ct_vol's dipping method

[ct_vol]

There are a lot of nasties out there... Parasites are a natural occurance, however when they are in a closed system such as our aquariums they can create havoc...

Ok, so a bunch of you guys have asked how I dip... I took the time to do a step by step demo of how I dip my corals... You can dip softies, LPS, and SPS this way too... I am not claiming that I came up with this way to treat incoming corals, only that this is the way I choose to do it...

I start out by placing the corals I receive in an old 5 gallon salt bucket with the water they were shipped in...

I then fill the water level so that the bucket is 1/2 to 2/3 full with the tank water I will be putting the corals in...

I use a MaxiJet 400 for circulation... Any small powerhead will suffice, but you want something to be creating water movement...

I loop the power cord around the salt bucket handle so that it stays in place and does not create too much direct turbulence with the corals...

 

[ct_vol]

I then take a VERY SMALL piece of Large Dog Interceptor pill... I used the piece somewhat in the center of this picture... I hold it in front of the powerhead current untill it dissolves so that I know it is in solution... Interceptor will kill Red Bugs, Pods, Crabs and other crustaceans, both good and bad...

I also add a single AP Fluke Tab... This is supposedly affective against AEFW's...

I let the corals sit in the bucket circulating with the Interceptor and Fluke tabs for 4 to 6 hours... Every once in a while I will pick up the corals and shake them vigorously in the water in order to dislodge any nasties that might be holding on...

 

[ct_vol]

After the 4 to 6 hours, I then transfer the corals to a smaller container and add Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure...

You do not have to change containers, I choose to do so in order to save on how much TMPCC I use... I like to overdose the TMPCC quite a bit... I will put in enough to make the water pretty dark... A little lighter than black coffee...

I will let it sit for 20 minutes in the TMPCC bath... Through out the 20 minutes I will blast the corals with a turkey baster...

This treatment does stress out corals... That being said, I have only had a couple of casualties and those I believe were more due to shipping stess... This may cause some corals to "brown out", but they will regain their color in a matter of weeks in proper conditions...

This little acrocrab was a casualty of this dip... I will usually try to dislodge any beneficial crabs such as this one into a small pyrex while dipping if I see them before hand... But this one was down hiding in one of the tables... It is still better to lose one acrocrab than to have a tank full of RB's, have to treat the system and lose all the inverts you can't catch...

 

[ct_vol]

I will usually add the corals in the dark or Actinics only if I'm feeling impatient and want to see them... This is probably unneccesary, but this is what I like to do to minimize an already stressfull shipping and dipping...

A lot of people I respect the opinion of like Revive by TLF... You would use this in place of the TMPCC... But be carefull not to use it too long as it can harm the corals if left untended... TMPCC will too, but I have found that you have a bit of leeway...

Feel free to add any other techniques you all use... Just thought I would throw this out there for the club since there has been interest in dipping and how to do it... I meant to post pics of the corals after they were in my tank, but I haven't had time to take any... I'll get them posted by the end of this weekend...

 

[acrodave]

What do you have to do it get this thread sticky'd.. I think it should be

 

[Anchovy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13365067#post13365067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by acrodave
What do you have to do it get this thread sticky'd.. I think it should be

I agree

 

[salt newbie01]

Great job Randy!!!

 

[ct_vol]

I thought more people would share how they dipped... Oh well...

I think Chris can have it stickied if you guys really want...

 

[Runner]

I can also make an HTML page out of it and stick it on our website. This is the kind of stuff our pages need.

 

[salt newbie01]

My method is similar to yours Randy. I just leave out the steps for the AEFW and red bugs. Since I only keep LPS and zoas/palys I don't see a need in those additional steps. I do (like you) significantly overdose the iodine dip. Right now I an using seachem brand dip. But will go back to TMPCC when it is gone.

