- Location
- Warren, OH
Hey Reefers! Let's talk Hammer Corals!
To us, nothing screams reef keeping and especially LPS Corals quite like Hammers. Their color variation, and different polyp structures makes them incredibly unique. Their wide variety and relative abundance only helps to drive their reputation as one of the most popular corals in our hobby!
There are two separate distinctions of Hammers. Branching Hammers and Wall Hammers that we'll dive into deeper later on. We carry Hammer Corals from 4 main countries, Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, & Tonga! All different and unique in their own ways, such as polyp shape, color, growth structure, and requirements! In our opinion, they're all great and a tremendous addition to a reef tank. It just depends on your preference!
Branching Hammers are widely popular among hobbyists and likely the most common among the two types. With such a wide array of color variations and their tremendous growth, its easy to see why they are so popular! Awesome colors of Yellow, Neon, Orange, Purple Tip, and Toxic (to only name a few) are all throughout our hobby. Having a branching growth structure, they are also fairly fast growers making them extremely fraggable and even more popular and accessible to reefers! We love our Branching Hammers, and always have a great selection in stock.
We always say, you can never go wrong with a big, puffy Wall Hammer! While they might not come in as many colors as the branching variety, they come in different colors that are unique to them! Stunning blues and multi-colors are a beautiful addition to any reef. Being a wall type skeleton structure, they are by no means fast growers. Which is why they usually only come as colonies, as fragging doesn't always yield the best results. Nonetheless, they make up for this in their sheer size in comparison. Wall hammers can achieve massive size! They slowly open up more and more once settled in for long periods in a location they like, and absolutely run with it! Even opening up well over 10x their skeleton size sometimes! Making them a perfect Hammer centerpiece on your reef!
When it comes to caring for your Hammers, placement is key! Lower to moderate flow and moderate lighting (100-150 PAR) requirements are standard, but each Hammer can be different. Move your newly acquired Hammer around until you find a spot it opens up nice and big and enjoys. Those polyps will be extended and swaying in the flow in no time! Hammers get the majority of their energy from their photosynthetic zooxanthellae, like most corals. However, they can benefit from the occasional spot feeding of a mysis and brine shrimp mixture!
Hammers are considered to be fairly hardy in our hobby once your tank is established. In our experience, nothing yields more success with them than stable tank parameters! We keep our hammers in systems with the following parameters. 76-78 degrees, and 1.025-1.026 specific gravity. For nutrients typically Alkalinity (8-12dKH), Calcium (410-450ppm), Magnesium (1250-1350ppm). With very low Nitrates, Nitrites, and Phosphates! Stable, essential nutrients are the key to keeping healthy hammers that will thrive and grow for years to come.
We have a great selection of Hammers including Branching, Walls, and Frags! Check out several of our favorites currently in stock down below. Don't forget about our huge Presidents Day Sale ending Monday night (2/24)! Pick one up at a great discount for your tank before it's too late!
Thanks so much for checking out our Saturday Spotlight, and have a great weekend! ~ Corals.com
To us, nothing screams reef keeping and especially LPS Corals quite like Hammers. Their color variation, and different polyp structures makes them incredibly unique. Their wide variety and relative abundance only helps to drive their reputation as one of the most popular corals in our hobby!
There are two separate distinctions of Hammers. Branching Hammers and Wall Hammers that we'll dive into deeper later on. We carry Hammer Corals from 4 main countries, Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, & Tonga! All different and unique in their own ways, such as polyp shape, color, growth structure, and requirements! In our opinion, they're all great and a tremendous addition to a reef tank. It just depends on your preference!
Branching Hammers are widely popular among hobbyists and likely the most common among the two types. With such a wide array of color variations and their tremendous growth, its easy to see why they are so popular! Awesome colors of Yellow, Neon, Orange, Purple Tip, and Toxic (to only name a few) are all throughout our hobby. Having a branching growth structure, they are also fairly fast growers making them extremely fraggable and even more popular and accessible to reefers! We love our Branching Hammers, and always have a great selection in stock.
We always say, you can never go wrong with a big, puffy Wall Hammer! While they might not come in as many colors as the branching variety, they come in different colors that are unique to them! Stunning blues and multi-colors are a beautiful addition to any reef. Being a wall type skeleton structure, they are by no means fast growers. Which is why they usually only come as colonies, as fragging doesn't always yield the best results. Nonetheless, they make up for this in their sheer size in comparison. Wall hammers can achieve massive size! They slowly open up more and more once settled in for long periods in a location they like, and absolutely run with it! Even opening up well over 10x their skeleton size sometimes! Making them a perfect Hammer centerpiece on your reef!
When it comes to caring for your Hammers, placement is key! Lower to moderate flow and moderate lighting (100-150 PAR) requirements are standard, but each Hammer can be different. Move your newly acquired Hammer around until you find a spot it opens up nice and big and enjoys. Those polyps will be extended and swaying in the flow in no time! Hammers get the majority of their energy from their photosynthetic zooxanthellae, like most corals. However, they can benefit from the occasional spot feeding of a mysis and brine shrimp mixture!
Hammers are considered to be fairly hardy in our hobby once your tank is established. In our experience, nothing yields more success with them than stable tank parameters! We keep our hammers in systems with the following parameters. 76-78 degrees, and 1.025-1.026 specific gravity. For nutrients typically Alkalinity (8-12dKH), Calcium (410-450ppm), Magnesium (1250-1350ppm). With very low Nitrates, Nitrites, and Phosphates! Stable, essential nutrients are the key to keeping healthy hammers that will thrive and grow for years to come.
We have a great selection of Hammers including Branching, Walls, and Frags! Check out several of our favorites currently in stock down below. Don't forget about our huge Presidents Day Sale ending Monday night (2/24)! Pick one up at a great discount for your tank before it's too late!
Thanks so much for checking out our Saturday Spotlight, and have a great weekend! ~ Corals.com
