Hammer problem please help

[Tsev03]

Yesterday my hammer didn't open all the way. It was fully opened the day before. I've had it for about 6 months it's my only one and I don't know much about them. I did clean my powerheads and skimmer this week. I used vinegar and water but I rinsed very well and let dry before putting them back in. I only cleaned one per day. I don't know that this had any thing to do with it. I tested the water yesterday and it was all the same as normal. My ph never gets over 8.1 but it is doesn't vary much goes down to 8 at night.

 

[leahfiish]

Did you check your alkalinity, calcium, temperature, and salinity? Is there anything that might be picking on your coral like an angelfish or a peppermint shrimp?

 

[Tsev03]

Yes I checked
Alk 8
Ca 450
Mag 1260
I have a fire shrimp and a flame angel but I've never seen either of them near it. I'm pretty low stocked on fish so I feed them a lot. Should I dip it in something? Should I move it to my breeding clown tank? My only worry in moving it is I only have a coralife 2 bulb light on it. The bulbs r coralife too. They don't make ati bulbs in that size. And the salinity is only 1.023

 

[leahfiish]

Is it getting a lot of flow? Have you changed anything like adding gfo?

I would start by dipping the coral, and slowly raising your salinity to 1.025-1.026 over a few days to a week.

You could also try moving it to a lower flow area. I don't think the light would be a short term issue.

Also sometimes euphyllia just have "off" days for no apparent reason.

 

[Tsev03]

Ugh I forgot that I added my reactor back to the tank a few days ago. The pump had gone out so I took it off a few months ago and just got a replacement Monday. I only put half the recommended about of gfo. It is also possible that I did get the power head back in the same spot after I cleaned it. It doesn't seem to be getting as much flow as before. Should I dip in both coral rx and Duran-2? Should I turn the reactor off for a while? I really appreciate your help

 

[leahfiish]

Sometimes the dust from gfo can irritate corals, I would turn it off for a few days an see if theres any improvement. A dip in coral rx wouldn't hurt anything, worth a shot.

I'd say lower flow will n better for now.

 

[Tsev03]

Ok thank u very much

 

[Tsev03]

I turned off the reactor and I'm in the process of dipping the hammer. This is a picture of it in the dip. There is a hard piece of something at the place that looked the worst this morning. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be there

 

[gig 'em]

That's the skeleton showing through. The coral is receding from that area of the skeleton. In my experience once a hammer starts to recede, it's usually a slow downward slide until it's completely gone. Not sure what the cause is, it could just now be showing symptoms of something that's wrong with it. How much light and flow has it had for the last 6 months?

 

[Tsev03]

Dang. I have a 6 ft long 125 gal tank. I have 4 power heads 2 on each end. One low in the tank and one high. The high ones r just cheap 800 gph. One low one is a Rw15 set on med. the othe is a tunze 6045 on high. My lights r weird. I have a 4 ft t5 with 6 bulbs on one end it is not hung yet just setting on top of the tank. The end the hammer is on has a led light off my 30 gal. They r turn all the way up.

 

[Midrats]

They are more resilient than you think. Don't give up hope! Here's one that I accidentally siphoned some of the flesh from. This is the same day of the injury and it's almost fully expanded. I'm embarrassed to say it's not the first time it's happened. I am always impressed how quickly corals bounce back.

 

[Apotack]

One day of not fully opening does not necessarily indicate a problem. It's possible that cleaning your power heads changed the flow and the hammer just needs time to adjust. If it were me I would leave it alone and see what happens over the next few days.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Don't change too many things at once imo.

With my candy canes any time I ever used gfo they would shrink up.
If gfo was the last change , I'd go with that first. Wait a week and keep an eye and then look at changing other things.

I wouldn't stress the coral any more than that.

 

[Tsev03]

I really hope it doesn't die!

 

[leahfiish]

Some of my torches will recede sometimes and then am hour later be completely open like nothing ever happened. So I agree, don't give up.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I really hope it doesn't die!

It probably won't. I "killed" my candy cane for over two years.
It has a dozen heads now.

 

[Tsev03]

I think it looks better after the dip.

 

[jason_mazzy]

most likely sudden reduction of nutrients. happened to me when I pulled my purigen from the system while running medication. after a month I added it all back in and bam all my lps started receding and dying. Couldn't figure it out. Tests were of course all 0's and then i pulled the purigen and began feeding. I'm up to 2 ppm nitrate and lps have started plumping back up and very, very, very slowly started to rebuild. Definite improvement over the receding.

 

[Tsev03]

I have another question. I took the reactor off line. I drained the water out of the media canisters to let it dry. Will I be able to reuse the gfo or do I have to toss it? Thanks

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have another question. I took the reactor off line. I drained the water out of the media canisters to let it dry. Will I be able to reuse the gfo or do I have to toss it? Thanks

Yup you can for sure.