amanda_marie
Aquarium Advice Freak
Please help!
There is definitely something going on with my hammer. At first it just closed up after a 15 gallon water change early Thursday morning. My mushrooms/ricordia closed as well, along with my zoas and leathers, and although they haven't really opened up they are not showing the signs my hammer is. The two brain corals in the tank at the time; a lobo and trachy, seemed happy that morning following the water change. Both inflated and were showing their feeding tentacles for the first time. The trachy was the biggest I have seen it since I've got that coral, they both also ate. Thursday I was expecting a couple more corals and I was picking up my puffer fish so I wanted to do the water change ahead of time hoping to avoid further stress to the new additions to my tank. I had also been doing more frequent water changes to bring my nitrates down. After that particular water change my parameters were as follows:
Ammonia- 0 (API)
Nitrite- 0 (API
Nitrate- 25 (Salifert)
Salinity- 1.026
Temp - 80F
The temperature and salinity remained the same during, through, and after the water change. I had racked my brain trying to determine if I did anything differently during that change but came up with nothing that should have had any affect. I did take off my skimmer, clean it throughly, and remove the remaining sponges that came with the skimmer, hoping to help with my nitrates even further. I also cleaned off my light fixture. The new corals I added that day were some zoas, mushrooms, wellso brain, platygyra, and sun coral. My fish, including the puffer I added that day (Thursday) are acting as normal. The zoas and mushroom from the new addition have not opened but the brains (feeder tentacles have been extended and both have ate) and sun coral don't appear to be affected that I can tell. The sun hasn't opened fully to feed but is trying to and looks much better than my first sun (long story-explained in another thread).
Anyway, now the zoas I have had in the tank have opened back up and look as they always have, the leather appears to be shedding (waxy, shrunken down), the mushrooms/ricordia have still not opened to their fullest since that particular day and look basically the same as they did after that water change. The brian corals and sun coral appear to look the same, with no noticeable issues as of yet.
The hammer was added to my tank on February 7th along with one of the tracys, some zoas, and the lobo. This was the first time I had added any LPS to my tank. Until that water change the hammer appeared to be doing well, certainly better than now. There was no skeleton showing (that I noticed). It opened up fully the next day and had been doing so while the lights were on daily until this past Thursday after the water change. These are photos from the first day and day after I added the coral to my tank.
The coral looked like this until that water change on Thursday, even then all it did was close up. On Saturday I first noticed skeleton showing and Sunday I saw that the one head is basically gone. I have no idea what is causing it. I have not seen any fish or inverts picking at the coral.
I performed another water change yesterday of about 15 gallons. My parameters afterwards were as follows:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 10-25 (salifert)
Salinity- 1.026
Temp- 80F
These are photos I just took of the hammer a few minutes ago. The heads have not opened up anymore than this photo shows in the last few days.
I have carbon in a media bag running in a small HOB filter that I placed on the tank Friday sometime just in case and to see if it would help.
Here are my tank specs
60 gallon
85lbs rock
Fish:
Starry Blenny
Ocellaris Clown Pair
Melanarus Wrasse
Solandri Puffer
CUC:
Various Snails
Hermits
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Corals:
Ricordias
Rhodactis Mushrooms
Zoa Colonies
Snowflake Polyp Colony
Sinularia Leather
Blue Actinodiscus Mushroom
Branching Hammer
Lobophyllia
Platygyra
Trachyphyllia geoffroyi
Trachyphyllia radiata
Sun Coral
Equipment:
Reef Octopus BH-2000
Maxi-Jet 900
Maxi-Jet 1200
Lighting:
4 bulb T5HO fixture
2x54watt 10k daylight
2x54watt actinic
moonlight LEDs
I've been using Instant Ocean salt since the start up of my tank. My water mixes for at least 24hrs with a powerhead and heater before I perform a water change. I'm using RO/DI water I produce at home.
My test kits for alk, cal, and mag are supposed to be arriving on the 19th according to the tracking information. My new LED lights just arrived the other day but I haven't had a chance to hang them yet.
My tank has been running and cycled since the beginning of November, with the first fish (Starry Blenny) added on November 4th.
I really hope I covered everything. I tried to mentioned any and everything I could think of, maybe even too much. I'm just not sure whats going on.
