Who here doesn't acclimate their corals?

seagirl · 07/11/2007, 01:12 PM

Untill very recently i would have never thought to ask this question, but i have seen some interesting things lately. Recently i went to a fellow reefers house to swap a couple corals. When i got there and looked at his tank it was the most beautiful reef tank i had ever seen! I proceded to stare at his aquarium after i gave him the corals i had brought for him. To my amazement he opened the bags, took out my corals and put them right into his tank without acclimating.

I asked him about ths and he said he has never acclimated a coral, and it really isn't necessary? I took my new corals home, looked at my tank and figured what the heck, why not try it. I did and everything went great. I started talking with some of my regular LFS in the area, and got them all to admit "off the record" that they never acclimate either and still have a geat survival rate among their corals.

I'm not recomending it, but i was wondering how many of you do this or have tried it?

theatrus · 07/11/2007, 01:17 PM

I've taken to slime acclimating SPS corals (hardier ones anyway). Just leave them out of the water for a minute, let them slime up, and re-submerge.

If the tank conditions are similar, it works very well. I have no lost a coral due to acclimation-related stresses in awhile.

Jefe12234 · 07/11/2007, 01:21 PM

I float mine in the bag for 5 minutes, then place them in the tank. Even this is probably unnecessary if the temperatures are at all close. I don't remember ever losing a coral due to acclimation problems.

reefing102 · 07/11/2007, 01:24 PM

i pour them in a bucket. Add a cup of my water then just put in the tank

sammyfish · 07/11/2007, 01:31 PM

SPS I acclimate to temp by floating the bag for an hour then add the coral to the tank.

With the 1 LPS I have, I acclimated to temp then put it in a large bowl and added a 1/2 cup of tank water for an hour.

I don't believe I've lost a single coral using this method.

GMAX · 07/11/2007, 01:34 PM

Never unless I have reason to believe there is a major temp difference. Otherwise its the saltwater dip method, just dunk them in.

Kinetic · 07/11/2007, 01:35 PM

I dip the hell out of my corals, lugols, tmpcc, fluke tabs, then into a 8g qt tank laced with interceptor for a day.

then they go into my tank. in terms of acclimating them to temp / ph etc., no need, just plop them in. in terms of pests, yes they get quite a nuking.

1F2FRFBF · 07/11/2007, 01:38 PM

Float the bags for a while, pour off half the water and put in some tank water, float a bit more, place in tank. There have been a couple that have gone right in without any acclimation whatsoever, but no harm done.

Travis L. Stevens · 07/11/2007, 01:42 PM

For me, it completely depends. If I know who my coral came from, their tank parameters, etc. I might plunge them in straight from the bag. If they've been on a long car ride with me, I might temp acclimate them first. Now, if the coral comes from a store or someone I don't know their tank, I do full acclimation. I know a few stores that keep their tanks low in the 1.022 range and they test their water with faulty methods. I've seen water from some stores as low as 1.019. If I were to plunge them in my 1.026 tank, it could cause severe damage to the animal because of osmosis. If you choose to not acclimate your corals, be extremely cautious and know what you're doing. Generally, I recommend everyone acclimate everything no matter how redundant it seems. Better to err on the side of caution.

pledosophy · 07/11/2007, 01:44 PM

I QT everything. Corals, snails, you name it. Then I use the drip method. Easy enough for me.

neyugn0w01 · 07/11/2007, 01:46 PM

The most I have done is drop the bag in the sump for about 5-10 minutes. I am however very picky with who I get my corals from.

AquaReeferMan · 07/11/2007, 02:11 PM

I float my corals for a couple of minutes to get the temp right and then just drop them in. If they are zoanthids I will dip them in lugols and freshwater and then place them in my tank. Ive been doing it this way for about 6 months now. Everything is fine. Fish on the other hand I will acclimate.

MeuserReef · 07/11/2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 1F2FRFBF
Float the bags for a while, pour off half the water and put in some tank water, float a bit more, place in tank. There have been a couple that have gone right in without any acclimation whatsoever, but no harm done.

I use this exact same method.. No problems.

flyyyguy · 07/11/2007, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kinetic
I dip the hell out of my corals, lugols, tmpcc, fluke tabs, then into a 8g qt tank laced with interceptor for a day.

then they go into my tank. in terms of acclimating them to temp / ph etc., no need, just plop them in. in terms of pests, yes they get quite a nuking.

