Hammer Coral

[2014FishKiller]

I have lost one of hammer coral and on the way to lose second one, most of Corals are doing okay or well
here are the test breakdown

CA = 460
KH or AK = 1120
MG = 1100

I may have two problem
1). Too much sun around 6 PM
2). Everytime I add Seachem plus into the tank, I lost one hammer coral, I think I should stop using this product.

All my fish are doing good, except the Saifin Tang is bullying the Blue Tang 24/7.

 

[pegasus]

Which Seachem product(s) are you adding to the tank? What test kit are you using for alkalinity? Most alkalinity tests measure in ppm, meq/L, or dKH... so I don't understand what 1120 means. Is it a branching hammer or a wall hammer coral? How are your other parameters, especially Nitrates? Too much sun in the evening shouldn't kill the hammer, as it can usually retract to avoid absorbing light. Not sure why it would be getting too much sun, as tanks shouldn't be exposed to direct sunlight. Adding chemicals to the tank without properly using a quality test kit can. Do you ever feed the hammer? They have a mouth, and can be fed small pieces of marine food. I occasionally feed mine frozen mysis shrimp... thawed of course.

 

[2014FishKiller]

I have been used Seachem Reef Trace and Reef plus, every time I add Reef plus to the tanks, two days later when I add Reef trace again, some of other corals get effecting, if I only use Reef Trace alone, everyone seems to happy,

Right now, I have a two heads Hammer coral, one of head is gone, another head is working fine, but it reminds me how I lost the last one.

My Alkalinity is used 7, it means 9.8, I am planning to increase the Alkalinity. today after the water change.

Test kit is Red Sea pro

 

[pegasus]

I would encourage you to immediately stop using these products.You are adding trace minerals that most likely do not need to be replaced. The only elements you should be concerned about are Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium... and only then if you have several "hard skeleton" corals. If you only have a few hard corals, water changes will usually provide everything they need. Dosing Reef Trace and Reef Plus without testing for all of those trace elements can do more harm than good. I have a lot of corals that use Calcium, Alkalinity, and to some degree, Magnesium. Those are the ONLY elements I add to my tank. Trace elements can normally be replenished with regular water changes. Adding stuff to your tank without knowing if it needs it is a recipe for disaster. I would always prefer that my trace elements be too low, rather than too high. I highly recommend you do a few large water changes, and then regular water changes of 20% each month. You can split this up and do 10% every two weeks, or 5% every week. If you do this, and your corals are still alive, I think you will see them start to improve. I have never dosed "trace elements", and only change 15% of my water every two months, and I have excellent coral growth. The only time I could even think about recommending adding trace elements would be if someone had a full-blown reef tank completely full of corals.

Alkalinty level of 7-9 dKH is plenty good for corals. Try to get your Magnesium up to 1250 - 1350 ppm, and you should be okay.

 

[2014FishKiller]

I would encourage you to immediately stop using these products.You are adding trace minerals that most likely do not need to be replaced. The only elements you should be concerned about are Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium... and only then if you have several "hard skeleton" corals. If you only have a few hard corals, water changes will usually provide everything they need. Dosing Reef Trace and Reef Plus without testing for all of those trace elements can do more harm than good. I have a lot of corals that use Calcium, Alkalinity, and to some degree, Magnesium. Those are the ONLY elements I add to my tank. Trace elements can normally be replenished with regular water changes. Adding stuff to your tank without knowing if it needs it is a recipe for disaster. I would always prefer that my trace elements be too low, rather than too high. I highly recommend you do a few large water changes, and then regular water changes of 20% each month. You can split this up and do 10% every two weeks, or 5% every week. If you do this, and your corals are still alive, I think you will see them start to improve. I have never dosed "trace elements", and only change 15% of my water every two months, and I have excellent coral growth. The only time I could even think about recommending adding trace elements would be if someone had a full-blown reef tank completely full of corals.

Alkalinty level of 7-9 dKH is plenty good for corals. Try to get your Magnesium up to 1250 - 1350 ppm, and you should be okay.

I do 7% water change in weekly base. The thing bother me is the bubble coral is doing very well, which similar than Hammer Coral. I have added Magneslum to my tank last night, so far this morning everyone doing okay. How often you add Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium? Do you know when will I need to add Strontium for the Hammer, Bubble and other Corals.

