Help with Hammers

[outhouse]

I can try and keep them in the middle of the scale.

I am about 30 years in. This whole nitrate levels crap is all a very new fad. Oceans have almost no detectable nitrates, so you tell me what they like. Now with that said I have had success in both dirty and clean water, but dirty water often tips the scale into crashing if you let it go to far. The only spawning event I had was with 100% clean water with no nirates at all. Lets put this into perspective, hammers like both, but like is the key word. They will not do poorly if they just dont like something. If you are having issues nitrates are the last thing I would look at. Most of the time a large 50 to 100% water change corrects most issues. Provided the problem is not lighting. The image below. I started with 5 heads of branching hammer and 3 heads of frogspawn. 2-3 years after that pic the hammers outgrew the 210g tank and hit the glass and top of the water.

 

[outhouse]

 

[MaxTremors]

The amount of nitrates (and phosphates) in seawater is quite misleading. Yes, in the way that we test for nitrates, they are very low, almost undetectable, but that is because they are being used up by multitudes of organisms. It’s like when you have a massive outbreak of GHA, your nitrates may be undetectable, but the GHA continues to grow, it’s basically absorbing all the nutrients before they can accumulate to the point where they’d register on our tests. In that same tank if you got rid of the algae overnight in a ripclean and kept everything else the same (same water, same feeding schedule, same everything), you’d likely see your nutrient levels go way up, since that algae isn’t there to use all of the nitrates. And it’s the same in the ocean, the actual amount of nutrients is quite high, especially in shallow, protected inshore reefs and lagoons, its just that they’re used up as quickly as they’re produced, the algae and other organisms that use the nutrients are kept in check by herbivores, and on up the food chain.

I have been reefing over 20 years and have kept both low and high nutrient tanks, and for a mixed reef, I’d go on the higher side (roughly 15ppm). In mixed reefs with little sps, I’ve had much more success with a moderate amount of nitrates and phosphates than with a low nutrient system. Better color, better polyp extension, better growth. I don’t think the move towards higher nutrient systems is a fad, it’s the result of a better understanding of how corals use, absorb, and rely on nutrients to survive and grow.

 

[Lavey29]

Your light intensity is to high. I have the same lights. I run them at 60% schedule so about 38% intensity and my hammers open well. You will want even less intensity on a 20g.

 

[outhouse]

I don’t think the move towards higher nutrient systems is a fad, it’s the result of a better understanding of how corals use, absorb, and rely on nutrients to survive and grow.

To me that insults the knowledge of those who succeeded in the past. We have always understood the nitrogen cycle, and how nutrients have effected our coral growth. There is nothing new discovered where all of a sudden we are like wow! we have been doing wrong all this time. Nope you have a new fad in the last 5 years to run more nitrates, and a ton of post like this one where people poorly diagnose an obvious lighting condition, and blame nitrates. Fact is nutrients are always present, its hard to eliminate nitrates in our closed systems. Im glad you and others are having success with higher nitrates, they never were an evil and despite what test read, we have always had them in our systems. So my problem is not the fact we have nitrates in the water, as how recently people are dealing with it when problems arise.

 

[Little c big D]

To me that insults the knowledge of those who succeeded in the past. We have always understood the nitrogen cycle, and how nutrients have effected our coral growth. There is nothing new discovered where all of a sudden we are like wow! we have been doing wrong all this time. Nope you have a new fad in the last 5 years to run more nitrates, and a ton of post like this one where people poorly diagnose an obvious lighting condition, and blame nitrates. Fact is nutrients are always present, its hard to eliminate nitrates in our closed systems. Im glad you and others are having success with higher nitrates, they never were an evil and despite what test read, we have always had them in our systems. So my problem is not the fact we have nitrates in the water, as how recently people are dealing with it when problems arise.

THIS, I remember just a few years ago ULN tanks were a big deal. I struggled to keep things down. Now it seems like I can't get the nutrients up lol. It's important to handle nutrients how one sees fit. I've seen both uln and high nutrient tanks work well.

 

[MaxTremors]

To me that insults the knowledge of those who succeeded in the past. We have always understood the nitrogen cycle, and how nutrients have effected our coral growth. There is nothing new discovered where all of a sudden we are like wow! we have been doing wrong all this time. Nope you have a new fad in the last 5 years to run more nitrates, and a ton of post like this one where people poorly diagnose an obvious lighting condition, and blame nitrates. Fact is nutrients are always present, its hard to eliminate nitrates in our closed systems. Im glad you and others are having success with higher nitrates, they never were an evil and despite what test read, we have always had them in our systems. So my problem is not the fact we have nitrates in the water, as how recently people are dealing with it when problems arise.

Over the last 10-15 years we have absolutely learned more about how corals use nutrients and how they influence growth and coloration. Yes, we’ve always known about and tried to manage nutrient levels, and had an idea that corals depended on them, but we’ve really only started to understand HOW corals use nutrients in the last decade or so. The move towards ‘higher nutrient’ systems is not new in the last five years. ULNs are still popular for acro dominant tanks, and slightly higher nutrients are popular for mixed reefs, and even higher nutrients are popular for soft coral dominant tanks, it’s almost like the way you run (or try to run) your system/nutrient level depends on the type of corals you’re keeping. If you’re insulted by the collective knowledge base of the hobby expanding, I don’t know what to tell you.

 

[outhouse]

but we’ve really only started to understand HOW corals use nutrients in the last decade or so.

Utter nonsense. Maybe you forget YOU are posting nutrient knowledge in a thread where lighting is the probable issue. So far all I see is green peas parroting that you need to increase nitrates and it will solve all your woes. No matter where the real problem may lie.

and even higher nutrients are popular for soft coral dominant tanks

Popular? only recently, LPS also loves clean water like it lives in, in its natural environment. Only spawing events I have had for branching Hammers was in perfect new water


If you want to run higher nitrates, please do, but its gets tiring seeing reply after reply of raising nitrates, when its never the danged problem to begin with. Just like this thread where lighting is the probable issue. And people chime in to raise nitrates.

At best coral may/can grow a hair faster with certain nutrients, but it does not cause problems when the water is perfect, which perfect water still grows LPS corals just fine. In the 30 years ive done this professionally, there are multiple great ways to get the job done. Dont think yours is the only way.