 

[ct_vol]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13369399#post13369399 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by salt newbie01
My method is similar to yours Randy. I just leave out the steps for the AEFW and red bugs. Since I only keep LPS and zoas/palys I don't see a need in those additional steps. I do (like you) significantly overdose the iodine dip. Right now I an using seachem brand dip. But will go back to TMPCC when it is gone.

To be honest, I've never really noticed a difference between TMPCC and Seachem Reef Dip... Seachem Reef Dip is cheaper, but I've always stuck with TMPCC over Seachem more for reputation than anything else...

You might want reconsider at least the red bug treatment though... I had a frogspawn infested with a "white bug" that behaved very similarly to what redbugs do on SPS... The frogspawn would not extend after the lights came on and was starting to recede... It was only upon close inspection that I saw the "white bugs"... After treating with Interceptor the "white bugs" were gone and the frogspawn looked as good as new after a few days... I know Angela in the MTRC had experience with this parasite as well... So there are some "bugs" that will affect LPS as well as SPS...

For you Zoanthid lovers, there is much speculation upon whether some amphipods and isopods eat our polyps... I wouldn't be surprised if there is some type that does... Interceptor is a good treatment for killing any pods that may enter your tank... After treating your tank, it is doubtfull that you will kill them all, but it will knock down the population...

Again I want to reitterate that it is much easier to treat a coral before it enters your tank than to treat your system in its entirety afterwards... This is a purely preventative measure...

It is probably better to place new acquisitions in a Quarantine System... I put a lot of my frags in my 24g Aquapod to observe them for a while if possible... However some of my nicer SPS I don't trust in that system, so they get dipped and then put in one of my displays...

 

[salt newbie01]

I agree with all the above Randy!! It would be better to qt all incoming livestock both corals and fish. Unfortunately it is not a practicle thing for most reefers. The 24g is a good way to do it. That may be a good excuse for the wife to let me set up a small tank!! Plus I can tell her it was your idea!!

Good info to know about the white bugs...guess I will have to modify my technique a little.

With the money invested in coral it is prudent to be safe rather than sorry!!

 

[gflat65]

That is essentially my method, too. I might soak them in the Interceptor in the bucket/small tank over night since I likely had a drive to get them (one of fishdoc's method). I knock off bases and reattach (pain for bigger pieces, but worth it to me). Small frags I may not QT for long, but larger pieces are going to sit somewhere for a while and several dips before going in the system.

I wanted to say something really smart about the 'dipping method', but kept my tea bag comments to myself.

 

[ct_vol]

With the white bugs, I was fortunate in that I didn't have any inverts so to speak in the 75g when I treated the tank... I agree that it is impractical for most people to QT their corals... Which is why dipping is so important!!! I QT maybe 50% of my corals... I usually only trade with people I know their systems... So I'm safer when I trade or buy from unknown people and LFS/OFS...

For those of you that don't know, the reason that Gary knocks off the bases of SPS corals is because Acro Eating Flat Worms (AEFW) tend to set up shop at the bases of colonies... So the chances of them being at the base is higher than at the tips or branches...

 

[fishdoc11]

.....and what Randy means by setting up shop is laying eggs
Here are some pictures of parasites and eggs for those that don't know what they look like.

Chris

 

[ct_vol]

lol

 

[OceanDweller]

Great write up.

 

[ct_vol]

After having a discussion with another reefer, I thought I should add that at times if I am extra worried about the source of my frags/colonies, I will sometimes do a Freshwater dip before going into the above treatment...

I will fill a bucket with RO/DI water and shake it vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds...

Freshwater dips are supposed to be effective against flatworms and nudibranchs... They can be stressful to corals as well, so do so with caution...


I am also going to add that I have not had the best results with Revive... I know a lot of people swear by the product, but I have lost a few finicky SPS frags to a dip in it alone... This includes a Lokani that I was really excited about...

 

[fishdoc11]

If that's the lokani you got from me it is a lot bigger than it was before

 

[Rickyrooz1]

Nice thread! Have you seen Red Bugs fall off with this method?