TCseh
Active Member
I haven't done a water change in a while, since I don't have any fish in the tank and just a few small frags. I dosed so my mag will now be over 1300.
Hammer not looking good
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TCseh
Active Member
My tank is 6 months old. I just have been able to have little to no algae even though I keep my nitrate above 10 ppm.
When it comes to coral health, Alkalinity and Calcium are very important. I keep my Calcium at 440 and my Alkalinity at 8.5.
But I will say that the hammer in question doesn't look terrible. While the heads on it don't seem very inflated, they do look to be bouncing back. Plus, I believe the "bubbles" you are seeing are new growth.
I'd put it back exactly where it was let it be!
TCseh
Active Member
I have struggled to get my ph up. I have already dosed phosphate and magnesium though. So the tests will definitely be off.
TCseh
Active Member
I also have hanna checkers for everything besides magnesium and nitrate. So imo I would think they would be pretty accurate.
floridareeflabs
Community Member
Our 2 cents 
If you just got the hammer then it could be lighting (too much and too little light will cause them to "melt"), params, initial shock; so the next week will be crucial. We have multiple hammers in house and have seen them freak out when something malfunctions or someone makes a mistake maybe dosing and params are out of whack.
Hammers are very sensitive and will give you signs early they are not happy and something is off in the tank. Typically, when hammers start to not open fully it is either "pests" or params in the tank. They do not like alk swings, 9-10's are usually where you want things to be all week long. If you have not done a water change in months for example, you could be low on some critical trace element. You want to also ensure your nitrates and phosphates are never 0, this allows for water column balance per bacteria/algae to go out of balance thus starts to affect inhabitants. If your not seeing them recede then usually they are just "upset" vs loosing flesh then they are starting to die. Flow, medium is typically where they do best so they don't throw a head.
We have found ideal params for most hammers are:
alk 9-10
calc mid 400's
mag upper 1300's
nitrate and phosphate above 0 (never good to hit zero)
ph 8.1-8.3
Also, less is always more. So any adjustment you make, you should wait a couple days and see how it goes as they do not like change. Typically for example, if our alk gets out of whack for some reason it takes 7-10 days for them to return to normal after we get levels where they need to be. Just calling out, dont make 10 changes on day one and then have no idea which one really helped or worse 1 helped and 9 made it worse!
Good luck, always nerve wracking...
If you just got the hammer then it could be lighting (too much and too little light will cause them to "melt"), params, initial shock; so the next week will be crucial. We have multiple hammers in house and have seen them freak out when something malfunctions or someone makes a mistake maybe dosing and params are out of whack.
Hammers are very sensitive and will give you signs early they are not happy and something is off in the tank. Typically, when hammers start to not open fully it is either "pests" or params in the tank. They do not like alk swings, 9-10's are usually where you want things to be all week long. If you have not done a water change in months for example, you could be low on some critical trace element. You want to also ensure your nitrates and phosphates are never 0, this allows for water column balance per bacteria/algae to go out of balance thus starts to affect inhabitants. If your not seeing them recede then usually they are just "upset" vs loosing flesh then they are starting to die. Flow, medium is typically where they do best so they don't throw a head.
We have found ideal params for most hammers are:
alk 9-10
calc mid 400's
mag upper 1300's
nitrate and phosphate above 0 (never good to hit zero)
ph 8.1-8.3
Also, less is always more. So any adjustment you make, you should wait a couple days and see how it goes as they do not like change. Typically for example, if our alk gets out of whack for some reason it takes 7-10 days for them to return to normal after we get levels where they need to be. Just calling out, dont make 10 changes on day one and then have no idea which one really helped or worse 1 helped and 9 made it worse!
Good luck, always nerve wracking...
TCseh
Active Member
I appreciate your input. I have already dosed phosphate and magnesium. Would that be a problem?Our 2 cents
If you just got the hammer then it could be lighting (too much and too little light will cause them to "melt"), params, initial shock; so the next week will be crucial. We have multiple hammers in house and have seen them freak out when something malfunctions or someone makes a mistake maybe dosing and params are out of whack.
