Aclimating Corals

jtaliman · 05/01/2006, 10:23 AM

I bought my first corals the other day and the guy who sold them to me said they didn't need to be aclimated. I got a cabbage leather, starburst polyp and anthellia. His reasoning was they get a lot of their corals from suppliers with little or no water (just damp) on them and they have to put them right into their tanks. He also said in the ocean with the tide there are times the corals are out of the water so they are use to moving in and out of the water.

I wasn't sure to believe him or not so I aclimated the leather and starburst since they were more expensive just to make sure everything went ok. The anthellia was a $5 frag so I just put it in to see if everything would go ok. It appears to be doing well and my wife swears it is bigger. Is this guy right that you don't need to aclimate corals or maybe it is just the kind I bought?

Any thoughts on this?

Kaiser Tang · 05/01/2006, 10:28 AM

Float the bag in your tank/sump for 15-20 minutes and then put them in your tank. Temperature adjustment is the only acclimation that you need.

masterswimmer · 05/01/2006, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaiser Tang
Float the bag in your tank/sump for 15-20 minutes and then put them in your tank. Temperature adjustment is the only acclimation that you need.

Thats the same thing I've been doing for years.

BTW, a good piece of prophylatic advice, while temp acclimating your corals, drip a few drops of flatworm exit into every single bag of coral you introduce to your tank.

swimmer

abugs1985 · 05/01/2006, 10:42 AM

I've always acclimated corals no matter where I get them from. Many corals can simply be put right in the tank but it's best to always acclimate....no matter the situation. Many corals are easily stressed by sudden changes in Salinity/SG, sudden exposure to light, even if your tank has the slightest bit of nitrate/ites that can affect how the newly introduced coral will act. The longer you spend acclimating the coral, I find, the faster it will take to your tank once it is in the water. This of course is just me...there are many different ways to do anything in this hobby...everyone has their own philosophy. When I acclimate a coral I'll spend at least a few hours using the traditional drip method and when I place the coral in the tank I never once let it "touch" the air. It's completely up to you...whatever is easiest and whatever you think works the best.

intenseimage · 05/01/2006, 10:44 AM

Knock on wood I have never done any acclimation (be it fish, coral, inverts, etc) besides a 15-30 mins temp acclimation and everything is/has been doing WELL

After the bag has floated for a bit I dump out most of the transport water into a tub and depending on the species either dump them with the remaining water into the tank (fish/inverts) or do a quick out/in swap exposing them to a little air (snails, crabs, some corals)

I guess with a smaller tank its hard to loose all that water doing a drip acclimation since I dont want to add that much transport water back in.

Johnsteph10 · 05/01/2006, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by masterswimmer
Thats the same thing I've been doing for years.

BTW, a good piece of prophylatic advice, while temp acclimating your corals, drip a few drops of flatworm exit into every single bag of coral you introduce to your tank.

swimmer

Except if there is a large difference in SG - a lot of LFS around here keep their SG low...you will shock them if you don't measure first!

masterswimmer · 05/01/2006, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Johnsteph10
Except if there is a large difference in SG - a lot of LFS around here keep their SG low...you will shock them if you don't measure first!

I know that my LFS keeps their tanks SG at a much lower level than my 1.0265. I acclimate fish and inverts only by drip. Coral I have never done any more than temp acclimation and have NEVER lost a coral this way.

swimmer

jtaliman · 05/01/2006, 11:35 AM

Thanks for all the replys. Learn something new everyday. I guess I'll just do the temp acclimation in the future.

reefNetWork · 05/01/2006, 11:40 AM

what is drip acclimation and how is it done?
will

abugs1985 · 05/01/2006, 12:18 PM

The drip meathod uses some tubing and a drip regulator which you can set to let out however many drips of water you want, per second, from your display or quaranteen tank into the bag which your purchased livestock is in. This is simply a slower meathod to acclimating corals, fish, inverts... by slowly adding water from your tank to the water in the bag, and then dumping half the water from the bag and letting it fill up with "drip water" from your tank a second, third and sometimes even fourth time, it ensures that the coral or whatever will slowly and safely become acclimated and more comfortable to the conditions in your tank which in turn will cause much less stress on the livestock that you've ordered.

