Can't seem to keep Hammers alive

paul.o · 2026-09-14T12:57:48-0400

Since I started this tank I have had big problems keeping hammers, they start off fine then very gradually over several weeks just wither away. I lost two a few months ago so replaced them to try again and these two are just going the same way. It's got to be something out of whack but the other coral are doing great, the candy cane started off with one shoot and now is getting a bit big for the tank. I am dosing all4reef daily
Tank parameters are -
KH 7.3 & stable
Mag 1200, I know it's low but that can't be the cause can it?
calcium 460
Nitrate 5
phosphate 0.13

Any idea's??

Baldyreef · 2026-09-14T13:01:50-0400

I had the same luck with hammers for a while they would just recede and die while everything else thrived, eventually setup a 15g and decided to try some hammers in there because the attempts in the other tank did not go so well, I ended up keeping nitrates at 15 got a wall hammer and its absolutely thriving and fluffy

Saltyreef · 2026-09-14T13:02:52-0400

what par are you running for your lights vs tank they came from? Also do you know the water parameters of the system they are coming from?

Mr. Mojo Rising · 2026-09-14T13:04:25-0400

Nothing scientific but to me your hammer is in a weird spot, I don't see how it can grow on an angle like that. I would also say it likes more light and flow than candy cane. My hammer gets medium/high light and the polyps jiggle nonstop.

EnterName · 2026-09-14T13:26:32-0400

I tend to adjust light and flow according to how the coral looks but changing these parameters all the time can obviously also stress it so it requires some patience and fine-tuning. I trust Mr. Mojo's verdict regarding light and flow, so you might want to start with that.

Mr. Mojo Rising said:
Nothing scientific but to me your hammer is in a weird spot, I don't see how it can grow on an angle like that.

That's the only thing I'm not too sure about. Large hammer corals have to grow new heads at an angle:

(This coral is perfectly healthy, the polyps are only retracted because the lights were off before so I could check if one of the heads could be fragged without hurting any tissue)

It's still certainly easier for a frag to grow upright than at an angle, but if the spot is fine regarding flow and light it should not cause the coral to die.

kevgib67 · 2026-09-14T14:01:03-0400

I agree also with Mr. Mojo it needs medium par and flow. This is my experience and @kingranch2003 , my euphyllia thrive at mg at 1400 or higher, not saying that can’t do well at 1350 but I notice a big difference when it’s at the higher level. Here’s a video of flow, similar how Mr. Mojo described it.

paul.o · 2026-09-14T14:17:00-0400

Saltyreef said:
what par are you running for your lights vs tank they came from? Also do you know the water parameters of the system they are coming from?

par wise in that spot it's about 85, but I have done a rescape since I took readings but it won't be far off that. No idea what the parameters of the tank it came from was.

SlothMartin · 2026-09-14T14:18:37-0400

I am new so i wont try to give advice, but ill post my parameters for a data point. Hammers doing great and much larger than when purchased, and some splitting
flow - medium (movement but not whipping. i also noticed that more light and more flow helped at the beginning)
ph - 8.1
alk - 8.8dkh
mag 1320
calc 450
nitrate 3.4
phose 0.3 (yes this is high, i am working on it)
Par - my notes indicate par at my hammers are between 140 and 170 (reefi uno on LPS preset setting. Hammers are mid to mi-high in tank)

I am not doing any dosing as im not consuming much alk so far

paul.o · 2026-09-14T14:28:30-0400

I think I'll move it higher on the rock work and see how it goes, It's in a similar position to the previous one that I lost so the position of the coral could possibly be the problem hopefully.

Mr. Mojo Rising · 2026-09-14T14:28:55-0400

paul.o said:
par wise in that spot it's about 85, but I have done a rescape since I took readings but it won't be far off that. No idea what the parameters of the tank it came from was.

IMO its too low for this coral