Hammer coral help!

[reyse53]

All my other coral and fish are doing fine but my hammer coral just slowly started Shrinking for some reason. All my params have been the exact same and he’s been in the same spot for about a month. It was plump and growing quickly and now this..

 

[T-J]

Tank looks pretty new and it's going through the "uglies". That's my first suspect.
Most corals take time (weeks) to show that they are stressed. So, the fact that it's been a month and now it's showing stress would be about right.
What exactly are your parameters? How old is the tank? Lighting and flow?

 

[ccole]

What are your water parameters? Nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium.

How much flow is hitting the hammer coral?

 

[reyse53]

Tank looks pretty new and it's going through the "uglies". That's my first suspect.
Most corals take time (weeks) to show that they are stressed. So, the fact that it's been a month and now it's showing stress would be about right.
What exactly are your parameters? How old is the tank? Lighting and flow?

It’s been up and running since Jan 17 of this year and running stock lighting on evo 13.5. At that height it’s sitting at about 200 or so par. Between low and medium flow and my params.

Ph 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Calcium 380
Kh 11
Phosphate 0
Mag 1400

 

[ccole]

It’s been up and running since Jan 17 of this year and running stock lighting on evo 13.5. At that height it’s sitting at about 200 or so par. Between low and medium flow and my params.

Ph 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Calcium 380
Kh 11
Phosphate 0
Mag 1400

What test kit are you using for the phosphate? If that's a true zero reading, you are going to want to bump that up. Your hammer may be starving. In my experience, LPS coral prefer phosphates between .05-.18. I try and keep mine above .08 and below .18.

 

[reyse53]

What test kit are you using for the phosphate? If that's a true zero reading, you are going to want to bump that up. Your hammer may be starving. In my experience, LPS coral prefer phosphates between .05-.18. I try and keep mine above .08 and below .18.

API master kit.. if thats the case what test should I use to measure phosphate? And what should I use to raise it?

 

[T-J]

API master kit.. if thats the case what test should I use to measure phosphate? And what should I use to raise it?

Hannah checker.
Feeding frozen food or pellets will help raise N and P.

 

[ccole]

API master kit.. if thats the case what test should I use to measure phosphate? And what should I use to raise it?

The biggest issue with the API that it changes at .25 increments, I believe? Most reefs are kept between .03-.2.

Salifert is a good option because it measures at lower ranges. Hana is probably the easiest to use because it gives you a digital reading.

In the meantime, I would maybe see if your local fish store can confirm your zero reading.

You could try to raise phosphates by increasing feeding first. Feeding Nori, for example, adds quite a bit of phosphate to my tank.