OK, time for a summary update and an editorial!
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES (mls of Bayer per 100 mls of tank water)
Redfishbluefish..........1
BryanS4.....................Skim Milk
icecool2......................5
Rsaalman...................2.1
kschweer....................1+
dbl..............................8.3
HM3105 (1)................5
HM3105 (2)...............8.3
hawkinsrgk................8.3
vic67..........................Skim Milk
Waboss.....................Weak Skim Milk
Joker..........................White Water
ihavecrabs.................2.1 - 2.5
mrcoffee2.................8.3
EDITORIAL
I've been using Bayer since 2012 and came up with the dose I'm using (1ml/100mls tank water) from
THIS VIDEO from GuyWalker1219, that was uploaded Aug., 2011. In this video he used 0.8mls Bayer per 100 mls, and since a number of others had posted higher dosage uses, I upped my dose to 1 ml just to make it simple. Note that he had shown that at this 0.8 ml dose he was killing "AEFW, Montibranch's, Red Bugs and all other know pests." Ideally I would have liked to have seen a study that showed effective dose to kill 99% of the pests, but that just hasn't been done. In my mind's eye, the dosage amount could potentially be
lowered if this kind of study was done.
Knock on wood, I have never had an issue with pests using Bayer, and only lost one coral, which I'm 95 percent sure that the loss was from shipment time and not the dip. So my experience at 1ml/100mls has shown me that it is certainly an effective dose that has minimal if any impact on the health of the coral. I have also never seen any negative effects on the tank when the corals were placed after the dip/rinse. With that said, I'd like to review what I consider proper dipping procedures.
1. Inspect the coral for any visual pests....looking specifically for eggs.
2. If applicable, remove the coral from the plug. Do not dip the plug (only if it's plastic)
3. Using tank water, mix the dip. I typically make 300 mls if I have 1 to 4 corals to dip.
4. Dip the coral for a period of time, with occasional swishing/swirling. I typically dip for 15 minutes.
5. Rinse the coral in another small container using tank water, and let it sit in rinse water for 3-5 minutes.
6. Repeat rinse with another change of water. Do not return any rinse water to the tank...it gets dumped down the sink.
7. Remount frag to a new plug or glue directly into the tank.
REPORTED ISSUES WITH BAYER
Some have reported tank effects once the dipped coral has been placed into their tank. Sufficient information has not been supplied to directly identify the cause of why this is happening. However, I'm going to give some plausable explainations why this might be happening. Just to state, Bayer should NEVER be used directly in your tank or on live rock. It is a poison to many creatures we keep. Accordingly, you don't want any Bayer to get into your tank, and do whatever you need to do to keep it out. Here are hypotheses of why some have seen tank issues:
1. The plug was left on the frag when dipping and became saturated with dip solution that is not completely rinsed off during the rinsing process. It slowly leaches back out once placed in the tank.
2. The dosage is so high that the coral absorbs excessive amounts of dip that do not immediately rinse off and again, slowly leach back out once placed in the tank.
This is one of the concerns I have with those using what I consider very high levels of Bayer. If 0.8 mls per 100 work, why raise that up over 10 fold to 8.3 mls per 100. I'm not sure where these numbers came from, but believe that they could cause for levels of Bayer showing up in your DT, especially if you're dipping a bunch of corals.
Converting both the 1 1/2 and 2 gallon dilutions to mls of Bayer to 100 mls of tank water comes out to 31.7mls and 23.8mls, respectively. If 0.8 mls has been shown to work, why go that much higher? Is it any wonder some are seeing tank issues.
) or sell for cheap let me know. Once things make a comeback I'd be happy to repay the favor and hopefully with some "signature" corals.
