Snails won't stay alive

BRS
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Kerbash said:
The exact same thing happened to me in my 300 gallon system, no matter matter how many snails i added they all disappear within a couple of weeks, this went on for close to a year until I just stop bother buying snails. Until one night I was watching the tank and low and behold a massive leopard flatworm, ~2 inches long. Once I got rid of him, I havent had another issue with snails since then.

The really weird thing though was that I think they are suppose to eat clams as well but I had 3 clams in the tank all happy as... well a clam.
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That could have come in via macroalgae I ordered from gulf coast ecosystems (although I fw dipped the macros). However, some I've seen dead up against the glass as if they wasted away rather than have had been eaten.
 
Spare time said:
https://zerowater.com/?campaignname={campaignname}&adgroupname={adgroupname}&keyword=zero%20water%20filter&device=c&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjMKqBhCgARIsAPDgWlySzXRdXqzn00F_HvAhNN-BHgt73pmv34946_y3RUjqlVTcruc4mssaApdlEALw_wcB
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Oh, I see, it's not even made for reef aquariums.

I looked through the website to see what minerals they add back to the water, and I don't see anything.

I don't know if there's a difference between demineralized water and deionized water or if it's all marketing.

The concern I have is it's unhealthy to drink 0 tds water, which begs the question, what is zero water doing to either add minerals back? or does it not really remove 99% tds?

No idea, but that would be enough to raise suspicion, and ask, is this really the best approach for topping off my reef tank?

Do you have a calibrated handheld tds meter? I'd be curious if the tds meter on that zero water is accurate.

I'm not saying zero water is the culprit, it just seems to fit that you're topping off with it and experiencing these issues. It at least warrants further investigation.
 
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Sisterlimonpot said:
Oh, I see, it's not even made for reef aquariums.

I looked through the website to see what minerals they add back to the water, and I don't see anything.

I don't know if there's a difference between demineralized water and deionized water or if it's all marketing.

The concern I have is it's unhealthy to drink 0 tds water, which begs the question, what is zero water doing to either add minerals back? or does it not really remove 99% tds?

No idea, but that would be enough to raise suspicion, and ask, is this really the best approach for topping off my reef tank?

Do you have a calibrated handheld tds meter? I'd be curious if the tds meter on that zero water is accurate.

I'm not saying zero water is the culprit, it just seems to fit that you're topping off with it and experiencing these issues. It at least warrants further investigation.
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I use a handheld tds meter on the zero water. They all come with one. I don't think zero water is the best for drinking, but I use it for this purpose and at my part time job at which they use it for their humidifiers. It really is basically a DI cartridge with carbon and some other remover. I tore one apart to see and I am going to DIY the refills for the filter since its cheaper to buy DI resin and carbon than to buy their replacement filters. BRS even mentioned you an just use DI resin if you need water in an emergency but they don't recommend it due to how quickly it gets eaten up. A single filter lasts 40 gallons I think?


I am really hoping its not a leopard flatworm. That would be unfortunate.
 
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Spare time said:
I use a handheld tds meter on the zero water. They all come with one
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I saw that they come with one, but I would be concerned with the accuracy of a supplied tds meter that is sold with a filtration system that markets 0 tds.

I would confirm that with a calibrated tds meter.

When I was stationed in California, I briefly filtered water through straight cation and anion resin. They were 4' tall tubes. The water flowing through never came out 0 tds. And I was having issues with sps corals. I switched back to a traditional rodi and everything bounced back.

But it's your tank, you can choose what information is worth digesting and what to discard.

If it were me, I'd still be setting my sights on heavy metals.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal said:
This is completely untrue.
Here is one of many papers that explain and debunk this old wives tale.
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My point being that 0 mg/l is a tall order for passively filtering water through a tiny cartridge that probably has more than just + and - charged resin. Arguably, what makes water taste good are the added minerals.

Low tds? Maybe... 0 tds? Hmmm... that's suspect.

Their website claims a "reduction" in heavy metals. Not "removal". To me that seems more in line with standards for drinking water and gives the water a satisfying taste. I wouldn't be using it for my reef tank.
 
ReefBot Lab, Automated Water Tester
Sisterlimonpot said:
I saw that they come with one, but I would be concerned with the accuracy of a supplied tds meter that is sold with a filtration system that markets 0 tds.

I would confirm that with a calibrated tds meter.

When I was stationed in California, I briefly filtered water through straight cation and anion resin. They were 4' tall tubes. The water flowing through never came out 0 tds. And I was having issues with sps corals. I switched back to a traditional rodi and everything bounced back.

But it's your tank, you can choose what information is worth digesting and what to discard.

If it were me, I'd still be setting my sights on heavy metals.


My point being that 0 mg/l is a tall order for passively filtering water through a tiny cartridge that probably has more than just + and - charged resin. Arguably, what makes water taste good are the added minerals.

