Acclimation

[Rmckoy]

I was thinking .....

Stability being the most important thing when it Comes to keeping sps .

Alkalinity swings is bad .
When acclimation new corals or frags .
How does everyone acclimate new corals and frags and is matching old lfs water and tank water Critical when it comes to acclimating ?

 

[Copingwithpods]

To be honest, I don't acclimate unless it's a special case. Usually if my lfs or fellow refers tank is close to mine (1dkh away) I just dip and drop. That goes double for shipped corals where they are already stressed enough and getting them dipped and in the tank asap is top priority.

Alot of people manually dose 2 part once a day so 1dkh or more swings are well within their normal fluctuations not ideal but just a reality. So if lfs is at 8 and I am at 9dkh I won't bother drip acclimation.

I've also seen alot of people do more harm than good while acclimating. They float the bag to equalize temperature but then drip for 2 hours in an unheated container. When they go to put the coral in its going from room temperature water to 80 degree water.

 

[Rmckoy]

To be honest, I don't acclimate unless it's a special case. Usually if my lfs or fellow refers tank is close to mine (1dkh away) I just dip and drop. That goes double for shipped corals where they are already stressed enough and getting them dipped and in the tank asap is top priority.

Alot of people manually dose 2 part once a day so 1dkh or more swings are well within their normal fluctuations not ideal but just a reality. So if lfs is at 8 and I am at 9dkh I won't bother drip acclimation.

I've also seen alot of people do more harm than good while acclimating. They float the bag to equalize temperature but then drip for 2 hours in an unheated container. When they go to put the coral in its going from room temperature water to 80 degree water.

I normally have always Just opened the bag they come in into a container with coral dip solution .
Swirl for 5-15 mins depending if any ugly stuff falls off or not .
Add to my tank and hope for the best .

 

[Crustaceon]

I understand the logic behind your thoughts, but in practicality corals seem to be able to shield themselves from the shock of entering a new system and can self-acclimate at their own pace. Maybe this is a response that’s triggered when they are removed from a tank, such are retracting polyps and looking “mad”. They seem to lose that hardiness once they’ve been in a tank for a while though. It’s like they let their guard down and can’t take it.

 

[Copingwithpods]

I normally have always Just opened the bag they come in into a container with coral dip solution .
Swirl for 5-15 mins depending if any ugly stuff falls off or not .
Add to my tank and hope for the best .

I honestly think that's the best thing you can do for a new coral, getting it in a stable environment as soon as possible. With exemptions of course. If someone has an alk of 12 and mine is 8.5 I am definitely drip acclimating that coral which goes in my special cases list.

 

[Backreefing]

I always drip acclimate corals or fish

 

[Copingwithpods]

I always drip acclimate corals or fish

Out curiosity how long do you do for both?

 

[Backreefing]

About 40 minutes

 

[Copingwithpods]

About 40 minutes

In tank or separate container acclimation?

 

[Rmckoy]

For fish I have always drip acclimated .

 

[Rmckoy]

The reason for posting ....
I picked up a bunch of montipora ( red with yellow polyps ) and a green plating montipora.

The last few pieces I’ve bought being smaller frags.
They didn’t do so well and assumed they suffered from alk swing .

 

[Backreefing]

I drip acclimate in a plastic bucket in the aquarium.
the coral ( even sps ) if healthy can take a acclimation one time just fine . Montipora aren’t to fussy. All montipora like high flow and start em low in the aquarium. It’s all you can do .

 

[Copingwithpods]

The reason for posting ....
I picked up a bunch of montipora ( red with yellow polyps ) and a green plating montipora.

The last few pieces I’ve bought being smaller frags.
They didn’t do so well and assumed they suffered from alk swing .

How big was the alk swing?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Float for temp
Exam with a jewelers loop
And right in my qt

 

[SoAg Reefer]

What about the light acclimation? If you get new frags that have been shipped to you, do you run the lights at full for the rest of the tank, assuming no QT, and put the colors lower or do you put the corals where they will be and run lights at 50% of normal then work up? In the past I never adjusted lighting for new frags, however now with LEDs I am turning them down so SPS is in 180-200 par to start then over a month work up to 300-400. Seems to work for me but curious how others approach that

 

[Copingwithpods]

I guess I'm a bit more harsh on new arrivals as I'm not willing to dim my lights for longer than a day or a few hours that is if I do it at all. If I were to dim them for a month my tank would stay perpetually dimmed as I usually buy one frag a month lol. I am however conscious of light shock and will place new frags either in shaded areas on the sand or far from a Hotspot for upto a week while they adjust not only to my lights but to my parameters.

 

[Rmckoy]

What about the light acclimation? If you get new frags that have been shipped to you, do you run the lights at full for the rest of the tank, assuming no QT, and put the colors lower or do you put the corals where they will be and run lights at 50% of normal then work up? In the past I never adjusted lighting for new frags, however now with LEDs I am turning them down so SPS is in 180-200 par to start then over a month work up to 300-400. Seems to work for me but curious how others approach that

With t5’s I don’t have the option of turning them down .

I start them a
Little lower and raise them up to where they will be .
Typically start on a frag rack

 

[SoAg Reefer]

How long do you keep them out of "normal" light setting?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I was thinking .....

Stability being the most important thing when it Comes to keeping sps .

Alkalinity swings is bad .
When acclimation new corals or frags .
How does everyone acclimate new corals and frags and is matching old lfs water and tank water Critical when it comes to acclimating ?

As I received a shipment this morning. I float all bags in tank for 20-30 mins and open the bags in a dedicated pail for saltwater. I then add I qt of tank water to the bucket every 15 mins 6 times. I dip, then dip again in RO and then to the tank under blue (no whites) light and slowly return the whites to normal during the day.

 

[Copingwithpods]

How long do you keep them out of "normal" light setting?

Don't know if this was directed to me but....

It depends, some can be very obvious in showing dislike for the new lights. I have a zoa frag that must have been kept at 10 par because it's skirt less and completely glued to the plug telling me it hasn't adjusted yet to its new spot. Conversely if I see a zoa stretching I know I can start moving it to its final spot. Sps are alot less talkative so I treat them all equally, they get 3 days on the sand in medium light then all move under a Hotspot.