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03/30/2013, 02:34 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 90
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Hammer coral not looking good...
My hammer coral was doing awesome for the past 3 weeks, growing and really coming out of the base. Lately it has not come out hardly at all so i looked closer and it looks like the coral is breaking down...
My tests from today are slightly low but not critically low... Alk - 8.4 Mg - 1200 Ca - 365 What do you guys think the problem is? Thanks in advance!  Also my sandbed keeps getting these bubbles in it. I am assuming its algae, but should i worry about stirring it up weekly to keep it clean? 
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03/30/2013, 03:05 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Wesley Chapel FL.
Posts: 933
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how old is the tank?
Looks like you have some diatom bloom. When I did my upgrade I had a diatom bloom and my Hammer stayed sucked in for almost a week . Have you tried a decent size water change? |
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03/31/2013, 12:09 PM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 90
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About 8 months old. Now that the sun is up more, my tank is getting more light and thus more algae. I am going to get a piece of black vinyl and cover the side of the tank so it blocks the sun.
As for the hammer head coral, anyone know if the breaking down of the base is due to lower calcium, magnesium? I'm going to start adding some with my top up water. My water changes are always 10%. The water params are good so I don't get the point of dumping a bunch and replacing it with basically the same quality water. |
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03/31/2013, 01:05 PM
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#4 |
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Moved On
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Posts: 2,924
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All SPS & LPS require at least a minimumally acceptable level of calcium & magnesium to thrive, that being said, your levels were not awful, is there a possibility the coral was too close to another specimen & was stung?
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03/31/2013, 01:24 PM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 90
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No chance they were stung. I don't have enough coral yet to worry about them being too close together. Ill bump up my levels and hope that rebounds the coral bases.
Does it matter how fast i increase the ca/mg levels? |
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03/31/2013, 01:31 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 60
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Definitely dinoflagellates
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03/31/2013, 01:55 PM
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#7 |
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Moved On
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Posts: 2,924
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You always need to raise levels slowly & measurably, in your case a bump to 400-450 ca & 1300-1350 mg can be done in a day or two, there's a reef calculator on this forum posted by Randy Holmes-Farley, do a search, it will help you calculate how much to add to increase your levels per ppm.
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03/31/2013, 02:08 PM
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#8 |
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RC Mod
 
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You're low in all 3 numbers. Immediate 30% water change with REEF salt, not regular, then dosing to make up deficit, and once at params in my sig line, put kalk powder in your ato reservoir at the rate of 2 tsp per gallon. As long as your mg doesn't fall from 1300, the other two readings will stay locked as long as the kalk holds out. Don't throw out the dead bits. There may be live tissue inside which will regrow.
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Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%. |
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04/01/2013, 10:17 AM
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#9 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 90
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Thanks guys going to try and fix this today!
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