Hammer coral not doing too good

[nikosbk11]

Hello everyone, My hammer coral has been one of my favorite corals to watch. I have had it for 6 months and it has been perfectly healthy the whole time that I have had it. It is placed in the bottom third of my tank with medium flow. My parameters are Alk 14.1, MG 1350, Ph 8.0, and Nitrates 1. The only thing that I think it can be is my nitrates. What do you guys think it could be? I'll attach pictures below.

 

[Lavey29]

Well alk is to high and nitrates yo low. What is calcium and phosphate? What lighting and flow? Hammers are prone to bacteria infections also but low nitrates means the coral is starving.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Well alk is to high and nitrates yo low. What is calcium and phosphate? What lighting and flow? Hammers are prone to bacteria infections also but low nitrates means the coral is starving.

Your Alk is very high for such low nutrients.

I'd drop the Alk, or increase Nitrate slowly to 10-15ppm.

The Hammer may have been unhappy for a while - they react slowly if unhappy with conditions.

 

[nikosbk11]

Your Alk is very high for such low nutrients.

I'd drop the Alk, or increase Nitrate slowly to 10-15ppm.

The Hammer may have been unhappy for a while - they react slowly if unhappy with conditions.

I have been feeding twice a day to raise Nitrates. I just did a water change which is why the alk is so high. Is there a better way to lower the Alk and raise the Nitrates?

 

[Jedi1199]

I agree that Nirates are low and Alk is a bit high...

My own tank is the opposite. Nitrates at around 25-35 and Alk is low at about 6.3. All of my Euphillia (hammers, torches, frogspawn ect) seem to thrive in my tank. similar to yours, placed near the bottom with lower light and flow.

I have not tried to increase the Alk yet, but I may if I continue to see the trend of it dropping.

 

[Lavey29]

I have been feeding twice a day to raise Nitrates. I just did a water change which is why the alk is so high. Is there a better way to lower the Alk and raise the Nitrates?

Water changes raise alk slightly and lower nitrates which is the opposite of what you need now.

What salt do you use?

What is your calcium and phosphate?

You can dose neonitro to raise nitrates or just feed your fish more.

 

[gbroadbridge]

It's worth mentioning that all Hammers are not the same.

Quite often they are all lumped together in one basket with similar needs, but I have seen some Hammers thrive when being whipped around with flow, while others need almost no flow to be happy.

The're all individuals with their own personalities and you have to find what makes that particular hammer happy. It probably depends on the conditions thay've grown up with.

Change things slowly, because I haven't met a coral yet that likes wild parameter swings.

 

[Lavey29]

It's worth mentioning that all Hammers are not the same.

Quite often they are all lumped together in one basket with similar needs, but I have seen some Hammers thrive when being whipped around with flow, while others need almost no flow to be happy.

The're all individuals with their own personalities and you have to find what makes that particular hammer happy. It probably depends on the conditions thay've grown up with.

Change things slowly, because I haven't met a coral yet that likes wild parameter swings.

This is true maybe depends on ausi, indo. Malaysia, etc... I have 5 good size hammers in my tank and they all have subtle differences. Some have longer tentacles, different hammer ends, some stay compact more of a ball shape. Etc...

 

[gbroadbridge]

I have been feeding twice a day to raise Nitrates. I just did a water change which is why the alk is so high. Is there a better way to lower the Alk and raise the Nitrates?

Just noticed the above comment.

If changing water is resulting in big Alk changes, this probably also means other significant changes at the same time.

I'd suggest that you either need to change water more frequently, or do some type of dosing in order to minimize the fluctuations. Unstable water parameters are evil :)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Alk is extremely high and likely affecting tanks' calcium and Ph. Assure salinity and phosphate also not elevated.
Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Hammer corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.

 

[Jedi1199]

Alk is extremely high and likely affecting tanks' calcium and Ph. Assure salinity and phosphate also not elevated.
Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Hammer corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.

Interesting.. ALL of my hammers are directly on the sand. I've never observed any issues with that?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Interesting.. ALL of my hammers are directly on the sand. I've never observed any issues with that?

Keep in mind . . . This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank

 

[Jedi1199]

Keep in mind . . . This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank

I agree... I keep mine low in the tank as it gives me a lower light level and less direct flow. You can see in my video here:

Apologies for the audio of the French Open tennis match in the background.. lol

 

[Lavey29]

Interesting.. ALL of my hammers are directly on the sand. I've never observed any issues with that?

I have some on the sand and some on low rocks.