Too much flow for my branching hammer

[evrydayzawrkday]

Background to the question.
Recently I moved over to a 25g AIO cube, and since I am a home automation freak (its bad... really bad. Home Assistant, custom coding, etc) I decided to invest into an Apex EL. As part of this move, I realized my PH was a bit lower than it should, so I changed some of the powerheads around to help with water agitation along with help with detritus. Flow is now pretty solid in the tank.

This AM I realized the hammer wasn't looking super happy, and this is what I saw. Not as puffy as normal but wanted to see if this is too much flow, or anything I should be worried about.

 

[blaxsun]

If you increased the flow and your hammer has not been coming out as it normally does, try adjusting your wavemakers to a point midway between the original and new setting. For what it's worth, chasing pH almost always ends up as a fruitless pursuit.

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

If you increased the flow and your hammer has not been coming out as it normally does, try adjusting your wavemakers to a point midway between the original and new setting. For what it's worth, chasing pH almost always ends up as a fruitless pursuit.

So the flow pattern is all that changed. I think it is fine, but I want to ensure I am not causing any long term damage.
As for the pH stuff, I 100% agree My issue was that my Apex EL was showing it around 7.4-7.6 w/ ALK at 12.5, but ultimately it was me not following directions lol. Goal is to raise pH to a semi-stable 7.8-8.

 

[blaxsun]

So the flow pattern is all that changed. I think it is fine, but I want to ensure I am not causing any long term damage.
As for the pH stuff, I 100% agree My issue was that my Apex EL was showing it around 7.4-7.6 w/ ALK at 12.5, but ultimately it was me not following directions lol. Goal is to raise pH to a semi-stable 7.8-8.

My pH fluctuates between 7.9 and 8.15, so all things considered I'm reasonably happy with that (and this is without the use of a Co2 scrubber, etc.)

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

My pH fluctuates between 7.9 and 8.15, so all things considered I'm reasonably happy with that (and this is without the use of a Co2 scrubber, etc.)

I am now stable at 7.8. I am OK with this

I do want a fuge, I should have gotten a larger tank with a sump but my wife would have murdered me.

 

[wculver]

Background to the question.
Recently I moved over to a 25g AIO cube, and since I am a home automation freak (its bad... really bad. Home Assistant, custom coding, etc) I decided to invest into an Apex EL. As part of this move, I realized my PH was a bit lower than it should, so I changed some of the powerheads around to help with water agitation along with help with detritus. Flow is now pretty solid in the tank.

This AM I realized the hammer wasn't looking super happy, and this is what I saw. Not as puffy as normal but wanted to see if this is too much flow, or anything I should be worried about.

If these guys get angry they'll be more closed up and the polyps won't extend like you were accustomed to. The picture that you included certainly doesn't point to a problem, looks good.

I also noticed your mention of pH, you're not the first person that has mentioned low pH with the apex system. I would make sure you ground truth those numbers before you believe your pH is that low. Even with a dozen people in my house for hours I won't drop below 8.0. If it is truly that low as the tank cycles and matures the natural processing of CO2 by the reef will increase the pH. Wouldn't go out of your way to raise it.

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

If these guys get angry they'll be more closed up and the polyps won't extend like you were accustomed to. The picture that you included certainly doesn't point to a problem, looks good.

I also noticed your mention of pH, you're not the first person that has mentioned low pH with the apex system. I would make sure you ground truth those numbers before you believe your pH is that low. Even with a dozen people in my house for hours I won't drop below 8.0. If it is truly that low as the tank cycles and matures the natural processing of CO2 by the reef will increase the pH. Wouldn't go out of your way to raise it.

I am going through a mini-cycle as I just swapped tanks about a week ago (13.5 to 25g AIOs), so the PH levels to make sense (API test shows the same). I would expect this to raise over time.