lugol's as a preventative dip for new frags?

[kolosy]

what's the procedure? should i use it with fresh or with tank water?

i've been doing a simple dechlor tap dip before for corals, but picked up an acro frag, and would like to up the ante a bit.

thanks!

[WaterKeeper]

The use of an Iodine dip is somewhat disputed for new frags. I'd say it is about 40/60% in favor of not using one. I will say don't expose the corals to tap water, dechlorinated or not. It won't help, so if you wish to rinse use SW made with RO/DI.

[kolosy]

a f/w dip won't help with parasites? or do you mean that i should use ro instead of tap?

i've read a number of times that a f/w dip helps with a good number of parasites due to osmotic shock.

[WaterKeeper]

Tis a topic of considerable debate. Many people dip fish and inverts into FW but usually the time involved will not create a high degree of osmotic shock on the parasite. I always feel it may add more stress on the new creature than it does on its potential threats.

JMO

[MileHighFish]

i believe FW dips are more for fish and even that is questionable

[kolosy]

so what then... nothing? just plop the acro straight into the dt?

i don't have a qt that can adequately sustain a SPS, and i'd imagine few do (at least those of us with <100g setups)

[WaterKeeper]

By all means put it into the QT. There you have a chance to observe it for infections without spreading a disease into your display.

[kolosy]

uh

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13713247#post13713247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kolosy
so what then... nothing? just plop the acro straight into the dt?

i don't have a qt that can adequately sustain a SPS, and i'd imagine few do (at least those of us with <100g setups)

[MileHighFish]

i would use the lodine.. i have not seen it hurt my frags, but it doesnt rid things like monti eating nudis, red bug etc.

[crvz]

Fresh water dips on acro corals are much more likely to kill the frag than anything, and I would not recommend doing so. The only thing I do FW dips with are zoanthid colonies.Loguls is a popular dip, but Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure and TLF Revive are other choices for preventative dips.

[shag26272]

I have dipped hundreds of acros in Iodine and it has never hurt it.

[WaterKeeper]

:lol:

I've never had a tank where I could keep hundreds of Acro's but, as I said, it is a matter of debate. Question; were any of those Acro's you dipped ill in the first place?

[shag26272]

I never said I put them in 1 tank. A preventive dip for new acros as the OP was discussing.

[WaterKeeper]

Ok Shag, I believe you.

[shag26272]

BTW, I use the TMPCC. A guy a work with just bought some of the Coral revive, gonna try it out soon.

[Oshkosh]

I use pro-coral cure from tropic marin as a preventive dip. I've had very good luck with it

[thecoralreefer]

I agree w waterkeeper.
Fw dips stress the corals and do nothing for the parasites.
If you have a qt even if it isn;t properly set up it will be ok for a day or so. Iodine is a good additive but it is the same thing for people as for corals It is a good cleaner but thats really all.
An acro can survive in a dim lite tank for some time if thats your worry. At AIMS they have informed me that Acros alone have 138 or so viruses alone that can kill the piece. This does not include parasites !!! So trying to kill of anything ob you piece is ussually afutile practice. Keep a close eye on the piece for a day or 2. If it responds well after that it probably is a healthy piece. If you do not see anything moving in it that is not an Acro Crab. It probably is a parasite and I would not put it in my tank. But even in redbug
there are some 5 types and only 1 is a "bad bug"!!!
Most meds will ussually send the piece in shock if used to heavily
So be patient and very carful when using them !!!\
Foguls has been widely used as of late But an Acro crab is more natural

[tmz]

I agree. Freshwater dips will harm sps and some lps. I've used iodide dips (Lugol's,tmpc) without ill effect but can't say they did any good either, Qt is the way to go.Revive seems mild enough but I'm not sure how effective it is.

[kolosy]

thanks everyone. i ended up not doing a fw dip, and did a lugol's dip in tank water. it definitely killed something that was sitting hte frag plug, but i'm quite sure that they were just pods :)

we'll see how the new arrivals do, and hopefully i didn't introduce anything i'll regret later. i'll have the qt in better shape for next time, it just wasn't really an option this time.

[returnofsid]

Not sure if everyone read the same thing I read in the original question or not. For some reason, this turned into a debate regarding FW dips. The original poster was asking about using Lugols...not about doing a FW dip. The question was asked if Lugols should be done using FW OR SW.

To answer your question, it's totally safe, AND a good idea to do a preventative dip of any corals you aren't able to QT. Lugols is a great choice, but keep in mind that there are things that Lugols won't kill. Oh and when you use Lugols, use SW. Here's a good thread that discusses various Preventative Dips.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39465

[tmz]

I think the fact that the question asked wether fresh or saltwater should be used in a lugol's dip imlicity included a question on freshwater dips. Some do combine the two techniques. Performing a freshwater dip and lugol's dip simultaneously which can be harmful to some corals.. I have never had a coral hrmed by a lugol's or tmpc dip in tank water but I think they are of very dubious value as an anti pathogen.