General coral acclimation question

[Dary421]

Well this'll be a rather general question but,.. Ok so you go to your lfs and you see a piece of coral that's all puffed up and beautiful,..and you decided you'll just love to have him in your tank,..You get home and " plop" there he goes into your tank,.....how long does or would it normally take to figure out if it's going to make it or not, and if so what are the normal symptoms of one not liking the whole transformation? ,.... The reason I ask is because I purchased a couple of corals a week or so ago and they all look better than they dd at the store and being very new and dumb to the coral hobby I was just wondering if all is well or watch out the worst is yet to come!

 

[pat8you]

If they look better then they did in the store then you can be pretty sure they acclimated to the tank well and will make the transition. Signs of coral not doing well are generall no polyp extension, bleaching, and tissue damage/infection.

 

[Dary421]

If they look better then they did in the store then you can be pretty sure they acclimated to the tank well and will make the transition. Signs of coral not doing well are generall no polyp extension, bleaching, and tissue damage/infection.

Would the same hold true wether it was leather coral,cabbage coral , torch corals or what ever you brought home, or do some take longer to freak out due to your water chemistry than others?

 

[pat8you]

No, just about all corals if they are not happy with the change in water parameters will immediatly withdraw their polyps. Torch corals will be really noticeable. The polyps will be withdrawn and shriveled looking. Leasters will just look like a mushroom (like in the forest not the coral kind) because they withdraw all of the tenticles on top that give them that fuzzy look. They will only appear normal again once they have adjusted to the water/light.

 

[Dary421]

Ok,..so if I actually understand what you're saying,..is that "coral" in general do not wait around to figure out if they can survive in your tank or not,...they'll let you know asap if something is up or not,...So,say you buy a frog spawn or what ever,...plop he goes into your tank,...you should know by the next day or so if things are cool with your tank,water chemistry etc,....??? Just wondering how long it'll take to know.... This is new to me and I really appreciated the input!!!!

 

[Zbatey]

How do you acclimate coral the same way you drip acclimate a fish

 

[melosu58]

Acclimation Procedure for Aquatic Life: Welcoming Home New Arrivals

 

[Karlos69]

So with corals should you shut the lights off?

 

[Limpits Reef]

Lights off are not a factor for new corals like they are for fish and inverts.

 

[Limpits Reef]

More importantly is making sure you treat your corals to prevent the transfer of parasites or other unwanted pests.
I do a three part soak using flat worm exit first followed by an iodine dip and then finally Coral Rx.
For acro's I also treat new arrivals in Interceptor to kill "red bugs".

 

[Dary421]

More importantly is making sure you treat your corals to prevent the transfer of parasites or other unwanted pests.
I do a three part soak using flat worm exit first followed by an iodine dip and then finally Coral Rx.
For acro's I also treat new arrivals in Interceptor to kill "red bugs".

...opps..... Better go get me some coral rx

 

[Limpits_Reef]

Here is a video I did on how I acclimate:
YouTube - Drip Acclimation For Saltwater Aquarium

 

[Cylias]

Hammer Corals, torch corals, bubble corals, etc all deteriorate really fast when something is wrong in the tank. They will start sliming and will actually just start falling apart and it could be dead within hours. I would generally say that if you put the coral in the tank it should be completely acclimated within a few weeks. You may notice the first couple days or week that its closed a little more then usual but if the flow, light, etc is proper the polyps should be fully extended in a few days. Hope that helps.