Way back in March last year I went on vacay. When I got home something in the tank was not rigt, things looked...off. I tested all the levels and all seemed fine. It continued in a slow decline. I had changed my complete ro/di system and my return pump 3 weeks before leaving on vacay, so thats where I started looking for problems. Got a TDS meter for the water and it was good. opened up the pump and it also seemed fine. The tank however, just continued with its slow, steady death. After 5 months my return pump was not putting out the gph it should have been so I completely ripped it apart. In the very middle by the impeller (this was a pond pump not a "safe for fresh or salt water". Getting the connection?) there was a goopy rusty ring and a mesh screen that was deteriorating. This is the only thing that I could attribute the crash to. I changer the return pump in late August, but by this time everything but the fish was gone, bio system wiped out, everything in the sand bed, dead, all the pods, mysis, bugs, etc, history. Rock, nealry all coraline gone grey and blah. Finally, things started to turn around. It still took till December before snails would live. Now, things are finally looking good, well, better anyway. Coraline starting to re-encrust, snails living. I am going to get some pods next week to inhabit the rock. I am just trying to stock the tank with some small corals to bring it back to live. So, thats the story. So, I think my lesson was, make sure the pump says safe for salt!! Also, although I hate to say no to mushrooms, Richmond is to far to go from Abbotsford. Thanks anyway though.
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