Hammer Coral Care Growth Feeding Dosing Flow Placement Saltwater Coral Reef Aquarium

This video is all about hammer coral care. I will talk through growth, dosing, feeding, flow, and placement requirements in order to maintain good health and maximize growth.

Water quality is also a huge aspect of health for hammer corals, so for this video I will assume you are starting with good water quality.

Growth - there are many factors that affect growth. I will be detailing each. They include water quality, dosing, feeding, flow, and placement.
*Note - the more heads you start with the faster growth you get.
First example is my WWC Aussie Blue Gold Hammer. This was bought May 10th as 8 heads and I have seen a ton of growth. As of July 29th I have 17 heads.
Second example is standard green with purple tips. Started with 3 heads 9 months ago now have 10 heads.
Third example is bright green tips. Started with 2 splitting heads 9 months ago and now have 8 heads.
Last is bicolor grafted hammer. This one may not look like I have had a ton of growth but I have fragged it twice over the 8 months I have owned it.

Dosing - I dose 2 main additives. Polyp Lab One and Kent Coral-Vite.
Polyp Lab One is a calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium supplement in one. Does the same as 2 part systems do.
Kent Coral-Vite is an all around supplement that replenishes trace minerals and more.

Feeding
Live phytoplankton. Great food for filter feeding corals and copepods.
Polyp Booster provides amino acids that are great for corals and promotes color.
Reef Roids is a great food for all types of corals. I do direct feed every head.

Flow - I utilize random flow so the corals get the benefits of high flow without the negative effects of constant high flow. My total tank flow ranges from 1100 - 2100 gph.

Placement - placement within the tank plays a huge role in health, growth, and growth patterns. I believe some of the more higher end hammer corals such as the golds and oranges flourish better in higher light, so I place them higher in the tank. Whereas some of the more standard green color hammer corals can flourish in lower light and a much wider range of flow and conditions.

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