can't keep shrimp

[dragon0196]

I have been having difficulties with my tank the last few weeks. My skimmer kicked it and since then nothing has been right. Every shrimp I have put in my tank since I first put it together 6 months ago has died within hours. My skimmer is now working better than ever, I have taken my water to be tested at multiple LFS and all is within parameters. I also tested for copper. I dose Tech CB for alkalinity and calcium. For the last three weeks my frogspawn has been all sucked in, my mushrooms have shrunk and I just bought a coral banded and once again it was dead within hours. My fish are all fine. I have run out of ideas. Large water changes don't work, not changing water doesn't work. The whole shrimp thing has to indicate something I would think..... Do I need to add salt to the water? (joke) but seriously... running out of cash. any suggestions?

[sea student]

I don't know what might be causing the problem with the corals and if it is the same cause for the shrimp death. One thing I have had problems with is acclimating my inverts slowly enough. Sometimes the water they come in is only 1.011 or so. It's really hard for them to get taken up to a higher salinity. I would post all of your testing parameters, especially pH and salinity. I'm sure that someone more experienced than me will come along. Good luck!

[Scuba Dog]

Did you make any changes at all to the tank in the time frame you just described? and what size system do you have?

[Dazz]

These may seem obvious, but you never know.
Things to check for:

Salinity 1.024-1.026 (low salinity will kill inverts I believe)
Temp (how stable is it)
PH 8.2 ish?
Alkilinity
Calcium
Iodine

Get a second test kit for copper, just to be sure.

[dragon0196]

Alkalinity - 12dkh (or thereabouts)
PH- 8.2-3
Calcium 450
nitrates, nitrites, ammonia - minimal
no copper at all in tests
temp -78 (and stable as far as I know....)
salinity - 1.024
I have not tested for iodine but I can tell you this...
I used to supplement iodine and strontium. Then my rio kicked it on my skimmer. after about a week of continued dosing my frogspawn sucked in and I lost a torch. It was suggested to me that it could be iodine poisoning. I stopped dosing both and haven't since. I did several 30% water changes to remedy this. I later purchased a new tank to be made into a FOWLR. not new, but from a friend with live sand and cured rock. I allowed that to cycle for a couple weeks and then linked the two 30 gallon tanks together through a 20 gallon refugium with MM and spaghetti macro. I bought a new PH for my skimmer and it is running fine. I then checked all my parameters again and this is where I have been for the last 3 or 4 weeks now. In the 6 months that I have had tanks set up I have never had a shrimp last more than an hour (not including 2 hour acclimation). I drip acclimate everything that goes in over a couple of hours. Any suggestions? Anything crazy that anyone can think of?

[dragon0196]

I forgot... I am using RO water.

[whiirly]

sounds to me like your doing every thing right soo...
if your LFS are doing the testing go out and buy a kit
most stores will tell you your ok to sell you something
you have to have some problem in your paramiters, my cleaner & fire shrimp have been thru an amonia spike and there still kicking
my fish on the other hand well it was very bad
be patient and all will be fine
good luck
whiirly

[dragon0196]

I don't know if I can believe "give it time and it will be alright." Things were fine, now they are not.... something must be wrong somewhere. I have tested the water myself and at the LFS. My fish are fine, my euphylia and mushrooms are not and shrimp don't survive.... whats this pointing to?

[Danielle]

Have you thought about posting this in the reef chemistry forum? Randy should be able to help you out.

Danielle