[ben]

i have been having some problems with my tank for a few months, and i all pointed to high kh . my sps were suffering, and all i could do was to try and bring the kh down and get the system stable. after loosing a few sps i took some very poorly ones into lindsay to see if he could save them.

some of the corals in the tank were doing really well, like the purple nana and some of the monti caps.

lindsay checked the water for the ususal and then checked the SG. it turned out to be 1.020. my refractometer was well out and bascily it was simply because i hadnt calibrated it for a long time. i was very embarrased to be honest and i still feel very stupid.

this was a hard and expensive lesson , and one i wont make again. like i said, some of the corals were fine ,so i guess some can handle the lower salinity.



and yes, jason and lindasy couldnt stop laughing and taking the p**s. and im sure they wont let me forget it for a while. but i admit ,i deserve it.


check your refractometers guys

[dave14]

Unlucky Ben,
I normally check mine about once a month it hasn't needed adjusting yet

[Social D]

jason and lindasy couldnt stop laughing and taking the p**s


Why's that then

[Simon Garratt]

good lesson learnt ben.

despite the lack of willingness by many to admit to this kind of thing, even the best of us cockup sometimes...Ive heard of some major tank crashes over the years by some very experienced people caused by the simplest of things.

sometimes, when your having problems, its a good idea to go right back to basics....we often stupidly assume as experience grows that we cant get caught out by such thngs...


regards

Si.

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

This is a good topic because it is one thing a lot off reefers overlook and does course problems.

I'm glad Ben posted it as it will get others to calibrate there refractometers and this will benefit the livestock.

Tim we didn't rib Ben for making the mistake but because of the look on his face, because we asked him to post a topic on it ,the look was priceless.
We all have to thank our blessings for forums in this kind of situation as now Ben's experience with this will give others a chance to maybe put theres right before they loose stock.

Good post Ben


jas

[chriss]

Couple of weeks ago, I came back from a week away, checked the tank, everything running tickity-boo, tho the top-up hadn't quite been keeping up so I turned on the RO and let it drip into the sump, then went to work forgetting to turn it off. Came home and found a wet garage floor, sumps overflowing and and the SG had dropped 5PPT. I spent the rest of the week slowly bringing it back up. Fortunately nothing appeared to suffer, although I have lost part of a large acro since then, whether that had anything to do with it or not I don't know.

Chris

[ben]

although i do feel stupid i am totally happy to admit to this sort of thing. one thing i hate is someone who tries to hide mistakes ,thinking they will look silly in front of others. if admitting this sort of thing will stop others from killing livestock then its worth it. .

thankfully most people are mature enough to realise it could happen to them. or at least i hope so,lol



chris , i guess you was lucky to catch your mistake in time not to hurt anything. with mine lasting a couple of months it was just too long for the weeker sps to cope.

the futures bright

[Dave.I]

Bad luck Ben.
Good post

[TrevC]

Indeed, good post Ben, wish I'd read it and checked my refractometer.

[ben]

dont worry trev. as soon as you raise it back you should see a big improvment in the corals