First coral advice?

[Cole2h2]

Hey yall i got a hammer coral the other day from my lfs for ibly $25!!! I was wondering any tips? And idk if its doing good or bad

 

[Uzidaisies]

Looks ok, how long has it been in there, and at which point in your light schedule did you take the pictures?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Looks nice. I'd say if it stays happy, don't keep poking at it and moving it all around the tank every 3 days like some people are inclined to do-- like it's a living room lamp... 'Oh, let's see if it looks nicer over THERE!'

 

[Cole2h2]

Looks ok, how long has it been in there, and at which point in your light schedule did you take the pictures?

Here it is after a few hours with the lights on 3 days in

 

[Cole2h2]

Looks nice. I'd say if it stays happy, don't keep poking at it and moving it all around the tank every 3 days like some people are inclined to do-- like it's a living room lamp... 'Oh, let's see if it looks nicer over THERE!'

Only thing is its right in the center

 

[Uzidaisies]

That’s where mine is too, I reckon I will have to move him some day when I want to put some corals on the rocks. I have not moved him since the day he went in, been doing great. This is with just Uv and Violet.

 

[Cole2h2]

That’s where mine is too, I reckon I will have to move him some day when I want to put some corals on the rocks. I have not moved him since the day he went in, been doing great. This is with just Uv and Violet.

Any hammer advice? Should i put anything in the water, he seems to be doing good my tank is doing great

 

[Uzidaisies]

Any hammer advice? Should i put anything in the water, he seems to be doing good my tank is doing great

I’ve only been reefing for two months, so I don’t really have any tips to give. I don’t do a whole lot, mine sits on the bottom, center, so I’d say moderate light, I try to give it flow from different directions, enough that it sways a little but isn’t being pushed into its skeleton a lot from one direction. Yours looks like it’s doing good right now, so best tip is probably to leave it alone and see how it goes. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

 

[Cole2h2]

Any hammer advice? Should i put anything in the water, he seems to be doing good my tank is doing great

I’ve only been reefing for two months, so I don’t really have any tips to give. I don’t do a whole lot, mine sits on the bottom, center, so I’d say moderate light, I try to give it flow from different directions, enough that it sways a little but isn’t being pushed into its skeleton a lot from one direction. Yours looks like it’s doing good right now, so best tip is probably to leave it alone and see how it goes. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Okay true haha yeah it gets decent flow but not crazy amount hopefully it grows, how long does it take for yours to get some growth, and do you feed yours?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Ok. I’m issuing you a coupon for “One (1) Free Coral Move.” Ahahahahaha. Enjoy your tank!

 

[aggrofish]

I know everyone is inclined to put hammers in the sand, but they can acclimate to much higher light levels. I dont know how many hammers / frogspawn / octo and torches I have but it's quite a few. I would either put it on a frag rack and slowly move up to acclimate to the level you want it in the tank or mount it where you want and use acclimation mode on your lights.

 

[Uncle99]

Any hammer advice? Should i put anything in the water, he seems to be doing good my tank is doing great

You should keep Alk (especially) CA and MG (elevated 1400) stable and within the typical ranges.
Weekly water changes of 10% should keep you there.
DO NOT let your nitrate and/or phosphate bottom out (zero) or elevate beyond reasonable ranges such as 5-15ppm nitrate and 0.05-.1ppm (maybe .15ppm) or it will starve.
Once placed and happy, leave it.

 

[Uzidaisies]

Okay true haha yeah it gets decent flow but not crazy amount hopefully it grows, how long does it take for yours to get some growth, and do you feed yours?

I’ve only had it a month. I haven’t noticed any skeletal growth in that time. I’ve tried to target feed it some reef pulse. Just makes it mad and it slimes it all off. I’ve also tried to feed it some thawed mysid shrimp, and it grabbed it for a few minutes but then if got wafted out of its grasp. My torch does the same thing, grabs meaty goods but eventually drops them. So I don’t know if it eats or what. I’m not going to try to directly feed it very often anymore. Maybe once in a while I’ll try to get a piece of something to fall on it just to see if it will eat.

 

[Uzidaisies]

Yeah, I do a weekly water change of about 14-20%. 2 gallons clean in a 14 gallon cube tank. So probably closer to ten or eleven gallons of actual water volume.