Hammer coral dying?
- Thread starter JJabrams
- Start date
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blaxsun
10K Club member
You could try Reef Primer, but it might also help moving it up off the substrate. My hammers seem to do best in the flow areas of the tank, about one third to halfway up from the bottom.
jfoahs04
Well-Known Member
How old is the tank? If it's new, have you tested ammonia? What do you have for lighting and flow? Do you have any other corals in the tank? If so, how are they doing? Have you also tested salinity? What is it and has it been stable? Do you have fish? If so, what are you feeding them and how often?
It's really hard to give good your questions without knowing a good deal more. Knowing you're reading Zero Nitrate and Phosphate is a start. That's not good for any coral, but it's especially not good for LPS corals which like "dirtier" water. If you have fish, feed a little more for a while. In the short You can target feed the coral with frozen brine or mysis - use a dropper to squirt a few right into the coral's polyps.
Feeding should help, but if you have unstable parameters, low or high salinity, there's ammonia in the tank, the lighting is inadequate, etc. then feeding alone won't help save it.
JJabrams
New Member
Tank is about 1 year and half old wave maker and lights are azoo most of the time the flow is way too much for the hammer to handle however I was not aware that lps coral preferred dirtier water I would’ve accounted for this from the onset honestly I’ve been dosing thinking this was enough but that’s only because I wasn’t aware of lps needing this nitrates
mdb_talon
2500 Club Member
Even though most corals are photosynthetic most need "food" of some sort. This does not mean you have to specifically use coral food as many of us do(it can be fish waste, microfauna in aquarium, pods, bacteria, etc). When nutrients are 0/0 this is usually a sign that there is not sufficient food for them. I say usually because in some ULNS systems you can keep very low nutrients combined with proper and frequent dosing of aminos/food and still keep them healthy. It is a very fine line though and i think for good reasons ULNS systems have went out of favor.
tadrielobrien
New Member
What is your salinity? I had a hammer that threw the same temper tantrum a few weeks ago, and it turns out my hydrometer was useless. Salinity read as 1.026 but was actually 1.029. Correcting my tank's salinity saved my hammer, but it has been a slow recovery for it.
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Those aren't full parameters.
We need to know things like Alkalinity and Calcium. These are important. Corals require Calcium and Carbonate for healthy skeletal structure.
And allow your tank to have SOME nitrates and phosphates too.
PlumbTuckered
Active Member
Had this hammer about a month now pH has been steady at around 8-8.2 should I be concerned about the receding base and if so how should I treat?
That is a new tank. Too new for for corals. You're rushing. You need to take your time. This tanks has not even got to the ugly stage!
PlumbTuckered
Active Member
The OP might also try being patient and developing his tank at a pace that will make it successful. OP is going way too fast. The tank is NEW!!! It shouldn't have corals yet. Not even easy to keep corals like hammers and zoas.
The OP doesn't even post full parameters when asked. OP probably doesn't even own a test kit.
blaxsun
10K Club member
As per the above suggestions, you need to include some more information. For instance, what's the size of the tank and what are you running for powerheads? (you mentioned there was too much flow in spots)
Also, what are you running for filtration, lights, etc. What are all your levels, including: alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, salinity, alkalinity, pH, nitrates, phosphates, temperature, etc. What test kit(s) are you using?
Finally, are you dosing or supplementing anything like Reef Roids, ReefEnergy AB+, etc. Any reef inhabitants (fish and cleanup crew)
Also, what are you running for filtration, lights, etc. What are all your levels, including: alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, salinity, alkalinity, pH, nitrates, phosphates, temperature, etc. What test kit(s) are you using?
Finally, are you dosing or supplementing anything like Reef Roids, ReefEnergy AB+, etc. Any reef inhabitants (fish and cleanup crew)
