New Corals - acclimation question

[MrsHaggis]

Hey Guys,

In the past I have drip acclimated all of my new additions for about an hour or so but I recently read a thread that said there was no need to drip acclimate and in fact it could be bad for the livestock since the temp would drop and it could stress them out more.

So I have just bought a piece of Xenia and a new leather. I have sat them in the tank still in their bags for the moment but I was wondering what kind of acclimation I should do?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Fiona

[spleify]

I generally do what you are doing, and float them in the bag in the sump to temp acclimate. I dont generally put Xenia or softies in my tanks, so I don't know if you can use Revive Coral Cleaner or not on them, hopefully someone else will chime in on that.

After temp acclimating I take some tank water and some water out of the bag and add some Revive to the water. Let them soak for 5-8 minutes, swish them in some clean fresh water, give them a quick visual inspection to make sure nothing bad is on them, then place them in the tank.

Or, if you don't have revive, I would suggest temp acclimating. Them give a GOOD visual inspection for bad critters. Then just place them.

HTH

Good luck

Spleify

[2farNorth]

When I get new corals, they first go through a 12 hour Interceptor dip, then from there they go through a Revive dip, then into Quarantine for a couple weeks.

But when I put new stuff in the tank (after the all the QT and such) I just plop them in. No acclimation at all... they just go in.....

So to answer your question, I've never acclimated a coral in any of my systems yet... the way I see it, the water in our tanks (hopefully) is better then the water in the bag....

Have yet to lose a coral because of this.

[spleify]

2farnorth's recommendation is a great one, though you will not need to use interceptor as that is a treatment for red bugs, and red bugs don't attach themselves to softies. Only SPS.

If you don't have any coral dips medications, a good viual is always recommended, then just place them.

[joeychitwood]

Corals and fish are quite tolerant of changes in specific gravity and temperature in the wild. If I receive a bag via FedEx which is significantly cooler than my tank water, I'll dip the bag briefly to try and decrease the temp difference, then place the specimen in my tank. Like the others, I feel the water in my tank is much healthier for the critter than the bag water, so I don't drip.

[MrsHaggis]

OK, it's done.
I temp acclimated for about 20 mintues.
Then done a good visual of each coral for any critters - didn't see any....

I have placed them in the tank now - the Xenia is happy (but maybe in the wrong place - I've placed it on a rock next to my shrooms and I have been advised that it might be the wrong place due to growth!!)

My leather is much less happy but I expect that when I put him in the tank. I will post pictures when the leathers open up.

Thanks for the advice.
Fiona

[LJA]

I personally float the bag for about 15 minutes for temperature and during that time I take a turkey baster and add a shot of water from my tank about once every five minutes just to gradually introduce the coral to my tanks water conditions.

I use this method for fish as well, I just extend it to about 30 minutes.

HTH