"Slam Dunk" method of Coral Acclimation

[go29]

Hey everyone I wanted to bring up a discussion point I am pretty interested in. I recently came across an article on reef builders where Jake wrote about coral acclimation, or lets say lack of acclimation. I became extremely interested as he even talked with Julian Sprung on the topic. I will throw the link of said article up here for everyone to review, but what is your take on this?

I have been in the hobby for awhile and come from the "old school" method of drip acclimating everything (yep even do it with fish)... I have always done this, and to this day continue to do so as I feel the slow changes are less stressful. Im curious though if what I am doing may be somewhat redundant, and in fact could save myself around an hour and half by going "jordan" on those corals :)....... so without further ado

WHO HERE "Slam Dunks" their coral directly from bag to reef? Lets get a discussion going on experiences, pro cons etc.

https://reefbuilders.com/2013/12/12/acclimating-corals-wrong-2/

 

[chefjpaul]

I just go to straight dip / rinse / drop in tank for corals.

I only will drip fish if SG is way off, inverts I always drip.

 

[go29]

So you check salinity of everything, and if so does that include corals? What if you get coral in at lower salinity, will you then drip them? Im also curious for peoples thoughts on shipped vs store bought corals. Corals shipped overnight are sitting in small water volumes (bag) filled with their own waste etc, so at this point should we just immediately acclimate and not consider salinity etc. Again this is more for discussion than anything, Im just interested in this :)

I should add I do check salinity of everything i buy, but I have also been drip acclimating everything for the last 12 years. I have never noticed any negatives to this other than being a HUGE TIME SINK

 

[Triggreef]

So you check salinity of everything, and if so does that include corals? What if you get coral in at lower salinity, will you then drip them? Im also curious for peoples thoughts on shipped vs store bought corals. Corals shipped overnight are sitting in small water volumes (bag) filled with their own waste etc, so at this point should we just immediately acclimate and not consider salinity etc. Again this is more for discussion than anything, Im just interested in this :)

I should add I do check salinity of everything i buy, but I have also been drip acclimating everything for the last 12 years. I have never noticed any negatives to this other than being a HUGE TIME SINK

For fish overnight I have checked for ammonia which is very very high and drip acclimating them is likely the cause of many deaths from causing the ammonia to become toxic by raising the ph as your dripping. I quarantine my fish so for me its easy, I adjust my QT to the same SG as the bag and in they go. Never an issue and many eat within minutes as well.

For corals I would expect the same issues. However I do a dip to prevent what I can of pests and in they go. Inverts, I'll only drip if SG is way off. If within .002 either direction, I generally just drop in. Never any issue with live stock that arrives in good order.

 

[reef_grrrl]

Yeah I just throw them in. Get home from the LFS, cut open the bag, and stick it in the tank. If it's a little sketchy I'll pop the frag plug off. I should probably set up a coral qt tank though...

 

[-Logzor]

I literally throw the coral as hard as possible into the water and let it grow where it lands. Forget acclimation. Any accidental fragmentation during this process just means more colonies for me.

....unless it's a really expensive coral then in I acclimate it over like 15 minutes, especially if it was shipped overnight and the water temp is low.

But yeah 99% of the time it's coral roulette.

 

[Psiber_Syn]

I float bags for temp them just add small amounts of water to them every 5-10 min if it's coral I get the dip ready then dip rinse after floating and drop them in fish just float and add water slowly over 30 min or so then in they go never add the water from the bag though

 

[tankstudy]

I don't drip acclimate or anything. Depending on what type of coral I've bought, I treat them with the appropriate meds, followed by a pest inspection and then just put them in after a good rinse.

 

[ZoaReefer]

If a coral is out of the water for a minute or more, I don't see the point in temp acclimation because the water has cooled the coral frag a ton being in the air.
I make sure the salinity is close and plunge them in and glue them on. Maybe a dip if pests are suspect. More likely on zoas than other corals.

 

[jd371]

I just go to straight dip / rinse / drop in tank for corals.

I only will drip fish if SG is way off, inverts I always drip.

Ditto. I dip for 5 minutes while looking for pests, rinse and right into the tank.

 

[mhucasey]

Fish and corals are totally different things. SPS corals gan go right in without acclimation.

 

[Reefster]

Slam Dunk Corals and Fish after floating bag for about 15 minutes.

 

[Sabellafella]

I dont acclimate any coral as i keep my alk around the same as alot of vendors and my lfs do. BUT hes crazy, i always dip and atleast take 10-15 to inspect what i bought

 

[john.m.cole3]

Coral Rx for 10 min stony corals, 5 min softies, the drop it in.

I'm just switching light fixtures and am learning light acclimation is more important than water parameter adjustments

 

[maroun.c]

I don't necessarily drip acclimate corals but do it for hard to get frags or corals or maybe expensive ones just to be on the safe side. I do dip quarantine and dip again in quarantine and before taking to tank. I take my time with light acclimation though.
Fish I do drip acclimate to get them used to parameters difference and temperature difference. If it's a long shipment or if fish shows any signs of ammonia buildup I add a few drops of ammonia lock before starting acclimation and take it very slow making sure the fish acts better before being released in Q tank or introduction tank.

 

[JakeK]

For coral, I dip twice then place directly in the tank. I only acclimate them to my lights, not my water.

 

[d2mini]

I temp acclimate, THEN DIP IN BAYER, then once the dip process is complete they go right into the tank.

 

[BkReefBaby]

I float for 20 mins then dip in revive or coral RX for 10 mins then I put them in the tank

 

[MalteseReefKid]

hard corals (sps/lps) i always use the slam dunk method, inverts get a drip acclimation for about an hour or until the salinity matches, for fish i will float the bags for temperature prior to opening, then if they are from overseas (long travel time) i add an ammonia binder to the bag as soon as i open it, I will then either drip or just float the bags and add some water every 5-10 mins for about 30 minutes depending on where they came from and hence their salinities, most vendors keep fish at 1.018/1.019 sg so they will just get a quick float and some water and then into the quarantine ( i run it at 1.018SG), if they come in at 1.025 SG, i will bring the salinity in the quarantine up to 1.023 and then drip acclimate until they match, then i will continue brining the salinity down about 1 ppt a day until it hits 1.018, then after about 10 weeks i start to bump it back up to match the main tank (1.025)

 

[renato120]

I never float Or acclimate any corals. Sps's 10min in coral RX, rinse and done deal. Lps's same thing.