Coral Frag Placement Question

[HTXReefer]

I’m new to reefing and my tank turns 8 weeks old today. I ordered a Zoa and LPS frag pack from WorldWideCoral and they’ll be delivered today.

I’m planning on temperature acclimating by floating the bags for a while then dipping in either CoralRx or a Bayer solution. Which brings my first question. Which one is preferred?
After dipping is where I need some guidance. I’ve read to place the plugs in the substrate for a period of time. Is this preferred for both Zoas and all LPS? How long before I start moving them up in the Aquascape?
Am I missing anything?
Any suggestions and clarifications are greatly appreciated.

 

[PghReef]

I'm assuming you dont have a quarantine set up for coral, I never did either until recently but would strongly suggest it.
As for dipping I dont dip corals unless I notice something. Dipping them right after shipping is highly stressful and could cause you to lose some, many vendors suggest placing the coral in qt for a few days to allow it to acclimate and settle before dipping unless you see noticable pest from the get go. I believe bayer to be the more preferred dip as it's pretty dang effective and seems to be easier on the corals.
For placement it depends on a lot of factors. Zoas almost always on the substrate is fine, LPS it depends on the actual type you purchased. Also it depends on how strong your lighting is, is it a 400w MH or just a dual bulb t5ho? What kind of lighting were they in before purchase? Unless you are significantly upgrading the lighting that they came from not much acclimation is needed. After a night in a dark box place them in the tank with lights out and maybe run them at 50% for the firdt day or so to let them readjust. Placing them in an area of proper flow is also important.

 

[Joe BBC]

Hey HTX - WELCOME - In my limited experience I learned that Zoa's, Poly's, Kenya's and especially GSP grow very quickly. I am at the point that I may need to eradicate some of these in my tank even though most visitors love them. It is highly suggested that your final placement of most of these be on islands or isolated some how so that they dont over grow the other corals. Good luck and +1 PghReef.

 

[HTXReefer]

I'm assuming you dont have a quarantine set up for coral, I never did either until recently but would strongly suggest it.
As for dipping I dont dip corals unless I notice something. Dipping them right after shipping is highly stressful and could cause you to lose some, many vendors suggest placing the coral in qt for a few days to allow it to acclimate and settle before dipping unless you see noticable pest from the get go. I believe bayer to be the more preferred dip as it's pretty dang effective and seems to be easier on the corals.
For placement it depends on a lot of factors. Zoas almost always on the substrate is fine, LPS it depends on the actual type you purchased. Also it depends on how strong your lighting is, is it a 400w MH or just a dual bulb t5ho? What kind of lighting were they in before purchase? Unless you are significantly upgrading the lighting that they came from not much acclimation is needed. After a night in a dark box place them in the tank with lights out and maybe run them at 50% for the firdt day or so to let them readjust. Placing them in an area of proper flow is also important.

I just received the shipment from WWC. Looks like I got 2 Favia, 2 Leptoseris, and 1 Green Aussie Lord. As well as 5 different Zoas. I am running two AI Hydra 26HDs 12” above the tank which is 18” deep. I am assuming WWC probably has a much better lighting setup than I do.
I don’t have a QT up and running but did buy the tank (20g), HOB filter, heater, and small PH last night. I don’t have adequate lighting for the QT or do I need to even have one for coral quarantine? I do have an AI prime coming in tomorrow for my Refugium but could use it for QT if needed.

 

[PghReef]

All those will be fine on the sandbed, in a shallow tank like I'd keep them on the sandbed or near the sides permenatly .
A coral qt needs run like your display. Good lighting flow and filtration. My DT has kessil and vortechs but my qt has t5ho and Chinese amazon powerheads, still provide light and flow but at a fraction of the cost. They'll be in there 8 weeks to make sure there are no ich or velvet cyst encrusted

 

[HTXReefer]

Thank you for all of your help. The Zoas are starting to open now and the colors on the LPS are awesome. Can’t wait for these things to grow.