05/01/2006, 10:23 AM	#1
jtaliman Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Franklin, TN Posts: 118	Aclimating Corals I bought my first corals the other day and the guy who sold them to me said they didn't need to be aclimated. I got a cabbage leather, starburst polyp and anthellia. His reasoning was they get a lot of their corals from suppliers with little or no water (just damp) on them and they have to put them right into their tanks. He also said in the ocean with the tide there are times the corals are out of the water so they are use to moving in and out of the water. I wasn't sure to believe him or not so I aclimated the leather and starburst since they were more expensive just to make sure everything went ok. The anthellia was a $5 frag so I just put it in to see if everything would go ok. It appears to be doing well and my wife swears it is bigger. Is this guy right that you don't need to aclimate corals or maybe it is just the kind I bought? Any thoughts on this?

05/01/2006, 10:28 AM	#2
Kaiser Tang Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 1,314	Float the bag in your tank/sump for 15-20 minutes and then put them in your tank. Temperature adjustment is the only acclimation that you need. __________________ "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: Marineland 150 XH Reef w/ 55 AGA Sump, Oceans Motions Super Squirt, Ecotech Marine Vortech, Current Prime 1/3 hp Chiller, 200 lbs. LR, 175 lbs. LS, 800 watts PFO MH and 440 watts IceCap VHO. Softies, LPS, and Clams!

05/01/2006, 11:40 AM	#9
reefNetWork Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Long Beach California Posts: 365	what is drip acclimation and how is it done? will __________________ William Current Tank Info: 80 gallon reef. 20 Gallon Sump. Little Giant MDQX - SC Pump. ASM G1x skimmer. 4x96 watt 50/50 PCs

05/01/2006, 10:42 AM	#4
abugs1985 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 193	I've always acclimated corals no matter where I get them from. Many corals can simply be put right in the tank but it's best to always acclimate....no matter the situation. Many corals are easily stressed by sudden changes in Salinity/SG, sudden exposure to light, even if your tank has the slightest bit of nitrate/ites that can affect how the newly introduced coral will act. The longer you spend acclimating the coral, I find, the faster it will take to your tank once it is in the water. This of course is just me...there are many different ways to do anything in this hobby...everyone has their own philosophy. When I acclimate a coral I'll spend at least a few hours using the traditional drip method and when I place the coral in the tank I never once let it "touch" the air. It's completely up to you...whatever is easiest and whatever you think works the best.

05/01/2006, 10:44 AM	#5
intenseimage Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Northampton, PA Posts: 1,135	Knock on wood I have never done any acclimation (be it fish, coral, inverts, etc) besides a 15-30 mins temp acclimation and everything is/has been doing WELL After the bag has floated for a bit I dump out most of the transport water into a tub and depending on the species either dump them with the remaining water into the tank (fish/inverts) or do a quick out/in swap exposing them to a little air (snails, crabs, some corals) I guess with a smaller tank its hard to loose all that water doing a drip acclimation since I dont want to add that much transport water back in.

05/01/2006, 11:35 AM	#8
jtaliman Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Franklin, TN Posts: 118	Thanks for all the replys. Learn something new everyday. I guess I'll just do the temp acclimation in the future.

05/01/2006, 12:18 PM	#10
abugs1985 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 193	The drip meathod uses some tubing and a drip regulator which you can set to let out however many drips of water you want, per second, from your display or quaranteen tank into the bag which your purchased livestock is in. This is simply a slower meathod to acclimating corals, fish, inverts... by slowly adding water from your tank to the water in the bag, and then dumping half the water from the bag and letting it fill up with "drip water" from your tank a second, third and sometimes even fourth time, it ensures that the coral or whatever will slowly and safely become acclimated and more comfortable to the conditions in your tank which in turn will cause much less stress on the livestock that you've ordered.