Acclimating soft corals to my tank

[MarkW19]

What's the best way to do this? I'm thinking about a leather, and some polyps...

Thanks

[melosu58]

Some people drip acclimate them to the water already in the tank. I like to let it set in the tank for 30 minutes and then add about a 1/2 cup of SW from the tank to the bag every 20 minutes. After about 2 1/2 hours I remove and place in the tank.

[john0087]

I second the above method. I have used this meathod for a while and have nover lost a coral or fish during aclimation. I also leave the lights off during aclimation for both fish and corals.

[MarkW19]

Cool, thanks. No different to fish/inverts then really!

I just read something about shaking them upside down to remove excess mucus etc. before adding?

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by MarkW19

Cool, thanks. No different to fish/inverts then really!

I just read something about shaking them upside down to remove excess mucus etc. before adding?

There should be a little difference. Corals should take more time than fish as they need more acclimation. I`ve never heard of the shaking upside down part. I`m not saying it`s wrong just never heard that.

[Kurt_Nelson]

I don't "shake", but I do "lightly" swish around the coral to get any debris and mucous off it before it goes in the tank. I also drip acclimate, just like my fish - but usually for a longer period. Since the corals don't need the oxygen levels like fish, they can spend a little longer acclimating - assuming the temperature stays constant. All depends on how different the LFS's water is from mine.

[cmor1701d]

I too drip acclimate and then swich the coral in the bucket or rinse it in tank water before placing it in the tank. Some corals do have a lot of mucous or other debris on them.

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by cmor1701d

Some corals do have a lot of mucous or other debris on them.

I guess leathers would be good examples of this. Also soft corals like colt corals.