 

[flower]

I do 7% water change in weekly base. The thing bother me is the bubble coral is doing very well, which similar than Hammer Coral. I have added Magneslum to my tank last night, so far this morning everyone doing okay. How often you add Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium? Do you know when will I need to add Strontium for the Hammer, Bubble and other Corals.

Hello,

How often??? Right after you do the proper test, and find out if you need to dose anything. You don't just dump supplements into your tank.

 

[2014FishKiller]

Hello,

How often??? Right after you do the proper test, and find out if you need to dose anything. You don't just dump supplements into your tank.

Another word, I should just leave them alone if the tests were in the save range. When I look at the instruction, it said, every days, twice a week ..............

 

[flower]

Another word, I should just leave them alone if the tests were in the save range. When I look at the instruction, it said, every days, twice a week ..............

LOL...That's because they want you to use lots of their product, so you can buy more. If your water test says you are within range, you don't need to dose a supplement, if the test results show you are low, that's when, and the only time you dose. Never ever dose anything unless you test first.

 

[2014FishKiller]

Good, I will do another test tonight and Stop dose until need it.

Thanks flower and Pegasus.

 

[pegasus]

You're welcome. The danger of dosing trace elements is that you don't know how much Strontium, Iodine, Manganese, etc. you have in your tank. You will most likely end up having too much of (most of) these elements, which is very dangerous. Only expert hobbyists should attempt adding trace minerals, and they would never do it without testing for each element. You and I should only add what we need, nothing else... and only after we have tested for it. 7% water changes each week should give your corals all the trace minerals they need. If you need to add Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium, you should add what is needed every day. That way, you don't run low on one of them, and have to dose a large amount. Small doses daily will keep your system more stable, and your corals will be healthier. I dose Alkalinity and Calcium every day, and Magnesium only when needed, which is about once a month. As before, I always test before dosing... and always test the next day to see if I added enough, or too much. If it's too much, I skip a day. If it's not enough, I add a little more the next day. It takes a lot of practice to get it right, but if you are persistent, you will find the sweet spot where everything is perfect.

 

[lmforbis]

To add to Pegasus' comment. Like you, a do weekly water changes. I test the day after I do my water change to allow the water to equilibrate after the change. The water change replaces some of the deficiencies so I don't want to over dose.

 

[2014FishKiller]

I am confused, here is my plan for the next six weeks, I will do every other week test before and after water change to see do I need to add more dose & when?

 

[lmforbis]

Not sure you really need to test before water changes unless you are trying to see how a water change affects the levels. Otherwise it sounds like a good plan. You might consider dosing with something like BRS two part (calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity- yeah it is three parts but called two part) instead af premade additives. It is much easier to dose and much cheaper.

 

[2014FishKiller]

If I am planning not to add any dose, I need to find out what is the level before change of water and after change water, I need about three tests to confirm my plan.

Here what I confused, Flower said I don't need to add does unless I need it, but you and Pegasus said otherwise like I should add calcium alkalinity.

 

[2014FishKiller]

New test numbers: calcium = 470 magnesium=1300 and alkalinity= 10.2dkh, I added 1/4 gallon of RO water into the tank.

 

[lmforbis]

Only dose if you need it the tests will tell you if your levels are low. If they are you add enough to bring them back up. Always test then dose.

 

[pegasus]

New test number: calcium = 470 magnesium=1300 and alkalinity= 10.2dkh, I add 1/4 gallon of RO water into the tank.

Is this after you did a water change? Those numbers are really good!

 

[2014FishKiller]

Yes, plus I added dose for Alkalinity and magnesium (low on last test), but Calcuim also get increase, which this may have confirmed what you said I may not need add dose

 

[pegasus]

Yes, plus I added dose for Alkalinity and magnesium (low on last test), but Calcuim also get increase, which this may have confirmed what you said I may not need add dose

Nice! Magnesium takes longer to get used up,so you should only have to dose alkalinity and calcium for the time being. Calcium and Alkalinity are actually a little high, but not too high. Just test for alk and cal after a couple of days to see how much it drops. You don't have to dose again until your Alkalinity gets close to 7 dKH, and Calcium gets close to 410 ppm, which is what natural sea water is. As long as Magnesium stays above 1250 ppm, you are good. All of the other trace elements will be replaced by water changes. I think you and your corals will be okay now.

 

[MarkShimala]

Need to make sure your water temp is good along with SG/salinity. You have listed all of the other numbers, but SG is important too.

What brand of salt do you use? It could be that your salt mix brand has inconsistancies in it or it could have been a bad batch. Just another angle to look at.