Neptune Aquatics

Is my hammer ok?

I don't think my hammer is at full polyp extension?

I did just move it and glued it down to a new spot...not sure if it's happy there though...the flow seems pretty low at this spot
 

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Euphyllia’s like to sway gently in the breeze. They are especially happy if you can manage a periodic or oscillating flow.


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Hammers are hardy but highly unpredictable. Bought a splattered hammer from Bruce last year. It was pretty in his tank, put it in mine and it turned all green. For the first couple months in my tank it had its sweeper tentacles out all day. I thought it wasn’t going to last. But it kept getting bigger, although it still didn’t show its original splatter. Moved it to a different spot and it shrunk. When I upgraded my tank my hammer looked super unhappy and wouldn’t open up for a couple days. Now it’s wide open and finally has its splatter back.. one year later. I’m not moving it from its spot ever again.


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Hey all, any idea what might be going on?

Looks like it might be stressed and I can see the skeleton on one side..is the flow too strong maybe?
 

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Takes a while to open after moving.

I have yet to really figure out hammers though .....

They don't like direct flow down into the head, but do seem to like strong flow if it is from the side.

I have not noticed much of a lighting preference. They grew top to bottom.

They do need space from other corals, or will put out sweeper tentacles.

They do not like ultra low nutrients.

Mine seem to like to be in a group.
With just 1-2 heads, they always seem unhappy.
When football sized, they can handle anything.

... except when they all suddenly died. Entire DT turned to mush over a couple of weeks. Probably 50 heads.
I managed to save a few in QT, reintroduced them, and they were fine.
 
Yup my alk has been at 11 dkh

I have a Duncan that seems to be doing pretty well, and I'm running purigen, carbon and GFO to handle the leathers...been thinking about moving it but not sure where
 
What was the alk of the water you got the hammer in? Assuming there arent any pests agitating it, maybe the big change in the water params made it stressed? I have a whole bunch of hammers and torches in my tank growing 1-2 heads a month and my alk is only 7.

Im wondering if I gave you a hammer from my tank thats fully open and at 7alk, would it shrivel in yours? Im interested in experimenting if you wanna trade.


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What are you doing to maintain it at 11 (and why? Not that it's wrong, just asking), and how often do you check it (and how)?
11 is a bit high compared to where I usually keep tanks. Not sure if that's a problem or not here. Usually stability is the most important thing imo.
 
I use red Sea Coral pro Salt And I use the API test kit and just checked my alkinity a day or two ago...I think it's on the higher side, but it's consistently been that high

Looking at my pics from when I first got it, I think the hammer has definitely shrank some. I'll be doing a 20% water change today to see if that helps.

@NelsonCh I picked up the hammer from Infinite aquairum about 2 weeks ago, not sure what they keep their alk at, but know they sell premixed salt water with red Sea pro as well...def open to testing if you're open to it if things don't improve in a week
 
First off, API test kits kinda suck. Secondly, how often do you check alk?
Thirdly, why do you keep it so high?
Do you do anything to maintain alk like dosing? Or is it just water changes?
Is the The Duncan your only other stony coral?
 
I check alk once a week...The tank is only 3 weeks old at this point and I haven't seen my Alk shift based off of my API test kit.

I don't intentionally keep it high, I think it's just a by product of mixing Red Sea Coral Pro salt? Is there a way I can lower it / should I lower it?

I don't maintain alk, just do a 5 gal water change weekly.

The duncan is my only other stony coral and it seems to be doing fine...I see it fully extended sometimes and then once in awhile towards the end of the day it shrinks back. There should be enough spacing between the 2
 
First off, API test kits kinda suck. Secondly, how often do you check alk?
Thirdly, why do you keep it so high?
Do you do anything to maintain alk like dosing? Or is it just water changes?
Is the The Duncan your only other stony coral?

I can see it being at 11 dKH if Red Sea Coral Pro salt is used. Mixes at around 12. If there's not a huge load of calcifying coral, probably just stays that high from water changes.

I check alk once a week...The tank is only 3 weeks old at this point and I haven't seen my Alk shift based off of my API test kit.

I don't intentionally keep it high, I think it's just a by product of mixing Red Sea Coral Pro salt? Is there a way I can lower it / should I lower it?

