Hammercoral Closed up over night

[Newfish96]

What could be the problem? I got it on Wednesday, it was fine yesterday and when I woke up this morning, it was closed.

Pretty new to the hobby. Teach me something.

 

[Dom]

That happened overnight?

Well... corals will close up when the lights go out.

What you have going on may be a case of poor parameters. The thing about this is that parameters can go off the rails weeks before the corals begin reflecting the conditions.

Post a complete set of water chemistry numbers.

 

[Newfish96]

This is what I have tests for.

 

[Dom]

This is what I have tests for.

Alk is a bit high, but will come down over time through consumption. Based on these, I would rule out water quality.

 

[Dom]

Tell us about the light you have installed.

Also, do you have any power heads to add flow?

Lastly, can you post a full tank shot? A picture is worth a thousand words.

Do you have any kids in the house; maybe young hands with something on them?

Is it possible the tank got dosed with a contaminant (Think aerosol room fresheners)?

 

[Newfish96]

I have 3 pumps for water flow. 2 that came with the tank and an additional. No children. Just me and my boyfriend. We don't use aerosol (we have arachnids and dogs as well). I have one wax warmer.

The screenshot is the light I have.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

This is what I have tests for.

also is it 3.0 phosphate?! That’s really high.

 

[AKReefing]

Could be the way it was acclimated, a difference in chemistry from the original tank, difference in spectrum, intensity, water flow.

 

[Matt Bravo]

I’m going to disagree with parameters being “okay”
Alk is too high
Phosphates are way too high
Nitrates are on the low side
Temp is high, but not enough to start causing recession

You need to bring down alk, 15 is way too high. 8-12 is usually recommended
Phosphates should usually be in ratio with nitrates. I notice that when my phosphates hit .1 and my nitrates are under 10, my gonis and acros start struggling.

Also, you missed magnesium. You need to post mag since the trick to most lps is keeping mag stable

I am speaking from my personal experience here but I am interested if dom has had any success with all at such high levels before?

 

[AKReefing]

When was the tank first set up?

 

[Dom]

I have 3 pumps for water flow. 2 that came with the tank and an additional. No children. Just me and my boyfriend. We don't use aerosol (we have arachnids and dogs as well). I have one wax warmer.

The screenshot is the light I have.

I happen to like the Current USA light, although, I do find them to be underpowered. I got great results using 4 (a total of 150 watts) of them on a tank whose height was 12 inches.

I don't feel lighting or flow is your issue either. Hammer corals do well in low light/flow environments.

Looking back at your numbers again, I did notice that your phosphates are 3.0, and while I don't believe that is the cause of your problem, you may want to address that.

In the end, I think you will take your tank to the next level with faithful husbandry.

How often do you do water changes?

Water changes serve two purposes:
1) They help to export nutrients from the tank which can support the growth of nuisance algae.

2) Water changes replenish elements consumed by the tank.

You should be faithful to doing water changes weekly. They should be 20% of the total tank volume.

 

[Dom]

I’m going to disagree with parameters being “okay”
Alk is too high
Phosphates are way too high
Nitrates are on the low side
Temp is high, but not enough to start causing recession

You need to bring down alk, 15 is way too high. 8-12 is usually recommended
Phosphates should usually be in ratio with nitrates. I notice that when my phosphates hit .1 and my nitrates are under 10, my gonis and acros start struggling.

Also, you missed magnesium. You need to post mag since the trick to most lps is keeping mag stable

I am speaking from my personal experience here but I am interested if dom has had any success with all at such high levels before?

Yes, after a second look, I saw Phosphates at 3, which is an issue. And yes, while the Alk is high, it will come down over time through consumption. But I don't feel these things wouldn't cause an overnight downturn in corals.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

looking at that flesh band I’d say it has been struggling for a bit and the current shock from its new homes tank parameters has made it super angry. I would work on your parameters like @Matt Bravo said. Firstly doing a water change.

 

[Newfish96]

I don't do water changes often. But I'll start them on a regular basis. I have a 30gal what kind of schedule do you recommend? Also I'm going this evening to get a more extensive testing kit, I'd love recommendations on those as well. I'm not very experienced with this, I'm open to all the help, tips and information I could get.

 

[Newfish96]

looking at that flesh band I’d say it has been struggling for a bit and the current shock from its new homes tank parameters has made it super angry. I would work on your parameters like @Matt Bravo said. Firstly doing a water change.

After taking the tests I took this morning I did a 20% change. I'll start them more regularly.

 

[Matt Bravo]

Yes, after a second look, I saw Phosphates at 3, which is an issue. And yes, while the Alk is high, it will come down over time through consumption. But I don't feel these things wouldn't cause an overnight downturn in corals.

The thing is, I do agree that all will eventually come down. But at this rate the hammer will die before all comes down. Especially if they don’t have a few acros continuously draining it. I would do take action immediately and do water changes to bring that alk down

 

[OctaviusBrine]

After taking the tests I took this morning I did a 20% change. I'll start them more regularly.

That’s a great start just monitor regularly. Things can go out of wack quickly try and keep it stable. What kind of salt are you using. That could be why your alk is so high. Ima guess Red Sea pro?

 

[Dom]

You need to bring down alk, 15 is way too high. 8-12 is usually recommended
Phosphates should usually be in ratio with nitrates. I notice that when my phosphates hit .1 and my nitrates are under 10, my gonis and acros start struggling.

Also, you missed magnesium. You need to post mag since the trick to most lps is keeping mag stable

I am speaking from my personal experience here but I am interested if dom has had any success with all at such high levels before?

Well... to answer your question, these parameters aren't close to what I keep in my tank.

While ALK is high at 15, and the normal range is 8-12, it really isn't that high. I wouldn't recommend intervening to get a 4 or 5 point drop in ALK. It will go down on its own through normal tank consumption.

I don't think I'm doing too bad...

 

[Newfish96]

That’s a great start just monitor regularly. Things can go out of wack quickly try and keep it stable. What kind of salt are you using. That could be why your alk is so high. Ima guess Red Sea pro? I have extremely hard

That’s a great start just monitor regularly. Things can go out of wack quickly try and keep it stable. What kind of salt are you using. That could be why your alk is so high. Ima guess Red Sea pro?

I have extremely hard water at my house so I buy pre mixed water.. it's imagitarium? Any recommendations for a better alternative would be appreciated

 

[OctaviusBrine]

I have extremely hard water at my house so I buy pre mixed water.. it's imagitarium? Any recommendations for a better alternative would be appreciated

Invest in some sort of ro/di filter it doesn’t have to be crazy expensive just make sure it has a tds meter and keep it at zero. I have a well as well and have one. If that isn’t an option at the moment. The local fish store should sell to water. Generally at most it’s a dollar a gallon. I like to use my own because I know my water is a true 0 tds. Then buy a salt with a lower kh I personally like mine around 8.5. There are a lot out there but were I live I have few to choose from I use rpm blue box. Red Sea blue bucket has lower kh as well.

Once you can make your own water. water changes will be less aggravation and will be easier to do. In term will equal less skipped water changes.