Dead hammer

[zbrusko]

Hi,

I was out of town a couple of weeks ago. We left on day one at 9:30 am and returned on day 6 at 11:30 pm. So in total, there were just 4 calendar days we weren't in our house. We had someone from our LFS look in on the tanks (4 fresh, one 4-month-old “reef”).

So on day 3 at 3:30 pm our power went out. Of course - first time in 2 years. It came back on at 9:30 pm. The house temp was set to 78 while we were away. My lights are typically on from 10 - 8 (10 - 12 ramp up, 6 - 8 ramp down). The power outage did two things our sitter couldn’t fix. One, the lights (2 AI Hydra 32s) over the IM SR60 came back on and thought it was 3:30 pm. So they were 6 hrs behind for 4 days (any way to fix that for the future?). Second, the house temp went up. Not sure to what, but it can’t have been by toooo much, and I am sure it was back to 78 by midnight.

Anyway, my Frogspawn, GSP & Gorgonian (Eunicea) looked better than ever upon our return. Gold hammer, however, dead. Gone. Just skeleton left. Could this really have happened from the heat or 6-hour shift in lighting? Why was everything else better! Sitter sent photo of it late on day 5. So it died very quickly (or, it seems quick to me).

Ref Sea tests:
Nitrate - 12 - 16
Phosphate - 1.2ish
Ca - 400
dKH - 8.3ish
Mg - 1250ish

API Test:
pH - 8.2 (I think)

We’ve been back a week+ now, and honestly, the survivors are doing great & I am coming out of a GHA infestation I was fighting before the trip. I am otherwise thrilled with where things are. But this hammer death concerns me - it is a mystery given my lack of experience.

Any thoughts? Do you need more info?

Thanks!

 

[Lavey29]

Euphyllia eating flatworms? Bacteria infection? Stung from another coral? Fish or shrimp get it? GHA can get down inside the skeletal structure and cause issues.

Your phosphate is extremely elevated and magnesium is low

 

[zbrusko]

Euphyllia eating flatworms? Bacteria infection? Stung from another coral? Fish or shrimp get it? GHA can get down inside the skeletal structure and cause issues.

Your phosphate is extremely elevated and magnesium is low

Sorry, phos 0.12. So you are saying the light/temp was likely not the culprit?

 

[littlefoxx]

I cant really test to why but Ive had some ofd hammer experiences. I just had a 2 head frag die on me like over night, same as you skeleton. But have a 4 head bi color hammer and a rainbow hammer of 2 heads right next to it and are doing great. My thoughts was flow as the flow was more on the two happy ones than the dead one. Possibly power outage without flow and light caused it? Like I said I cant really speak to why but thought I would share to show you they can die fast and randomly and that youre not crazy!

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

If I kept my house at 78, my reef would probably hit 83 at least, just from equipme t operating, we jeep our house at 72, and my temp hasn't dropped to 77 for my heaters to kick on in a month.

If it were me with what you have, everything fine but a single death, that would be my assumption.

 

[Lavey29]

Sorry, phos 0.12. So you are saying the light/temp was likely not the culprit?

Ok, my electricity was off for 13 hours and temp climbed to 83 but no coral issues. There are just a number of reasons that can cause a euphyllia to bail and die quickly. Now, it is coincidental that it happened during your outage so perhaps that triggered some stress in the coral that was already present anyway. Hammers like low flow and moderate light. They prefer to be off the sand. Look into getting a back up battery that keeps your system running during an outage.

 

[zbrusko]

This is all helpful, thanks. It was seemingly growing prior to this event, so I think it had good flow & proper lighting. But maybe not. I suppose the exact cause will remain a mystery. I think this is a good wake up call to get a backup battery for the mp10, at least.

 

[Lavey29]

This is all helpful, thanks. It was seemingly growing prior to this event, so I think it had good flow & proper lighting. But maybe not. I suppose the exact cause will remain a mystery. I think this is a good wake up call to get a backup battery for the mp10, at least.

I use the ecotech back up battery for my MP40s and return pump. Simple to connect.