basic question

[gopens]

well it been 4 weeks since my tank has been up and running. its a 80 gallon with about 95 pounds of LR. i have had 2 damsils in there since about week 2. my LFS guy came buy tuesday and looked at my tank (he has been a very good friend of mine for years). after looking at my tank, he said i was ready for some snails and some hermits. he said to start of with about 10 each. well yesterday i went and got some. within a very short time all my snails died. my hermits seem to be fine. what is going on with my tank. oh and i almost forgot. when i got my damsils at week 2, i also got a few snails, that also died very quickly. all my levels seem to be good. i am so frustrated that i am thinking of pulling out all my live rock, swishing it aound in a bucket of salt water, taking a fish net and clean the top surface of my sand, pulling out my stupid damsils and take them back to the LFS, replace my LR back into the tank, and do absolutly nothing to my tank for 6-8weeks. i am going crazy. i have read you can put in some inverts during the cycling stage. please help... oh and sorry for any mispelled words...

[Shooter7]

If you're using live rock, not necessary to cycle with damsels.

What are your water test results? Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, salinity, temp....to start. Have you done any water changes? Are you using RO/DI water? Water levels "seem to be good" isn't very explanatory.

[dc]

Well what are your levels exactly? Patience really is a virtue in this hobby. Have you been keeping an eye on your levels to see if they peaked? I know when I first started I didn't even know about testing, so I just cycled for 2 1/2 months, Luckily it worked out for me.

[gopens]

well "good levels" being

ph 8.0
no nitites,nitrates, amonia
temp 78-79
salinity .024

and i use ro water.

[six.line]

I agree with shooter7

For a tank as new as yours, it's necessary to know on a daily basis:

ammonia
nitrate
nitrite
temperature
salinity (well not so much on this one, but it's a good habit to get into)

also, what kind of snails are dying? some snails prefer colder temperatures, some snails fall prey to aggressive hermit crabs, so leave the dead snail shells in there.

ANY ammonia at all can kill snails. Damsels are pretty dang hardy, so don't assume that since the damsels are alive, everything else should be too.

Good luck.

[gopens]

i am sorry ph is 8.3

[gopens]

i check my water every other day with salifert tests. i never thought because the damsils have survived my tank was cycled. i have read (many different times) that a tank does not have to be complet;y cycled to add snails.

[jnb]

how are you measuring salt? - those swing arms can be off to a detrimental degree

[gopens]

refractometor

[Nykademus]

Did you condition them for your tank with a drip first?

Inverts especially are very fragile and cannot be just floated for a while and emptied into the tank.

[dc]

Well then all I can think of is how are you acclimating them? Snails seem to be pretty sensitive to quick changes.

[Nykademus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8288631#post8288631 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dc
Well then all I can think of is how are you acclimating them? Snails seem to be pretty sensitive to quick changes.


Acclimating... thank you =) for some reason that word was escaping me for some reason.

[jnb]

well assuming your test results are ok - did you calibrate the refr. (for kicks put some ro/di on it and see results = 0)

how did you introduce the snails - nicely hopefully - I have been warned they need gentle introduction where ph has to considered

[gopens]

yeah my refract is dead on. i was told to use distilled water. even after i used the distilled, i checked with fresh ro, and the same result,zero. i did aclimate (again sp). but i don't think i did that great of a job. i floated them for about an hour, than i removed some water and added my water, i did this twice, than i added them into the tank. maybe that is what i did wrong. also can i do what i mentioned earlier about cleaning of my rocks. there is dust all over them?

[jnb]

dust? of what sort? debris? - I would not take your rocks out or sand until you get to the point where you think they are contaminated with something poisonous - what would the point be, if you want to get rid of the debris gathering on the rocks - will you be taking them out every now and then... - get water movement - or just blow the rocks with a handheld powerhead. are you running a skimmer? - does your water temp vary much?

[jnb]

what is the level of nitrates and nitrites?