I do more or less the same and assume everything is infected no matter who it is coming from

nuking yes.......acclimation only to temp for me

ionredline0260 · 07/11/2007, 02:36 PM

I drip aclimate all my corals....thats to say they drip a bit when I take them out of the bag and plop them in my tank. Never lost a coral yet.

hyperfocal · 07/11/2007, 05:34 PM

To state the obvious: acclimating isn't the same thing as quarantining.

Some corals, but not all, lead a pretty rough life in the wild (exposure at low tide, etc) and are a lot tougher than we give them credit for. Of course, others aren't so adventurous and spend their time in an environment that doesn't change a whole lot day to day, let alone minute to minute. I can't tell by looking at a coral which type of environment it is used to, so I acclimate every time (1 hour drip method, 3x water volume turn-over). As said previously in this thread, better safe than sorry imo.

One of my LFS doesn't acclimate new arrivals much at all, their philosophy being it is more important to get the corals out of the ammonia-laden water they shipped in as quickly as possible. Makes sense to me...

I haven't yet quarantined any new arrivals in my tank, but that's been (partially) because the tank is pretty young and not much to lose in the event of a disaster, and (mostly) my laziness. So far, I've been lucky -- just got some bubble algae and a single aptasia (long-since nuked to skimmate).

However, the tank is now heading into middle age so I'll be quarantining everything that goes in. Partly to be sure that the new critter isn't carrying something nasty and partly so I can be sure it's healthy, eating well, strong enough to face up to the "welcoming committee" in the tank, etc.

I know people who don't acclimate or quarantine. I also know people with mysterious fish deaths, aptasia, red bugs, aefw, etc. There's an overlap. Go figure.

bassettmd · 07/11/2007, 05:36 PM

I never acclimate any of my softies... but i do acclimate my clams and LPS.

phragman53 · 07/11/2007, 06:32 PM

This discussion seems to center on water conditions. What about lighting and acclimating to your lighting set up?

bahhareef · 07/11/2007, 07:04 PM

Acclimating corals is the same as owning a 400 gallon rated skimmer for your 150 gallon tank. Some people take this hobby to the extreme thinking that will produce the best results. These organisms arent as fragile as people believe....if they were as fragile as people believe they would not be able to survive in nature.

Someone is bound to respond with a global warming type response to this. Over sustained periods of stress corals will die, but being stressed for a day won't hurt them

flyyyguy · 07/11/2007, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bahhareef
Acclimating corals is the same as owning a 400 gallon rated skimmer for your 150 gallon tank.

no offense, but thats one of the worst analogies ive ever heard

I tried to come up with one equally irrelevant but couldnt.....

Tate · 07/11/2007, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jefe12234
I float mine in the bag for 5 minutes, then place them in the tank. Even this is probably unnecessary if the temperatures are at all close. I don't remember ever losing a coral due to acclimation problems.

Same here. Temperature acclimate only and put right in. I have never lost one. Some are even fully open within a couple hours.

scarter · 07/11/2007, 07:27 PM

jsut dump them in, I even know a guy that pours the water out of the bag his fish come in and then he takes them out of the bag with his hand and plops them in the tank. his tank is nice though

PrivateJoker64 · 07/11/2007, 07:54 PM

I temp acclimate them only.

flipteg · 07/11/2007, 08:31 PM

i use to do it all the time... but now that i've had the tank for almost two years now, and the "new" factor has worn off, i never acclimate anything anymore... sometimes, i still feel guilt, but reason always tells me that they should be ok... and they are ok... seeing how sensitive most of these things are, if they are surviving in their current water, if they were to survive in my water, then it needs to be pretty close to their old water anyways... there's also the arguement of shock... but other than temperature, i have yet to see shock having an adverse effect on the new arrivals (considering that the new water's parameter is on par or better than the old water)... i've done this to most of the inhabitants in my tank right now... fishes, snails, acropora, LPS, clams, etc...

mikekman · 07/11/2007, 08:33 PM

I don't take a lot of time to acclimate my corals. I usually cut a hole in the bag, get a turkey baster and squirt some of my tank water in the bag. Then I put the bag in my tank for like 2-3 minutes and then take the coral out and put it in my tank. Thats all I do.

I do however turn off my lights for the rest of the day so that the corals don't get like shocked by the bright lights.

