Purple and green hammer not fully inflated

[reefstarterpack]

My green and purple hammer is slightly deflated. Not sure what is going on the 24k hammer right next to it is doing perfectly. It’s not fully deflated just not as inflated as when I bought it. I’ve heard a dip can help, I have dipX but it’s attached to the live rock on the same piece as the 24k hammer and they aren’t small hammer both have 3-4 heads on them. My parameters have been good and stable. I’m not sure of my PAR readings but the 24k hammer is doing just fine and they are right next to each other so I don’t think it’s a lighting issue. Been this way for a few weeks now

 

[Dburr1014]

Looks okay from the pics.
What do you have for livestock? Any nippers?

 

[Lavey29]

Nitrates slightly low alk on the high side. Hammers can get bacteria infections. I also believe they may fight for space with other hammers occasionally. I had a larger hammer that seemed to bully the smaller one next to it.

Are they on the top rocks in your tank? What lights are you using? Receding could be over par issue too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

May still be acclimating to tank. Often in AIO tanks, there is a lack of flow. Not worried about niitrates but keep eye on phodsphates which is elevating. Euphyllia requires Stable tank conditions, and is intolerant to major swings in water quality, and is sensitive to almost any level of copper in the water. 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.

 

[reefstarterpack]

Nitrates slightly low alk on the high side. Hammers can get bacteria infections. I also believe they may fight for space with other hammers occasionally. I had a larger hammer that seemed to bully the smaller one next to it.

Are they on the top rocks in your tank? What lights are you using? Receding could be over par issue too.

Flow shouldn’t be a issue. I have two Nero 3s and they have some movement but not too much. A gentle swaying back and forth. AI Prime 16HD using Karen Vasquez schedule

 

[reefstarterpack]

Looks okay from the pics.
What do you have for livestock? Any nippers?

Royal Gramma, two frostbite clowns, yellow watchman goby and skunk cleaner shrimp

 

[reefstarterpack]

I adjusted the whites from 30% down to 10% so maybe this will help. Calcium is 445

 

[vetteguy53081]

Flow shouldn’t be a issue. I have two Nero 3s and they have some movement but not too much. A gentle swaying back and forth. AI Prime 16HD using Karen Vasquez schedule

Lights are a bit low intensity . Someones' schedule may not always be fitting for another's tank. When I ran euphyllia under primes, I had them at:
Blue 80
white 14
violet 30
UV 35
red 7
Green 4

To compare, see my light intensity and hammer colonies:

 

[reefstarterpack]

Lights are a bit low intensity . Someones' schedule may not always be fitting for another's tank. When I ran euphyllia under primes, I had them at:
Blue 80
white 14
violet 30
UV 35
red 7
Green 4

To compare, see my light intensity and hammer colonies:

At the peak of my lighting schedule my numbers are a bit higher than what you posted. Should I reduce it down?

 

[vetteguy53081]

At the peak of my lighting schedule my numbers are a bit higher than what you posted. Should I reduce it down?

You can, just do so gradually until you find their happy zone- the response from hammer heads will be an indicator.

 

[reefstarterpack]

You can, just do so gradually until you find their happy zone- the response from hammer heads will be an indicator.

Thanks! I’ve reduced the white some and I’ll give it a week to see what that impact does before playing with it any more.

 

[Tcook]

Lights are a bit low intensity . Someones' schedule may not always be fitting for another's tank. When I ran euphyllia under primes, I had them at:
Blue 80
white 14
violet 30
UV 35
red 7
Green 4

To compare, see my light intensity and hammer colonies:

Nice tank! My hammers seem to do better under the blue spectrum around 90-100 par. Your tank shots look closer to 10k. We're you using orange filters?

 

[reefstarterpack]

Nice tank! My hammers seem to do better under the blue spectrum around 90-100 par. Your tank shots look closer to 10k. We're you using orange filters?

I had my whites up too high in the first few pics and reduced cool white from 30% down to 10%. It’s much more bluer now. Thanks! I really love this hobby

 

[reefstarterpack]

I think I’m just going to break down and buy a PAR meter from Amazon. I see the same ones BRS sells for $500 also on Amazon.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Nice tank! My hammers seem to do better under the blue spectrum around 90-100 par. Your tank shots look closer to 10k. We're you using orange filters?

No
Orphek lighting

 

[Tcook]

No
Orphek lighting

So these lights have enough power, I would guess, so that a mostly blue spectrum doesn't look windex? I like the look.