Hammers are very sensitive and will give you signs early they are not happy and something is off in the tank. Typically, when hammers start to not open fully it is either "pests" or params in the tank. They do not like alk swings, 9-10's are usually where you want things to be all week long. If you have not done a water change in months for example, you could be low on some critical trace element. You want to also ensure your nitrates and phosphates are never 0, this allows for water column balance per bacteria/algae to go out of balance thus starts to affect inhabitants. If your not seeing them recede then usually they are just "upset" vs loosing flesh then they are starting to die. Flow, medium is typically where they do best so they don't throw a head.
We have found ideal params for most hammers are:
alk 9-10
calc mid 400's
mag upper 1300's
nitrate and phosphate above 0 (never good to hit zero)
ph 8.1-8.3
Also, less is always more. So any adjustment you make, you should wait a couple days and see how it goes as they do not like change. Typically for example, if our alk gets out of whack for some reason it takes 7-10 days for them to return to normal after we get levels where they need to be. Just calling out, dont make 10 changes on day one and then have no idea which one really helped or worse 1 helped and 9 made it worse!
Good luck, always nerve wracking...
With you having alot of hammers. What do you think the lumps or "bubbles" in the flesh near the heads are?
floridareeflabs
Community Member
Not knowing history of the hammer Its hard to say, could be a few things.
We have seen bubbles form that eventually get so large they kill the head or spots that eventually multiply and kill
Could be disease or sand pebble stuck which is irritating them or a pest
could be white spot or yellow blotch, but hard to tell in pics. If they multiply or expose skeleton then they are almost always doomed, and may need to save any heads you can and remove the infected.
We have seen bubbles form and eventually the head splits as result and all is well
So, watch for spreading/multiplying spots. If your params look good then stop adjusting and watch. If you havent done a water change in a while it may be time. Nothing is probably going to magically look better tomorrow or even the next few days so watch params and watch coral for changes. If you think they are being attacked by "pests" then dip and treat but dont do it more than once or stress alone can cause them to "give up".
Sorry not more helpful...
TCseh
Active Member
I was hoping for only good news about the bubbles under the flesh. All is good though and I appreciate your advice. I have also dipped all my corals and inspected them. The only thing that whent into the tank after the dip were the coral and 2 small brittle stars that went in yesterday.
Goaway
10K Club member
Mag levels are poor as well.
I'd check the refractrometer and make the diy calibration fluid and check again.
Lps, will suck calcium and alk out if your system quickly. Sps, even quicker.
Water changes aren't really needed with lack of fish. But, dosing is a must.
apb03
Well-Known Member
The frag looks ok to me. As a new reefer, I find it hard to know what good and bad are. A lot of this is experiential and knowing your own tank and corals. That said, you should always know the answer to "What are your parameters?". Knowing that will allow you to approach these situations with more confidence.
Dburr1014
10K Club member
I didn't see anyone touch on the 0 po4 and high alk.
This is like speeding down a highway at 90 with only a gallon of gas. Your gunna run out of gas.
Coral is trying to build with no food.
Do you have reef roids? Coral food? Something with high po4 content or start dosing to get it up, minimum 0.05
This is like speeding down a highway at 90 with only a gallon of gas. Your gunna run out of gas.
Coral is trying to build with no food.
Do you have reef roids? Coral food? Something with high po4 content or start dosing to get it up, minimum 0.05
floridareeflabs
Community Member
This is exactly what we were commented on per typically params are out of whack when hammers are closing up and why always best to run a nutrient rich system rather than trying to manage 0's. If po4 is 0 then as @Dburr1014 called out, it will contribute as well to your issues.
TCseh
Active Member
I have concentrated po4 to dose in my tank. I have it up to .05 now
TCseh
Active Member
I will make sure to do that. I won't be worrying about any slightly elevated ph. Especially after hearing cherry corals keeps there's at .82
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