Poll: How do you Acclimate your coral?

CindyKz · Dec 11, 2017

I'll float the bag if it feels really cool or if I can't get to them right away, I won't bother if the temp has been kept stable in a cooler or whatever. Usually I buy my corals locally and they aren't in the bag for long but they're going to cool off during the dip anyway. Add some Bayer or Coral Rx to the bag they came in (usually Bayer), soak, double rinse and into the tank.

MnFish1 · Dec 11, 2017

I temp acclimate and put in. But. Don’t the results of the survey depend on where the coral is coming from. I’m not sure I would do this if the coral was coming from an online place vs a local fish shop 15
Minutes from my house

Mikedawg8898 · Dec 11, 2017

BigJohnny said:
Float for temp, that's it. I don't consider dipping a form of acclimation, unless your tank is full of coral dip 24/7 ; )

Never lost a coral to acclimation, which have been primarily acropora. Drip acclimation for corals is not necessary ime, in fact i like to get them into my tank as fast as possible. Having said that, I've never bought a coral from a 12 dkh tank and put it in a 7 dkh tank. I could see that causing issues.

You know that’s a good point about the dkh. I never thought to even check the dkh of the tank the coral is coming from. I bet that big of a change would cause all sorts of problems. I bet it would cause browning of the coral and closed polyps in acros or maybe even tissue loss like stn or rtn. I don’t know this for a fact but I could see a dkh swing like that doing something of that nature to the new coral

Deinonych · Dec 11, 2017

Temp acclimate, dip, then QT for 72 days in a dedicated coral QT.

Kamden Uelton · Dec 11, 2017

I like to temp acclimate for 30 minutes, drip acclimate for 1 hour and then i do a quick 5 minute dip.

Stevesreef225 · Dec 11, 2017

I can’t really see the point to floating if your going to drip. I usually start with the smallest amount of water possible. Drip til the water volume at least triples. I do not dip... I know I should.

Stevesreef225 · Dec 11, 2017

I once asked my lfs guy if I should acclimate the coral that I just bought. He looked at me like I was stupid and said “acclimate anything you want to live”.

lou dog420 · Dec 11, 2017

Float bag to temp acclimate and then straight in the DT.

drblakjak55 · Dec 12, 2017

Float in bag 20 min. Add some tank water X3 over 40 min. Dip, rinse, in Tank

RussiReef · Dec 12, 2017

Float a bag, dip, inspect, say a prayer and in to the tank

Catfish2 · Dec 12, 2017

Ok, here's my process....probably overkill now that read what everyone else does.
1- frag goes into container with store water floating in the QT. (Temp acclimation)
2- every 5 minutes or so 100 ml of QT water goes into container
3 - initial water volume in container is doubled then half is emptied.
4- repeat steps 2 and 3 three times.
5- during the temp acclimation and parameter matching process the frag is inspected visually for any pests.
6-bayer dip is prepared in a separate container that is only for dip, using QT water.
7- coral is dipped for 10 minutes
8- coral is rinsed in 2 separate containers of QT water
9- frag plug is removed if doing so won't significantly harm the coral.
10- new frag plug attached if desired
11- into QT for 2 months minimum.
12- randomly dip again if anything looks weird.

This is the most thorough process I could come up with. I don't trust any source but myself to be pest free when things go from QT to frag tank.

I figure if i do get a pest I did everything I could to prevent it so I won't be as upset.

I lost 1 frag since I started doing this process (1 year), but it came on a 2 hr drive home from reefapalooza, which involved multiple tank transfers.

In my mind I would much rather lose an occasional frag in this process than introduce something that can wipe them all out.

I once had monti eating nudis in a display and I never want to experience that again.

BigJohnny · Dec 12, 2017

Catfish2 said:
Ok, here's my process....probably overkill now that read what everyone else does.
1- frag goes into container with store water floating in the QT. (Temp acclimation)
2- every 5 minutes or so 100 ml of QT water goes into container
3 - initial water volume in container is doubled then half is emptied.
4- repeat steps 2 and 3 three times.
5- during the temp acclimation and parameter matching process the frag is inspected visually for any pests.
6-bayer dip is prepared in a separate container that is only for dip, using QT water.
7- coral is dipped for 10 minutes
8- coral is rinsed in 2 separate containers of QT water
9- frag plug is removed if doing so won't significantly harm the coral.
10- new frag plug attached if desired
11- into QT for 2 months minimum.
12- randomly dip again if anything looks weird.

This is the most thorough process I could come up with. I don't trust any source but myself to be pest free when things go from QT to frag tank.

I figure if i do get a pest I did everything I could to prevent it so I won't be as upset.

I lost 1 frag since I started doing this process (1 year), but it came on a 2 hr drive home from reefapalooza, which involved multiple tank transfers.

In my mind I would much rather lose an occasional frag in this process than introduce something that can wipe them all out.

I once had monti eating nudis in a display and I never want to experience that again.

Just FYI it's better to remove the frag plug before dipping. Happy reefing!

Reef13 · Dec 12, 2017

Float for 15-20 mins, in they go.. never lost anything, including clean up crew..

Reef13 · Dec 12, 2017

Wish there was a category to just float.. I had to vote straight into Display..

Catfish2 · Dec 12, 2017

BigJohnny said:
Just FYI it's better to remove the frag plug before dipping. Happy reefing!

Thanks for the input! Why is that though? I used to do it before the dip, but sometimes the new plug would get dislodged with all the swishing in the dip and rinse. So now I do it after, but I'm happy to improve my method.

Richards_reef · Dec 12, 2017

I'm not the one that made the suggestion, but I've had critters hide between the plug and coral, and survive a dip.

BigJohnny · Dec 12, 2017

Catfish2 said:
Thanks for the input! Why is that though? I used to do it before the dip, but sometimes the new plug would get dislodged with all the swishing in the dip and rinse. So now I do it after, but I'm happy to improve my method.

Because there can be eggs etc between the coral and the plug. Don't put the plug on until after you've dipped the coral. Either that or use a better glue. I recommend bsi ic gel.

Doubbler · Dec 13, 2017

Temp up, iodine dip only if shipped, coral rx if from lfs or fellow hobbyists. Then I set them on a frag rack for one week. If it's sps I break it off the plug and glue it right to the rock. Lps gets set on the sand for a week, then moved to appropriate location.