Hammerhead’s not doing so well after years of being fine…

[mmbaba]

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a handful of Hammers that have been in my tank for 3+ years and have always done pretty well. Over the past 3 weeks or so, they’ve all closed up (photos 1-3).
About 5 weeks ago I added a new coral, I think it’s a Monti(?) - photo 4.

I have not changed anything else with the system, including lighting.
I started feeding ReefRoids a week ago to see if that helped but no change.

My params are;
Temp = 78.8 (F)
Salinity = 1.025
PH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 1 ppm
Phosphate = 0
Calcium = 340 ppm (this might seem low but my tank’s been running like this for years)
Alkalinity = 7 dKH

Does anyone have any thoughts?
I’m worried that if I can’t bring them back soon, I might lose them.

Thanks!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Don't know about your Fimbriaphyllia, but that's a leptoseris not a monti

 

[CoralB]

Get your phosphate above zero or you’ll end up with problems . Try to keep them above .05 . Your nitrates should be at least 10ppm or above . Preferably between 10- 20 is fine . More than likely it’s the zero phosphates that is the issue .

 

[Reefing Qs]

I would say that Alk, Nitrate, and Phosphate are all very low, which could definitely cause euphyllia to close up. I'd try to keep at minimum 8dkh alk, 5ppm nitrate, and .05ppm phosphate and see how they adjust.

 

[UMALUM]

Agree with above also adding that calcium at 340 is unacceptable for long term health and growth.

 

[mmbaba]

Don't know about your Fimbriaphyllia, but that's a leptoseris not a monti

Thanks for setting me straight

@CoralB and @ReefingQs - this is going to sound like a dumb question but I’ve never had to supplement my tank with anything else, so is this where the world of ‘dosing’ comes in? I don’t know if I’m ready for that…

What’s the easiest way to get those parameters up to where you recommend?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Thanks for setting me straight

@CoralB and @ReefingQs - this is going to sound like a dumb question but I’ve never had to supplement my tank with anything else, so is this where the world of ‘dosing’ comes in? I don’t know if I’m ready for that…

What’s the easiest way to get those parameters up to where you recommend?

Do you ever add alkalinity/calcium? How frequent are your water changes?


Anyway if you haven't added alk/Ca than I'd recommend seachem fusion 1 and 2. Get a red sea foundation pro test kit too if you don't already have one (while alot of people disagree, I prefer red sea test kits over hanna) anyway I test alk and calcium every other day and dose manually every other day, though you can get away with testing less once you understand how much your tank is using. It's 10 ml (1 capfull) for 65 gallons, I dose 2-3 capfulls for my 120 gallon setup, which is LPS dominant. Usually brings my calcium up by ~70 ppm and alk up by .7-.9 ish DKH, which is back down after 1-2 days. Make sure to raise it gradually, at first add a little more than necessary to actually raise the levels, than once it's where you want it to be keep dosing consistent and parameters stable. You want to aim for around 425 ppm calcium (though I aim for 500 ppm) and anywhere from 7.8-13.5 DKH. Also if you are using a hanna Low range for po4 than I'd (again) use a red sea to double check your results, as mine was reading zero when my po4 was actually around .04-.06. Good luck!


(Also recommend trace elements, red sea has a 4 part solution that you can figure out yourself)

 

[mmbaba]

No, I've never added anything to the tank, which is why I have such a noob question for you all on this topic. I do about 20 - 25% water change every week. I'm using Nyos test kits for ALK, CAL, NITRATE and PHOS.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

No, I've never added anything to the tank, which is why I have such a noob question for you all on this topic. I do about 20 - 25% water change every week. I'm using Nyos test kits for ALK, CAL, NITRATE and PHOS.

Hmm, not familliar with nyos test kits. Maybe @Randy Holmes-Farley can help

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a handful of Hammers that have been in my tank for 3+ years and have always done pretty well. Over the past 3 weeks or so, they’ve all closed up (photos 1-3).
About 5 weeks ago I added a new coral, I think it’s a Monti(?) - photo 4.

I have not changed anything else with the system, including lighting.
I started feeding ReefRoids a week ago to see if that helped but no change.

My params are;
Temp = 78.8 (F)
Salinity = 1.025
PH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 1 ppm
Phosphate = 0
Calcium = 340 ppm (this might seem low but my tank’s been running like this for years)
Alkalinity = 7 dKH

Does anyone have any thoughts?
I’m worried that if I can’t bring them back soon, I might lose them.

Thanks!

What is your mag? I would look at All for reef powder. One item to dose will cover cal mag alk and trace elements.

 

[mmbaba]

What is your mag?

I don’t have a Mag test kit…

I’m going to start with the Fusion 1 & 2 tomorrow and see how it goes.

Thanks for all of your help so far!

 

[CoralB]

To get your phosphates up you can over feed with pellet and reef roids . If that isn’t enough Neophos works well . The over feeding should also bring up your nitrates as well . Might consider more fish . As far as your main parameters of cal, mag , and alk you should always be adjusting and or adding if the salt your using isn’t sufficient. Name of the game is to keep good parameters and keep them steady . No big fluctuations.

 

[Reefing Qs]

Nyos test kits are fine to use from my experience (I've only used the PO4 kit, but it lined up with my Hanna) and from what I've seen online.

Fusion 1 & 2 will work for alk/calcium - I don't think it has any other major or trace elements though. I agree with the other poster who mentioned All For Reef. It's a really basic/entry level way in to dosing and as far as what elements it covers, as the name suggest, it will do nearly all of the major and trace elements that you'd be looking to maintain.

I would consider All For Reef mainly because it seems a lot of your parameters are hovering on the low end, not just one or two. Seeing as you do weekly 20%+ water changes, I would say the main cause of them being low is consumption, which is a good thing, you'll just need to keep up with the rate.

 

[TCseh]

With the hammers being in there for over 3+years they should be alot bigger unless fragged. 20-25% water changes each week is actually tough on the tank. That's why people who water change recommend 10% a week. People say check parameters, but you could be missing some trace element that isn't in your salt much, so your coral is eating up to quickly. The only way to find that out is to take an icp-ms test. Or icp-oes for a cheaper price, but it dosnt show as much.

What salt are you using? I would also recommend to raise po4 and no3.

 

[Seansea]

Not testing for mag is a big no no with euphelia. They need some elevated mag levels. I lose about 20 ppm mag every few days. Once it gets low they will suffer. Keep it above 1350. As others have said all your numbers are pretty low. Bring them up and start dosing. You can hand add all for reef until you buy a dosing pump. Good luck

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Interesting that a 3 year old tank has little to no coralline algae. Definitely low calcium. I'm curious if you get that up and check you magnesium if it would start growing.

If coralline is growing coral can grow too.

 

[TCseh]

Interesting that a 3 year old tank has little to no coralline algae. Definitely low calcium. I'm curious if you get that up and check you magnesium if it would start growing.

If coralline is growing coral can grow too.

I had no coraline in my tank for about a year. I found out it wasn't enough light.

What lights are you using and what percentage are you running them at?