Hammer problems

[bmbpka]

I am struggling with hammers. Had one before that I lost. Got another and it is starting to look not as good as it did. Any help and or suggestions would be great.

Vipapspectra Light (75% blue, 5% white, removed lenses for better spread on the 40b)

Hammer is at the bottom, just on the edge of the light. Definitely under it though.

Temp - 78.6 (does fluctuate from 78.5 a 80.5)
Salinity - .0245
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0 or 5 I cant tell the difference on api
PH - 8
Calcium - 380
Phos - 0
Alk - 9
Mag - 1230

Favias, ricordia, zoas, Monti and chalice all look great.

New devils hand has been slouched though since I got him last Wednesday.

Hammer on the ground was a few days after I got it. Hammer on the rock is current. Also tossed a photo of the devils hand even though this is under the LPS forum.

 

[GoVols]

Well,
Sorry for your issues.

To start the conversation and others can join in.

Your phosphates and nitrates are too low.

On an side note:
I'd (slowly) bring up the cal to 420-440 ppm and mag, to about 1350 - 1400ppm

 

[bmbpka]

LFS made it seem like I was crazy when I said the same thing about cal and mag! Thanks for the input Vols

 

[bmbpka]

Should I cut back on my water changes to help with phos and nitrate?

I’m changing out 5gallons a week. Mainly doing it to replenish mag and calcium. But i can dose, that isn’t an issue.

 

[bmbpka]

So I picked up a Red Sea kit today for phos. Red Sea is saying .08 ppm phos. API, which I was using before, only went down to .25 ppm. That’s why I was getting zero.

.08 seems too high, no?

Slowing tossing all of my api tests for Red Sea. I am realizing why only the PetSmart/Petco type stores carry these and not the small LFS. They are junk!

 

[maroma]

I Purchased Hammer had same situation when I moved it at bottom with good water flow on it it started thriving started with 1 head now have 3

 

[bmbpka]

Thanks for the input, I’ll give this a try. Love hammers but dang am I struggling with them.

 

[Pongo]

.08 seems too high, no?

Slowing tossing all of my api tests for Red Sea. I am realizing why only the PetSmart/Petco type stores carry these and not the small LFS. They are junk!

0.08 PO4 should be fine.
I use the Red Sea Pro test for nitrate and it has worked well for me.

Once you get a better reading for the nitrate let us know.

I try not to move my euphyllia around much, they often close up after a move for up to 2 weeks.

 

[bmbpka]

Thanks pongo. New nitrate test is probably this weekend, hopefully.

 

[CaptainHook]

Keep your parameters stable. I find them love the light. They are under 250w MH. The ones in the shade don't do as well. Picture was a few years old before I liquidated them.

 

[Dburr1014]

Medium flow, medium light.
What is the salanity?. 0245
S.G. Should be 1.025/1.026
Or is it PPT, that should be 35/36

 

[Dburr1014]

Medium flow, medium light.
What is the salanity?. 0245
S.G. Should be 1.025/1.026
Or is it PPT, that should be 35/36

Mine is always full, I can't ever count the heads on it.

 

[bronsond99]

I’m sorry for your troubles, I keep a lot of Hammers, Frogspawns, etc. and I have been learning as I go. Through trial and error I have learned that this could be a lot of different issues. And until this problem is found and resolved you will continue to have problems keeping hammers. I would focus on your water quality being too clean. Euphyllias tend to thrive better in a tank with a little higher nitrates and some phosphates. I would start there and then focus on placement. Since he is not retracted I would suggest it being too little flow on him or too little light. They should sway in the water with flow not being direct. I would have about 15x turn over rate with flow. Keep trying. I do not think they’re dying, I just believe they are unhappy from one of the above issues I mentioned. For water quality more to their liking I would get your calcium up to around 420 with something like PurpleUp and by doing weekly water changes of 10% or so. I hope you can take what I have mentioned and solve your issues. Best of luck

Dakota

 

[bmbpka]

Medium flow, medium light.
What is the salanity?. 0245
S.G. Should be 1.025/1.026
Or is it PPT, that should be 35/36

I call it 1.0245. It’s hard to tell the difference between 1.024 and 1.025. I try for 1.026 but it’s a never ending battle and that’s where it always ends up. I didn’t want to chase numbers....

 

[bmbpka]

So I have made some changes, and I THINK it’s starting to look better. Brought up my mag and calcium with dosing. I apparently can’t do math and messed up the calculation and brought it up WAY too fast. However, everyone looks good, better actually than before.

On top of the dosing, I turned my powerhead up and increased my lighting. All of these things have seemed to help the hammer out, getting better color imo. Even the devils hand stopped slouching, but I moved him to better flow as well.

Fingers crossed. See how they all look in a week. Letting my level drop for a couple of days so I can figure out my daily dosage amount.

 

[bronsond99]

So I have made some changes, and I THINK it’s starting to look better. Brought up my mag and calcium with dosing. I apparently can’t do math and messed up the calculation and brought it up WAY too fast. However, everyone looks good, better actually than before.

On top of the dosing, I turned my powerhead up and increased my lighting. All of these things have seemed to help the hammer out, getting better color imo. Even the devils hand stopped slouching, but I moved him to better flow as well.

Fingers crossed. See how they all look in a week. Letting my level drop for a couple of days so I can figure out my daily dosage amount.

Great!! Just keep up your levels. Id dose calcium again tmrw or day after. Just keep them corals looking happy and you’ll be fine. Each and every coral is different !! Best of luck

 

[bmbpka]

Ohh ya, I’ve also noticed since I did this, my hammers mouth is wide open a lot. I’ve never seen that before.... good or bad?

 

[bmbpka]

 

[bronsond99]

Ohh ya, I’ve also noticed since I did this, my hammers mouth is wide open a lot. I’ve never seen that before.... good or bad?

Yeah it’s fine. I would rather see him all plump and full. But mine sometimes have their mouths open when they’re trying to capture light or explore their surroundings. You could even try and spot feed it some brine or my sis shrimp with a turkey baster or something like that !! I love love love hammers! Here is a few of my frags

 

[bmbpka]

Those look great. I love them too, and torches. But not having the best luck haha. The hammer actually loves reef roids. I feed everything else in my tank that, not a thing in that tank doesn’t like it.