae

If, in fact, it isn't phosphates, I wouldn't drip inverts for so long unless it was a starfish. Float them in the bag for a good 15 mins or so, then drip them until their water volume doubles (maybe 30 mins?)

In the time you're dripping you're trying to match water parameters. What happens too much that I noticed is that without a good bucket setup, apporpriately calibrated heater etc, the container water cools off too fast so you're accidentally shocking your animal more with temperature changes.

[nybyrne]

Maybe they commited suicide. It is that time of year...lol

[mikchabe]

I've noticed the temperature problem when drip acclimating for long periods of time too - the water in the bucket cools off too much.

Also next time, check the salinity of your tank AND the water from the fish store. If they are significantly different, even drip acclimating may not be adequate for sensitive species.

Hope this helps.

[NanoReefWanabe]

well if your not using any water conditioner with your tap water...then i would definitely say that copper is the problem, combined with a multitude of other nasty stuff found in tap water...

what are the rest of your parameters like? how new is the tank?

to avoid temp shock...i float my acclimating bucket in my sump and drip from the main tank...i have a tee off my return that i use some times too...just crack it a little wee bit to a slow dribble...and if it overflows no big deal...(for coral and inverts, i would never let LFS fish water hit my tank...as it is usually laced with copper to prevent disease) fish get acclimated outside the sump with a 25w heater..i can live with wrecking a carpet...couldn't live with myself for killing all my invertebrate livestock..