I don't maintain alk, just do a 5 gal water change weekly.

The duncan is my only other stony coral and it seems to be doing fine...I see it fully extended sometimes and then once in awhile towards the end of the day it shrinks back. There should be enough spacing between the 2

The principle of keeping high alk (above natural seawater) is that coral growth is supposed to be increased. However, it's theorized that it does so though, at the cost of a little bit of color. There are a number of people that run high and have successful tanks. However, I've personally seen more problems than it's worth, especially in ultra low nutrient environments, having a high alk (9+) can cause significant problems with corals, especially acros. I've personally stopped running systems with high alk and usually target somewhere between 7.5 and 8 dKH.
 
I can see it being at 11 dKH if Red Sea Coral Pro salt is used. Mixes at around 12. If there's not a huge load of calcifying coral, probably just stays that high from water changes.
I know this and agree with you, just trying to get him to ask/answer the right questions for himself and be able to come to the right solution for himself. Teaching him how to fish, not slapping one on his plate so To speak.
 
I don't think my nutrients are low, my nitrates are definitely between 20-40ppm. Think I might take my water to get tested at a LFS

Is there a way to decrease alk if i'm using coral pro?
 
I check alk once a week...The tank is only 3 weeks old at this point and I haven't seen my Alk shift based off of my API test kit.

I don't intentionally keep it high, I think it's just a by product of mixing Red Sea Coral Pro salt? Is there a way I can lower it / should I lower it?

I don't maintain alk, just do a 5 gal water change weekly.

The duncan is my only other stony coral and it seems to be doing fine...I see it fully extended sometimes and then once in awhile towards the end of the day it shrinks back. There should be enough spacing between the 2
By using that salt you are intentionally keeping it high, that's kinda my point. Is there a reason you chose that salt? Many other brands mix up much lower. I would seriously consider using a different mix. If you don't want to dose any kind of alk supplement, then maybe a salt mix with high alk would Be good to raise it back up through partial water changes, but that's kinda iffy to me, especially in the beginning when it isn't getting used up very fast.
I would use a salt mix that has an alk very close to where you like To keep your tank. And I would suggest that to be around 8ish personally.
 
I initially used red sea coral pro for my first mix but realized its nutrients were too high for my new tank from people commenting, observation, and hours of research what parameters really mean for a tank. I waited till my corals absorbed the alk, calcium and mag to a relative similar level to Instant Ocean and started using that salt mix instead. Its also a lot cheaper on the wallet. If my coral ever turn into colonies where their intake is substantially higher, I will probably go back to red sea coral pro.

One thing I initially did when I started my tank 4 months ago was to give plenty of nutrients to speed up the new tank syndrome. So feeding extra pellets, dropping 5-10drops of marine phytoplankton a week because of filter feeders and introducing 10-20k copepods every 2-3 weeks. It was aesthetically unpleasing but knowing how fast I wanted to add coral, I figured it was worth the short term eye sore. But keep in mind my tank is a 200G so it was a lot more forgiving of my overfeeding, and essentially, nutrient dumping. After I stopped adding coral and fish, I slowly stopped overfeeding and it has probably matured my tank incredibly quick. I had cyano for a month and half and in the last 2 weeks of changing nothing but what I fed, my cyano completely disappeared. My tank glass needs a cleaning maybe 1-2 times a week, and never had a coral die, yet. Even my gold tipped elegance thats deemed extremely hard to keep has survived which Im pretty surprised. I was sure it was dying at one point.

One thing I 100% would monitor everyday was ammonia. Making absolute sure it was 0 or untraceable at all times. Whenever I recorded .01 or anything, I would not feed that day/do a water change. When it was back 0, I continued my routine. Alk, mag, and calcium every 2 days for first 2 months and now once a month. Nitrates remained at 5-10 and I eventually stopped testing it 2months in because to me, if nitrates are under 15, it really doesnt matter. With all this being said, Im curious to why you run gfo/carbon and all those other things that take out nutrients and particles that can help your new tank establish and mature.


I am definitely down to experiment. That is my favorite part about science. Ill take your shriveled hammer and give you a bicolor hammer? Purple tip and green tentacle. Not sure what color your hammer is from your picture. I can also give you zoas or mushrooms if you want some tougher corals.


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