Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm having trouble with my hammer and torch - they're not opening fully. Has anyone else experienced this issue? I'd appreciate any advice, thanks in advance.

Regarding the torch, I've noticed it doesn't have the usual "flesh" ring around the top area, like you'd normally see. It's been like that since I got the frag, and it's stayed the same.

My tank specs are as follows: 56 gal. column, 165 blackbox, full spec LED.

Water parameters:
ammo. 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
calc 460
alk 12 (same as my LFS)
mag 1300
ph 8.2
temp 78
sal. .026
phos. .02

I've also got a T5 4-bulb fixture, 96 watts total, that I'm not using - just didn't feel it was strong enough. Not sure if I should switch back to it.

IME, my LPS corals don't open fully when they need more flow or the parameters are a bit off. What's the flow like under that column? Also, how long has it been since you changed your lighting setup? I'd bring down that alk level, even if it matches your LFS - it's on the higher end.