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ewaldsreef 
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 Topic: Hammer coral tips?
Posted: May 13 2003 at 9:44pm |
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I just got a frag of hammer coral. I would like any tips people have to offer for this coral ie current, lighting, additives. Thanks for any help
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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Marcus
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Posted: May 14 2003 at 2:39pm |
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I have some branching hammer at my house. I give mine good water but not direct from the pump. If it gets too much water flow it will not open all the way. They will eat large food like brine and krill depending on how big your colony is. If part of it starts to die, make sure to clean it up so it doesn't spread. Eric Borneman says in his "Aquarium Corals" book that they are unusually sensitive to large specimens of soft coral, specifically Sinularia. Julian Sprung in his book says thay are 3-8 on lighting, 5 on water flow, 10 on aggressiveness and 6 on hardiness. I have found that they will sting other corals pretty bad. I have a Percula that played in my frogspawn for a while then developed a sore on its side. I have 470 watts on my 120 gallon tank so I would give it good lighting. Frogspawn, hammer, torch and other LPS come from the genus Euphyllia and will react about the same. Good luck!
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: May 14 2003 at 3:03pm |
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Thanks Marcus. I can actually target feed the hammer coral? Thats cool. I have kept other corals at a safe distance I may have a bit to much flow.
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: May 14 2003 at 10:01pm |
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Oh I forgot to ask. Is it best to feed at night?
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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Marcus
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Posted: May 15 2003 at 3:16pm |
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Every coral is different. I would try both and see what works best. I try to feed my fish first so that the coral "gets hungry" and is ready to eat. Then it feed my corals.
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: June 01 2003 at 4:32pm |
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I lowered the current on the hammer a little bit and it is looking great. They do use calcium dont they? I am struggling to keep close to 400ppm
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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Marcus
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Posted: June 01 2003 at 6:32pm |
Yes, hammer coral uses calcium to make its skeleton. I use b-ionic. When you dose a lot of calcium keep an eye on your PH. I used to use pickling lime as a cheap substitute for kalkwasser but ended up with a ph of about 8.7. I learned my lesson about paying for the good stuff.
Marcus
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jfinch
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Posted: June 01 2003 at 10:18pm |
Bruce, what are you using to increase calcium levels?
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jfinch
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Posted: June 01 2003 at 10:25pm |
Marcus, it's not the calcium that caused the pH spike, it was the alkalinity increase.
FWIW, I've use Kent, Ball, one other grocery store pickling lime - name excapes me, and reagent grade CaO (thanks Eastman Chemical :) )... never noticed a difference in any of the products.
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: June 01 2003 at 10:34pm |
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To increase calcium levels I am using Kent Marine Liqiud Calcium. This is only a 10 gallon tank.
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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jfinch
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Posted: June 01 2003 at 11:12pm |
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You need to add a full 5 ml of that stuff (in a 10 gallon tank) to raise calcium just 10 ppm (ie. from 380 to 390 ppm). Are you adding it in that type of volume? You're most likely fine "around 400 ppm" anyway.
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