Coral Acclimation

David Nguyen · Dec 6, 2017

Hi All,
Will be receiving my corals from @WWC on Friday. After temperature acclimation then dipping the corals. Do i have to put all the corals i purchased on the sand bed for a few days or more? Do i need to lower my light intensity? I have Kessil A360w btw. If i lower it down, how long until I put it back to normal? Any details will be appreciated. Thanks

XNavyDiver · Dec 6, 2017

Well, what I usually do is temp acclimation, dip and then onto the frag rack if they're on a plug. For corals that are on ceramic plates or natural rock, I will sometimes place them on the sand bed, but I have to be careful of that because of my diamond goby who likes to bury things. I usually start them off lower in the tank and slowly bring them up the glass over the week. Only you can be the judge of how a coral is acclimating to your tank, so some corals look great right off the bat, and some seem to need a little more babying on the rack. Once I determine a coral frag is doing well, then will re-mount fresh cut frags on a piece of rubble from my sump. This is so I can move the coral around my tank over the next month to see where it like it the best. For frags that are encrusted all over the frag plug, I just cut the bottom nubby piece of the frag plug and place it with a small amount of glue onto the rockwork. This is in case it doesn't like its position and I can break it off and reposition easily.

Ludders · Dec 6, 2017

If you do not have anything in at the moment you could lower the light intensity and bring it up, but this is a one off deal. My advice is to set the lights up based on what you are planning on keeping and aclimate your coral accordingly.

Depending on what the coral is, I will usually start it lower, or where I think it would be best suited, but not fix it to the aquascape. I make sure it responds well first and then fix. This might mean moving to a more or less flow area, or high or lower light intensity.

The great thing about this hobby is your input and watching the life thrive in your husbandry. There isn't a right or wrong approach to this within reason of course, you will find it all quite subjective.

Zero Nitrates · Dec 6, 2017

Congrats on an order from @WWC ! They have some hot pieces. What do you have coming in?

I acclimate coral in my sump, so it’s dark during the process. Then place the coral in the display where I want it long term. I also wait until my lights go out at night to place the coral so it has time adjust to the tank without light.

David Nguyen · Dec 6, 2017

Zero Nitrates said:
Congrats on an order from @WWC ! They have some hot pieces. What do you have coming in?

I acclimate coral in my sump, so it’s dark during the process. Then place the coral in the display where I want it long term. I also wait until my lights go out at night to place the coral so it has time adjust to the tank without light.

I don't have a sump so it has to go right into the display tank. If it gets delivered in the am, if i turn off the lights all day. Wouldn't that effect the current corals?

XNavyDiver · Dec 6, 2017

David Nguyen said:
I don't have a sump so it has to go right into the display tank. If it gets delivered in the am, if i turn off the lights all day. Wouldn't that effect the current corals?

This is why most folks opt for the magnetic frag rack solution. You can place the rack in a lower par area of the tank, like a back corner, and then slowly move it up into higher par, all without getting wet or adjusting settings on your lights.