CoralRx in addition to Bayer?

[drtechno]

Hey all.

New to dipping SPS, but everything I have read so far seems to indicate to me that Bayer and CoralRx treat the same thing. So do I really need to dip with both? I read someone’s regime where they used both to dip.

Currently dipping in Bayer so not sure if adding CoralRx is doing anything other than stressing out my coral needlessly.
? Or am I missing something and there is benefit to doing both?

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I know people will completely disagree here but in regards to sps frags specifically, I stopped dipping entirely with anything that was shipped to me. I melted a ton of frags using different dip methods and for me, I just found that it just adds additional stress to corals that were already stressed from shipping. Several years back I watched YouTube’s from Jake at reef builders. His methods for getting shipped frags into his tanks reversed everything I picked up from others and I haven’t had any problems since. Softies and lps are a completely different story though. So, I’m not saying to not dip your sps frags…but I would look into jakes old videos. My experience either way, dipping or not, is that the nasties are pretty much on the plug (outside of aefw, etc.). Inspect the frag closely and ditch the plug.

 

[flyfisherman]

Hot tip: Stop dipping with Bayer, its garbage. You most likely are knocking back acclimation time many months at best for your new coral. Especially on light skin corals, tenuis, ect.

Use potassium KCI or something else...i know there are many reefers in this hobby that swear by the stuff because it was the sexy discovery 5 years....i would love to know how many of them havent had to run interceptor in their tanks. Probably zero!

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

OP,
CoralRX DOES NOT work on white, red or black bugs. Period. Neither does Potassium Chloride. Period. I know this from personal testing. There’s a reason those pests aren’t mentioned on the label. Not to mention that it is highly toxic to SPS.

Bayer, although it’s cloudy, kills EVERY live pest it comes into contact with. Especially red, white and black bugs! It has been my “go to” for years now with great results as long as you are meticulous with a minimum 10 minute dip EVERY time. The way I look for what it kills is to hold the clear container above my head to look thru the bottom while shining my phone flashlight thru the top of the dip. You can see a lot of what comes off your frag/plug. But most importantly, you can rest assured that any pests are dead.

The key to success with shipped SPS is to set up a small holding tank with your system water in it. A small heater, powerhead and light. Upon arrivival and temp acclimation move the new frags to this holding tank for 24hrs before dipping. You will see much better results and a 90% decrease in STN. The only bad thing I can say about Bayer is that it will discolor the frag for roughly two weeks and then you will start to see nice colors come back.

The other very important thing to do is to cut the frag off the original plug and throw the plug away. Plugs are where eggs are laid and not to mention nuisance algae.

This has been my process for many years now and I rarely lose a new arrival.

 

[drtechno]

OP,
CoralRX DOES NOT work on white, red or black bugs. Period. Neither does Potassium Chloride. Period. I know this from personal testing. There’s a reason those pests aren’t mentioned on the label. Not to mention that it is highly toxic to SPS.

Bayer, although it’s cloudy, kills EVERY live pest it comes into contact with. Especially red, white and black bugs! It has been my “go to” for years now with great results as long as you are meticulous with a minimum 10 minute dip EVERY time. The way I look for what it kills is to hold the clear container above my head to look thru the bottom while shining my phone flashlight thru the top of the dip. You can see a lot of what comes off your frag/plug. But most importantly, you can rest assured that any pests are dead.

The key to success with shipped SPS is to set up a small holding tank with your system water in it. A small heater, powerhead and light. Upon arrivival and temp acclimation move the new frags to this holding tank for 24hrs before dipping. You will see much better results and a 90% decrease in STN. The only bad thing I can say about Bayer is that it will discolor the frag for roughly two weeks and then you will start to see nice colors come back.

The other very important thing to do is to cut the frag off the original plug and throw the plug away. Plugs are where eggs are laid and not to mention nuisance algae.

This has been my process for many years now and I rarely lose a new arrival.

Great advice.

Yes, I intend on continuing to use Bayer, but it sounds like even if CoralRx was tolerated by acros, there is no sense in using it in addition because it basically treats the same things (less effectively, it sounds like). I would like to see what the Bayer is killing... I like your idea of looking at the bottom of the clear container, lol.

Interesting thoughts on the holding tank. I do have a spare tank, heater and powerhead (no light) that I could use for this. I assume another 24 hours of poor quality light in addition to the shipping would be ok for the coral. I have a frag QT that I am using, simply because there is no way I am putting anything in my tank before 60 days are up.

I am cutting the bases off all of the acro plugs. I do have some LPS and encrusting coral that I have no idea how to remove, so those plugs stayed but are in the QT.

@Sweet Reef Corals Do you use a QT or do you place them into your tank after dipping? If you QT, I assume you dip one last time after QT before putting them into your tank ? Not sure what the protocol is on that... I realize its for hatched eggs, but if you are already removing the plug and base, the chances for any eggs making it thru into the QT tank and hatching there are pretty close to nil.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

Great advice.

Yes, I intend on continuing to use Bayer, but it sounds like even if CoralRx was tolerated by acros, there is no sense in using it in addition because it basically treats the same things (less effectively, it sounds like). I would like to see what the Bayer is killing... I like your idea of looking at the bottom of the clear container, lol.

Interesting thoughts on the holding tank. I do have a spare tank, heater and powerhead (no light) that I could use for this. I assume another 24 hours of poor quality light in addition to the shipping would be ok for the coral. I have a frag QT that I am using, simply because there is no way I am putting anything in my tank before 60 days are up.

I am cutting the bases off all of the acro plugs. I do have some LPS and encrusting coral that I have no idea how to remove, so those plugs stayed but are in the QT.

@Sweet Reef Corals Do you use a QT or do you place them into your tank after dipping? If you QT, I assume you dip one last time after QT before putting them into your tank ? Not sure what the protocol is on that... I realize its for hatched eggs, but if you are already removing the plug and base, the chances for any eggs making it thru into the QT tank and hatching there are pretty close to nil.

I have a frag saw so I am able to be 100% sure that when I remove the acro from the existing plug, there is nothing left but healthy flesh. I rinse twice in separate containers and then remount to a new plug. In my years of doing this, I have never seen eggs on healthy flesh. It’s either on dead skin or on the plug. At this point I am confident it can go in my system. I don’t run a long term QT