Low tds? Maybe... 0 tds? Hmmm... that's suspect.

Their website claims a "reduction" in heavy metals. Not "removal". To me that seems more in line with standards for drinking water and gives the water a satisfying taste. I wouldn't be using it for my reef tank.
Click to expand...


I will say it doesn't have much of a satisfying taste lol
 
I had a problem of snails dying all the time. I kept replacing them. Then I sat up one night and watched and discovered that my crabs were killing them. If the snails are on the glass they are left alone. If they go down to the bottom of the tank the crabs get to them. Crabs are suppose to get along well but the more I watch them the more things I see them doing including picking at my corals. Trying to decide if I need to remove the crabs to their own tank. I hate to do that because they do a great clean-up job.
 
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I have one small hermit crab (x-mas) who's outlived every other crab for 3 years. He constantly kills turbo snails, even xl ones. He's like 1/4 their size about the size of a dime w/ the shell but I've watched him do it. He doesn't take the shells, doesn't change shells (left a few slightly larger ones in there) He won't touch the 3 Nassarius snails they've made it a full year. doesn't touch the mini bumblebee ones, loved the nerites, will or won't eat the trochus. I have 1 XL turbo left its been 3 months so fingers crossed. I stopped getting them and stuck with the trochus lol
 
I found a hermit crab dead today but It might have just gotten stuck upside down


1 big turbo snail is the only non coral invert alive besides possible another hermit and at least 1 emerald crab (there should be two)
 
Spare time said:
For some reason, snails (turbo mixes, cerith now I think, and trochus) have all repeatedly died in my nano. Strange thing is, all other inverts (crabs, corals) are just fine if not thriving. Anyone ever had this happen? The snails last a week or so, albeit the ceriths held out much longer. There is plenty of algae.


For reference

salinity 1.025-1.026sg
nitrate I think 10ppm but could be 5. I am colorblind and can't afford to buy a hanna right now.
phosphate 0.03ppm last time I dosed
temp 78F
ph unknown
magnesium unknown but not dosed so should be around 1300-1400ppm
alk and calcium are somewhere in the right range but haven't test recently since the tank had little coralline and only soft corals (i.e. very slow drain speed). Last time I dosed alk to 12 and calcium up relatively high.


What I think killed some was the zero water pitcher (for topping off) going bad and possibly dumping stuff back into the tank as it's DI resin expired. However I think the snails had problems before the filter went bad. I've been running cuprisorb and carbon to try and remove and possible metals that may have come into the tank. I have also done a few water changes. I am just confused why multiple species of snails keep dying in my tank after being in there for a week or two.
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Acclimation plays an important role as does calcium level and certain snails cant flip themselves over and die. I have a mixture of snails and have had them for some time and no issues
 
vetteguy53081 said:
Acclimation plays an important role as does calcium level and certain snails cant flip themselves over and die. I have a mixture of snails and have had them for some time and no issues
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They seem to last at least a week or two before they just sort of waste away. I would think if it was acclimation it would result in faster deaths
 
Spare time said:
They seem to last at least a week or two before they just sort of waste away. I would think if it was acclimation it would result in faster deaths
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They slowly weaken until death. My acclimation is at least an hour or a little more. Ph, water temp, equalization of salinity all play factors. If you find them not moving within 24 hours after release, can be one of the issues mentioned
 
vetteguy53081 said:
They slowly weaken until death. My acclimation is at least an hour or a little more. Ph, water temp, equalization of salinity all play factors. If you find them not moving within 24 hours after release, can be one of the issues mentioned
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I might buy a dripper for them but again they seem to be ok for a week or two. It's just that one day I find them dead. Never had this issue in my invert qt or 75 gallon when transferring them.
 
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Spare time said:
I might buy a dripper for them but again they seem to be ok for a week or two. It's just that one day I find them dead. Never had this issue in my invert qt or 75 gallon when transferring them.
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At what temp do you keep your tank?
 
vetteguy53081 said:
They slowly weaken until death. My acclimation is at least an hour or a little more. Ph, water temp, equalization of salinity all play factors. If you find them not moving within 24 hours after release, can be one of the issues mentioned
Click to expand...
I agree with acclimation being a thing. I have been lazy in the addition of snails and whatched them move around for an hour or 2 then get sluggish for a week or so then die. I usually acclimate them for an hour on the drip starting with 1/2 tank water and 1/2 whatever they came in.
 
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I just have/had this problem- I think due to nickel. I am running cuprisorb to reduce heavy metals. I know nickel is “dangerously high” due to Triton, and I believe it was from my circulation pump for salt mixing that I would leave in the bucket for days. I had two that were for fountains, not saltwater. I had a big death after my last water change.
 
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