moondoggy4
Team RC
I just got back from a Coral Frag show in the OC and I bought some corals and was wondering what was the proper way to acclimate them. Thanks in advance
Acclimation
- Thread starter moondoggy4
- Start date
Test the water in both bag and tank with a refractometer for starters. If your salinity difference is down to .001, you're pretty good to go. Warmth is also somewhat an issue, in the case of stony coral: see if you can get the overall warmth close to the same, though I've found such stony corals as euphyllias and candycane are quite hardy in that regard. Do be sure to encourage the coral to contract fully before removing it from the water. You ARE dipping your corals, I hope.
moondoggy4
Team RC
Thanks Sk8r I did dip them and I did the same temp. but I did not use my refractor. Thanks for the tips I will incorporate them on future purchases. So far so good all the corals are doing good. I am also trying to get my parameters correct like you have I have a lot of work to do.
jeff@zina.com
New member
Usually "dipping" means a commercial dip, mostly Iodine based. Seachem, Kent and others have this. Lots of times it can be just a freshwater dip. The idea is to kill/remove possible bad hitchhikers, like flatworms or redbugs.
A lot of coral folks swear by dips, others swear that dips don't help. Redbugs are particularly tough for example, and I'm not convinced a dip helps with them. Interceptor works great, and technically it's a dip too, but I wouldn't do it unless I had a coral with redbugs.
Quarantine is always a good idea.
Jeff
A lot of coral folks swear by dips, others swear that dips don't help. Redbugs are particularly tough for example, and I'm not convinced a dip helps with them. Interceptor works great, and technically it's a dip too, but I wouldn't do it unless I had a coral with redbugs.
Quarantine is always a good idea.
Jeff
Different people have differing dip regimens, and it also depends on whether you're talking about SPS, LPS, softies, etc. SPS, for example, should never be dipped in freshwater - it would kill them.
My SPS acclimation and dipping regimen is as follows:
- acclimate bag water temp (as Sk8r mentioned previously) by floating the bag in the tank/refugium.
- I've never checked salinity and never have had a problem, but probably not a bad idea.
- soak the frags in an Interceptor bath for 8 hours. I'll use a gallon or two of tank water with a bit of crushed Interceptor (I use a small Elos measure spoon per gallon). You'll need a heater and small powerhead in order to avoid killing the frag. Any longer than 8 hours and you risk an ammonia spike.
- dip frags in Coral ReVive per bottle directions (no more than 5 minutes)
- dip frags in Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure (TMPCC) per bottle directions - except do not use freshwater! Use tankwater instead. I believe the bottle directions call for using freshwater. This will kill your SPS.
For LPS/softies:
- dip in TMPCC/Lugols
- dip in freshwater
That's worked well for me. Good luck!
My SPS acclimation and dipping regimen is as follows:
- acclimate bag water temp (as Sk8r mentioned previously) by floating the bag in the tank/refugium.
- I've never checked salinity and never have had a problem, but probably not a bad idea.
- soak the frags in an Interceptor bath for 8 hours. I'll use a gallon or two of tank water with a bit of crushed Interceptor (I use a small Elos measure spoon per gallon). You'll need a heater and small powerhead in order to avoid killing the frag. Any longer than 8 hours and you risk an ammonia spike.
- dip frags in Coral ReVive per bottle directions (no more than 5 minutes)
- dip frags in Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure (TMPCC) per bottle directions - except do not use freshwater! Use tankwater instead. I believe the bottle directions call for using freshwater. This will kill your SPS.
For LPS/softies:
- dip in TMPCC/Lugols
- dip in freshwater
That's worked well for me. Good luck!
moondoggy4
Team RC
Sorry for the delay for some reason I missed the updates, Aleonn I did not get a chance to do the workshop. So far all the frags are doing good.
moondoggy4
Team RC
capercoral slow dripping is good but if you can dip with lugios iodine it is better.
wbdevers
New member
Just FYI, Lugols is going to become VERY hard to come by. It was just recently added to the "controlled materials list" by the DEA thanks to meth heads. A coworker was explaining it to me. She uses it in here plankton studies and was telling me that to get it you will have to have a permit and I believe register with the DEA. May want to try and find an alternative.
W
W
moondoggy4
Team RC
thanks for update wbdevers I will start stock pilling it.
Fishfish0001
New member
Im pretty sure it was added in 2007 and only things with more than 2.2% iodine. If it has more than that and is 30ml or under then you don't need a permit.
wbdevers
New member
My coworker has been using the Lugols as part of her research and she was just informed by the company she's been ordering from. This was 2 weeks ago. She had to contact the DEA and they told her that since we are a gov't agency, we were exempt. They may have changed amount and/or concentration requirements.
jeff@zina.com
New member
Drip acclimating is to acclimate from the water it was in to the water you're putting it in. There is nothing in a drip that combats pests brought in on corals, that's what the dipping is for. There are plenty of commercial coral dips, and I think they're really about the same in results. Redbugs don't get killed by most of the dips, that's why they get interceptor.
Jeff
