Soft coral acclimation and dip questions

Just John

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I am new to this and the acclimation process seems simple enough, but
1- By the time the coral is acclimated to the water, the container of water will no longer be the same temperature as the tank. Is that a problem? (my house is set to the low 70's)
2- Do I add the dip to the container after I am done with the acclimation or toward the end of acclimating?

Thanks!
 
Float in bag or container in tank for about 15 mins. Remove coral and put in container with tank water and dip. Let sit for about 15 mins. Remove. Rinse in another container with tank water. Place in tank.
 
I will let others more experienced comment, but what I personally have been doing after getting back into the hobby.

1. I keep a 32(or so) gallon tub with water ready to go. I turn on the heater when I know the new corals/fish are coming and match my tank temp. This helps with the temp issue while I am getting setup.
2. I grab a small 5-10w heater and place it into the container I plan on using to combine the corals. Large enough to handle all of the water + enough for doubling it.
3. I dump the bags into the container and then start dumping 1-3 cups of tank water into it. Obviously depends on water quantity from the corals. I add more water every 5-10 minutes.
4. After awhile, I dump 1/2 of the water and then continue adding those 1-3 cups.
5. I then grab some (or one) gallon ziplock bags and fill that with about a gallon of water from my tank.
6. I add my coral cleaner - I use seachem reef dip and drop in 1.5 capfuls.
7. I use the plugs that came in, so I H2O2 (20-32% food grade) the plugs and use a razor blade to shop off anything I don't like.
8. I have two other smaller containers with clean tank water.
9. I take the coral out, dunk it in the first container and shake it for a bit.
10. I then move it to the H2O2 container for a few minutes (maybe not long enough to be valid)
11. I move it to the second small container and swish it around.
12. The coral then goes into the reef dip for 30-45 minutes. Zip lock goes back into the tub so temp stays constant.
13. Once all corals are done I rinse them off and move them to QT or DT.
14. Lights stay off for a couple of hours and all corals are placed on the bottom of the tank.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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