07/11/2007, 01:12 PM	#1
seagirl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 1,130	Who here doesn't acclimate their corals? Untill very recently i would have never thought to ask this question, but i have seen some interesting things lately. Recently i went to a fellow reefers house to swap a couple corals. When i got there and looked at his tank it was the most beautiful reef tank i had ever seen! I proceded to stare at his aquarium after i gave him the corals i had brought for him. To my amazement he opened the bags, took out my corals and put them right into his tank without acclimating. I asked him about ths and he said he has never acclimated a coral, and it really isn't necessary? I took my new corals home, looked at my tank and figured what the heck, why not try it. I did and everything went great. I started talking with some of my regular LFS in the area, and got them all to admit "off the record" that they never acclimate either and still have a geat survival rate among their corals. I'm not recomending it, but i was wondering how many of you do this or have tried it?

07/11/2007, 01:17 PM	#2
theatrus 100-mile-commuter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: almost nevada Posts: 4,721	I've taken to slime acclimating SPS corals (hardier ones anyway). Just leave them out of the water for a minute, let them slime up, and re-submerge. If the tank conditions are similar, it works very well. I have no lost a coral due to acclimation-related stresses in awhile. __________________ Custom electronics purveyor. blueAcro.com Current Tank Info: 90g SPS+mixed reef (10 yrs): LEDBrick LEDs, 40g custom sump, Ca reactor, chiller, Vortech, lots of custom electronics

07/11/2007, 01:21 PM	#3
Jefe12234 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: MN Posts: 885	I float mine in the bag for 5 minutes, then place them in the tank. Even this is probably unnecessary if the temperatures are at all close. I don't remember ever losing a coral due to acclimation problems. __________________ Serenity now!!!

07/11/2007, 01:24 PM	#4
reefing102 Who Am I Here? Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 1,155	i pour them in a bucket. Add a cup of my water then just put in the tank __________________ Shane Life's a climb... but the view is great. ______________________________ Current Tank Info: 2.5 Gallon Nano

07/11/2007, 01:31 PM	#5
sammyfish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: In the back, with the ladies Posts: 77	SPS I acclimate to temp by floating the bag for an hour then add the coral to the tank. With the 1 LPS I have, I acclimated to temp then put it in a large bowl and added a 1/2 cup of tank water for an hour. I don't believe I've lost a single coral using this method. __________________ The night time is the right time Don’t sweat the petty stuff, pet the sweaty stuff

07/11/2007, 01:34 PM	#6
GMAX Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: DFW Posts: 839	Never unless I have reason to believe there is a major temp difference. Otherwise its the saltwater dip method, just dunk them in.

07/11/2007, 01:35 PM	#7
Kinetic Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 7,230	I dip the hell out of my corals, lugols, tmpcc, fluke tabs, then into a 8g qt tank laced with interceptor for a day. then they go into my tank. in terms of acclimating them to temp / ph etc., no need, just plop them in. in terms of pests, yes they get quite a nuking.

07/11/2007, 01:38 PM	#8
1F2FRFBF Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Jersey Shore Posts: 456	Float the bags for a while, pour off half the water and put in some tank water, float a bit more, place in tank. There have been a couple that have gone right in without any acclimation whatsoever, but no harm done.

07/11/2007, 01:42 PM	#9
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	For me, it completely depends. If I know who my coral came from, their tank parameters, etc. I might plunge them in straight from the bag. If they've been on a long car ride with me, I might temp acclimate them first. Now, if the coral comes from a store or someone I don't know their tank, I do full acclimation. I know a few stores that keep their tanks low in the 1.022 range and they test their water with faulty methods. I've seen water from some stores as low as 1.019. If I were to plunge them in my 1.026 tank, it could cause severe damage to the animal because of osmosis. If you choose to not acclimate your corals, be extremely cautious and know what you're doing. Generally, I recommend everyone acclimate everything no matter how redundant it seems. Better to err on the side of caution. __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

07/11/2007, 01:44 PM	#10
pledosophy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Beaverton Posts: 5,290	I QT everything. Corals, snails, you name it. Then I use the drip method. Easy enough for me. __________________ 120g mixed reef 90g QT

07/11/2007, 01:46 PM	#11
neyugn0w01 Moved On Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: USA Posts: 892	The most I have done is drop the bag in the sump for about 5-10 minutes. I am however very picky with who I get my corals from.