Really appreciate help on this.
There is definitely something going on with my hammer. At first it just closed up after a 15 gallon water change early Thursday morning. My mushrooms/ricordia closed as well, along with my zoas and leathers, and although they haven't really opened up they are not showing the signs my hammer is. The two brain corals in the tank at the time; a lobo and trachy, seemed happy that morning following the water change. Both inflated and were showing their feeding tentacles for the first time. The trachy was the biggest I have seen it since I've got that coral, they both also ate. Thursday I was expecting a couple more corals and I was picking up my puffer fish so I wanted to do the water change ahead of time hoping to avoid further stress to the new additions to my tank. I had also been doing more frequent water changes to bring my nitrates down. After that particular water change my parameters were as follows:
Ammonia- 0 (API)
Nitrite- 0 (API
Nitrate- 25 (Salifert)
Salinity- 1.026
Temp - 80F
The temperature and salinity remained the same during, through, and after the water change. I had racked my brain trying to determine if I did anything differently during that change but came up with nothing that should have had any affect. I did take off my skimmer, clean it throughly, and remove the remaining sponges that came with the skimmer, hoping to help with my nitrates even further. I also cleaned off my light fixture. The new corals I added that day were some zoas, mushrooms, wellso brain, platygyra, and sun coral. My fish, including the puffer I added that day (Thursday) are acting as normal. The zoas and mushroom from the new addition have not opened but the brains (feeder tentacles have been extended and both have ate) and sun coral don't appear to be affected that I can tell. The sun hasn't opened fully to feed but is trying to and looks much better than my first sun (long story-explained in another thread).
Anyway, now the zoas I have had in the tank have opened back up and look as they always have, the leather appears to be shedding (waxy, shrunken down), the mushrooms/ricordia have still not opened to their fullest since that particular day and look basically the same as they did after that water change. The brian corals and sun coral appear to look the same, with no noticeable issues as of yet.
The hammer was added to my tank on February 7th along with one of the tracys, some zoas, and the lobo. This was the first time I had added any LPS to my tank. Until that water change the hammer appeared to be doing well, certainly better than now. There was no skeleton showing (that I noticed). It opened up fully the next day and had been doing so while the lights were on daily until this past Thursday after the water change. These are photos from the first day and day after I added the coral to my tank.
The coral looked like this until that water change on Thursday, even then all it did was close up. On Saturday I first noticed skeleton showing and Sunday I saw that the one head is basically gone. I have no idea what is causing it. I have not seen any fish or inverts picking at the coral.
I performed another water change yesterday of about 15 gallons. My parameters afterwards were as follows:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 10-25 (salifert)
Salinity- 1.026
Temp- 80F
These are photos I just took of the hammer a few minutes ago. The heads have not opened up anymore than this photo shows in the last few days.
I have carbon in a media bag running in a small HOB filter that I placed on the tank Friday sometime just in case and to see if it would help.
Here are my tank specs
60 gallon
85lbs rock
Fish:
Starry Blenny
Ocellaris Clown Pair
Melanarus Wrasse
Solandri Puffer
CUC:
Various Snails
Hermits
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Corals:
Ricordias
Rhodactis Mushrooms
Zoa Colonies
Snowflake Polyp Colony
Sinularia Leather
Blue Actinodiscus Mushroom
Branching Hammer
Lobophyllia
Platygyra
Trachyphyllia geoffroyi
Trachyphyllia radiata
Sun Coral
Equipment:
Reef Octopus BH-2000
Maxi-Jet 900
Maxi-Jet 1200
Lighting:
4 bulb T5HO fixture
2x54watt 10k daylight
2x54watt actinic
moonlight LEDs
I've been using Instant Ocean salt since the start up of my tank. My water mixes for at least 24hrs with a powerhead and heater before I perform a water change. I'm using RO/DI water I produce at home.
My test kits for alk, cal, and mag are supposed to be arriving on the 19th according to the tracking information. My new LED lights just arrived the other day but I haven't had a chance to hang them yet.
My tank has been running and cycled since the beginning of November, with the first fish (Starry Blenny) added on November 4th.
I really hope I covered everything. I tried to mentioned any and everything I could think of, maybe even too much. I'm just not sure whats going on.
Really appreciate help on this.