Unexplained invertabrate death

[salth20addict]

Hi, I have a 125 gallon reef tank with 150lbs of live rock that was just restarted following relocating and about a year off. The tank has been set up for about 4 months and it has a sump of 30 gallons with calurpa and miracle mud. Everything has gone well except for some hair algae issues which now seem under control. The tank contains one purple tank, 6 green chromis, one lawnmower blenny, one checkered goby and a flame angle. I had two cleaner shrimp and two sand sifting sea cucumber until resently. Both of the cucumbers died within days of each other and decayed some in the tank before I found and removed them. Within days both of the shrimp were also dead and then several emerald crabs also. I have tried replacing the shrimp with camel shrimp just yesterday, after doing water changes and adding new carbon to the filter and those shrimp died also. All water test of the tank are normal, ph is 8.3. So does anyone have any ideas what is killing the invertabrates in the tank? Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[bang guy]

Can you list your water parameters?
If Salinity is at or above 35ppt then I'd guess you have a heavy metal contamination.
Are you using tap water?

 

[salth20addict]

Am-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate-0 Pot-0 Salinity 1.0235 Ph-8.3 Used tap water for original start up but have used RO since.

 

[bang guy]

The Specific Gravity of 1.0235 is slightly low but it's not low enough to kill Shrimp that quickly.
I think somehow your tank has become contaminated with copper. I'd point the finger at the rocks. Were they stored in a sealed container? Were they ever in a tank that was medicated?
How are your snails doing?

 

[saltn00b]

hey bang he said his cucumbers died and festered for a little bit, isnt it likely that they released toxins in the water which is killing inverts, bceause they are more succeptible?
just a guess here

 

[bang guy]

Cucumber toxin only affects vertebrates. If they were released then only the fish would have died.

 

[ryanhayes9]

i would look @ the tap water. it might have run through copper or meatl pipes before it reached you. how old is your house?

 

[salth20addict]

Snails and hermit crabs all seem fine. I haven't noticed any die off in them. Just the shrimp and several emerald crabs. House is only 29 years old. I have some zoanthids and pulsating xenia in the tank as well and montipora and they all seem well too. If it were copper wouldn't the coral be suffering also?

 

[salth20addict]

Also, some of the rocks were stored in garbage bags and some of the substrate sand was stored in a 5 gallon bucket. All was rinsed well prior to setting up the tank. The rest of the rock came out of an existing reef tank that was doing well.

 

[bang guy]

My diagnosis can't be right. The snails would be dying off if it were copper.