How long can SPS corals be out of water?

[Floyd_UK]

Afternoon,

I need to do some extra rock work in an established tank, for which I will be using NYOS Cement. This is a great product but rather cloudy when trying to use underwater.

If I drain half my tank I can probably get the work done in less than 20 minutes.

So the question as above, how long can SPS be out of the water, I will shut down the lights, prior to the works.

I have really just been a lurker, but this forum has provided me with so much confidence, that the main tank is now established for 5 years, entered into SPS about 8 months ago, and have just started a Nano build, specifically for SPS.

Many thanks and all the best

Lee

 

[TheSheff]

I know i've at least left my sps out of water for 20 minutes during feedings or water changes, so yours should be fine. If you want to be safe, pour some saltwater from the tank over them every 10-15 minutes or so.

 

[UMALUM]

I pulled a stoner move and left a tort colony on my overflow for a couple hours and it was fine. I do keep a spray bottle of tank water handy when pulling mission's.

 

[acro-ed]

It depends on the coral. Some acros can stay out of the water for literally hours and be fine. Some like smooth/deepwater acros really don't like being out of water but can likely handle 15-20 minutes. Certain other SPS like Pocillopora/Stylo/Monti don't handle it well at all, but again depends on the specific one.

 

[twentyleagues]

There are spots around the world fiji is one that comes to mind that at low tide corals are exposed for hours. Im talking about acropora. So 20 min more or less shouldn't hurt. If you are worried get a spray bottle full of salt water and mist them every so often.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I just use that stuff in water, tank usually clears up in a day. Trust me, aquascaping always takes much longer than expected. Also, it probably will still make the water cloudy when you refill it, though it probably is a bit easier

 

[Floyd_UK]

Thank you guys, Some very good and helpful responses in under 2 hours. May get the confidence to post a picture sometime in the future, and this forum will continue to be my go to place for my morning coffee.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have sps out of the water for about 30 minutes and when I do water changes. A few weeks ago I took apart my return part to clean it for the first time, and then couldn’t figure out how to put it back together, so my sps, and my clam were out of water for about an hour. It freaked me out but turns out to be no problem at all.