introducing new inverts & corals

[Big Jim]

Do any of you have any tecniques for acclimating new inverts and corals? Do you do a dip of some sort or quarantine? My quarantine tank does not have sufficient lighting. I have heard of doing dips but in what and for how long?

[paulsreef]

Jim,

Quarantining is always a good idea, unless you're absolutely (100%) certain of the origin of your critter and you know every aspect of the system it came from. Even so, there are many variables you could never take into account, so a quarantine is the best way to avoid serious problems. you never know what might come in on a new fish or invert. As for acclimation, I use a modified 1 gallon Rubbermaid container with a piece of flexible tubing attached and a air-line regulator to control the drip. I put whatever I'm acclimating in a bucket with the water it's currently in and then drip in tank water slowly (over the course of an hour or so. Then I bag it back up and set it in the tank for about 10 - 15 minutes to equalize the temp. Its always worked for me.

HTH,

Paul

[Big Jim]

I thought you were not supposed to mix water from the LFS into your tank? And if not how do you deal with inverts getting air on them? I can't quarantine due to lack of lighting in my quarantine tank. What do you think is best? I have heard of dipping in tank water mixed with iodine for less than 60 seconds? Thoughts?

[clownman_1988]

hey guys what it a good size tank im think im going to use a 10 gallon what is a good set up for a Q tank thanks

[paulsreef]

Actually Jim, that's an excellent observation, one that I forgot to address. You do not want to introduce water from the LFS. They may use things like Copper based medications, etc that you don't want in your tank. During the drip acclimation process, continuously remove small amounts of water until you've generally replace all the LFS water with water from your tank. I've never done a dip, but some people swear by them.

A 10 gallon tank is fine for a Q tank if that's all you've got. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. Just a separate environment where you can monitor your new charge to make sure they eat well and don't have any major diseases.

[Condiman]

I do the drip methood for assimilating my fish also and I use the dip methood for my coral had a bad experience one before I did and I havent had a problem since.

[microreefguy]

assimilate your fish? that's mean. :lol:

what's this dip you speak of?

[Big Jim]

The dip is made by taking water from your system and putting a high concentration of iodine solution such as lugols. You can dip for about ten minutes with an airstone or powerhead present. Ever tried it?

[microreefguy]

no i haven't. i thought too much iodine like that was bad.

[acropora]

no i haven't. i thought too much iodine like that was bad.

It is a good idea to drip some water into a container with your new coral to acclimate for temperature and salinity changes. Additionally ,I use Lugol's Iodine for new SPS corals that come from the wild( versus tank frags). I use 10 drops of Lugols per liter of aquarium water in a bucket for 20- 30 minutes . I then place the SPS colony into my tank.