What I Learned After a Painful Lesson. Was This The Culprit? *Update on 9-07-24

[Reefer Matt]

So, I’ve been losing zoas in my frag tank for the last month or two. When I mean losing, I mean about 75 zoa frags melting (I am a small local vendor). I noticed that when I ran carbon for a few days, things seemed to open and look much better. After a couple days, I shut off the carbon reactor. Then they started to melt again a week later.

I have never done an icp test before, and maybe something would show. But I remembered a post about magnets leaching into the water, and decided to start looking. On my very first attempt, I located the inner magnet to my Jebao wavemaker and it had a lump. This was in a 50 gallon total volume tank. The magnet is about the size of a quarter. Idk if this is the cause, but it certainly didn’t help. Now I gotta check all my magnets!

This is what I found. I started taking pictures after I began dissecting the magnet on my workbench.

 

[DDenny]

Hope it was the cause and you stop losing Zoa’s

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I think I'll be doing more regular inspections/cleanings on my pumps and wave makers. I have been taking it for granted that these things don't happen. (until they do)

 

[Reefer Matt]

I think I'll be doing more regular inspections/cleanings on my pumps and wave makers. I have been taking it for granted that these things don't happen. (until they do)

Same here. I’m still not sure as I didn’t do an icp test, but from what I read in the chemistry forum, it is a likely possibility. I’ll update this thread in a week or so.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

So, I’ve been losing zoas in my frag tank for the last month or two. When I mean losing, I mean about 75 zoa frags melting (I am a small local vendor). I noticed that when I ran carbon for a few days, things seemed to open and look much better. After a couple days, I shut off the carbon reactor. Then they started to melt again a week later.

I have never done an icp test before, and maybe something would show. But I remembered a post about magnets leaching into the water, and decided to start looking. On my very first attempt, I located the inner magnet to my Jebao wavemaker and it had a lump. This was in a 50 gallon total volume tank. The magnet is about the size of a quarter. Idk if this is the cause, but it certainly didn’t help. Now I gotta check all my magnets!

This is what I found. I started taking pictures after I began dissecting the magnet on my workbench.

Maybe I should start checking my equipment more often!

 

[billyocean]

Inspection is indeed a good habit to have. Doesn't matter the pump brand...magnets get penetrated sometimes.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I think I'll be doing more regular inspections/cleanings on my pumps and wave makers. I have been taking it for granted that these things don't happen. (until they do)

Same here.

 

[Reefer Matt]

As an update, I’m still losing some zoas. But I’ve found another culprit, nudis. What threw me off was that running carbon seemed to help a lot, but maybe a combination of things is going on. This is an open frag tub, so I will add a lemon damsel instead of a wrasse to get rid of these, as wrasses jump. I have only found two so far, but I know more eggs will hatch. I decided to look around the tank in the dark, and that’s how I found them. Bummer! All a part of reefing.


Zoa Eating Nudibranch