please help cannot keep snails alive

[clownin_around]

my tank is a 12g jbj nano cube.
1 o clown
5 scarlet hermits
13lb of LR
ph 8.3
no2 0
no3 15ppm
amonia 0
s.g. .023
water temp 76
my water has been this way for several weeks.i add 6 trochas by using a drip line for 2 hours they seem to do fine but in the morning they are always on the sand rolledover i placxe them back on the rocks but within an hour they are back on the sand. i am at a loss i need them but cannot keep killing snail after snail

[Ninong]

Is it possible you have toxic metals contamination? Any brass fittings on anything? Was any copper treatment ever used in this tank?

Snails are extremely sensitive to copper and when they die within a day or two after being added to an aquarium, the first thing to consider is copper contamination.

[clownin_around]

I bought the tank brand new and wiped it out with saltwater before i did anything at all.
what should i do?
I am goiing to get a copper test now any suggestions on other test i should purchase.
i do not have to much to spend i ordered better lights.
Now that i thinkabout itits possible i was wearing my watch on the first day i added water too the tank and i know it would have been submerged.would that be enough to do that?

[Ninong]

Your waterproof watch wouldn't be a problem as long as the case is not made of brass or copper, which I seriously doubt.

Did you purchase your live rock "brand new" or did you buy it from a former hobbyist? The only reason I ask that is because some people will use copper medication in a tank (which ruins the live rock) and then sell the live rock.

There are other possible explanations for why your snails might be dying so suddenly but copper contamination is one of the most common culprits. This can come about because the hobbyist purchased a used tank from someone who used copper meds (especially if it was a freshwater tank), but you bought a brand new tank, so the tank is not the issue.

I really don't know what it might be if it's not copper. We had one guy who posted a couple of years ago that he was losing snails and other livestock in his brand new tank but we discovered that he had used brand new brass fittings in his plumbing. That will definitely do it.

[clownin_around]

if my hermits are ok could it stilll be copper?

[Ninong]

if my hermits are ok could it stilll be copper?

It's possible that the copper is at a very low level that is toxic to snails but not toxic to hermit crabs.

Of course, it's entirely possible that there is some other explanation.