07/11/2007, 02:11 PM	#12
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	I float my corals for a couple of minutes to get the temp right and then just drop them in. If they are zoanthids I will dip them in lugols and freshwater and then place them in my tank. Ive been doing it this way for about 6 months now. Everything is fine. Fish on the other hand I will acclimate. __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

07/11/2007, 02:36 PM	#15
ionredline0260 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Box Around the Corner Posts: 747	I drip aclimate all my corals....thats to say they drip a bit when I take them out of the bag and plop them in my tank. Never lost a coral yet.

07/11/2007, 05:34 PM	#16
hyperfocal Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Edge of oblivion Posts: 1,708	To state the obvious: acclimating isn't the same thing as quarantining. Some corals, but not all, lead a pretty rough life in the wild (exposure at low tide, etc) and are a lot tougher than we give them credit for. Of course, others aren't so adventurous and spend their time in an environment that doesn't change a whole lot day to day, let alone minute to minute. I can't tell by looking at a coral which type of environment it is used to, so I acclimate every time (1 hour drip method, 3x water volume turn-over). As said previously in this thread, better safe than sorry imo. One of my LFS doesn't acclimate new arrivals much at all, their philosophy being it is more important to get the corals out of the ammonia-laden water they shipped in as quickly as possible. Makes sense to me... I haven't yet quarantined any new arrivals in my tank, but that's been (partially) because the tank is pretty young and not much to lose in the event of a disaster, and (mostly) my laziness. So far, I've been lucky -- just got some bubble algae and a single aptasia (long-since nuked to skimmate). However, the tank is now heading into middle age so I'll be quarantining everything that goes in. Partly to be sure that the new critter isn't carrying something nasty and partly so I can be sure it's healthy, eating well, strong enough to face up to the "welcoming committee" in the tank, etc. I know people who don't acclimate or quarantine. I also know people with mysterious fish deaths, aptasia, red bugs, aefw, etc. There's an overlap. Go figure. __________________ "Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent." -- Voltaire Current Tank Info: getting back into the hobby

07/11/2007, 05:36 PM	#17
bassettmd Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NorthEast Posts: 710	I never acclimate any of my softies... but i do acclimate my clams and LPS.

07/11/2007, 06:32 PM	#18
phragman53 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: SW Conn. Posts: 52	This discussion seems to center on water conditions. What about lighting and acclimating to your lighting set up?

07/11/2007, 07:04 PM	#19
bahhareef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 92	Acclimating corals is the same as owning a 400 gallon rated skimmer for your 150 gallon tank. Some people take this hobby to the extreme thinking that will produce the best results. These organisms arent as fragile as people believe....if they were as fragile as people believe they would not be able to survive in nature. Someone is bound to respond with a global warming type response to this. Over sustained periods of stress corals will die, but being stressed for a day won't hurt them __________________ Mr. Vibes himself hath blessed them quotes Current Tank Info: 10 gallon nano / 40 gallon

07/11/2007, 07:27 PM	#22
scarter Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore Posts: 605	jsut dump them in, I even know a guy that pours the water out of the bag his fish come in and then he takes them out of the bag with his hand and plops them in the tank. his tank is nice though __________________ My name is Shane and I am a reefaholic, I have a disease and they don't know what to call it. Current Tank Info: what tank?

07/11/2007, 07:54 PM	#23
PrivateJoker64 Moved On Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 1,145	I temp acclimate them only.

07/11/2007, 08:31 PM	#24
flipteg Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 910	i use to do it all the time... but now that i've had the tank for almost two years now, and the "new" factor has worn off, i never acclimate anything anymore... sometimes, i still feel guilt, but reason always tells me that they should be ok... and they are ok... seeing how sensitive most of these things are, if they are surviving in their current water, if they were to survive in my water, then it needs to be pretty close to their old water anyways... there's also the arguement of shock... but other than temperature, i have yet to see shock having an adverse effect on the new arrivals (considering that the new water's parameter is on par or better than the old water)... i've done this to most of the inhabitants in my tank right now... fishes, snails, acropora, LPS, clams, etc...

07/11/2007, 08:33 PM	#25
mikekman Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: CA Posts: 1,064	I don't take a lot of time to acclimate my corals. I usually cut a hole in the bag, get a turkey baster and squirt some of my tank water in the bag. Then I put the bag in my tank for like 2-3 minutes and then take the coral out and put it in my tank. Thats all I do. I do however turn off my lights for the rest of the day so that the corals don't get like shocked by the bright lights.