Sps and water changes
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swannyson7
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They can stay out of the water for the duration of a water change without a problem. In the wild, acro colonies will sometimes be completely out of the water during low tide.
dknuckles
Valuable Member
I have had mine exposed up to 20min w/o problem.
Remember @ low tide the reef can be exposed as long as an hour
Have heard being exposed allows the coral to booger up and purge waste which get rinsed away when the tide/flow returns.
Remember @ low tide the reef can be exposed as long as an hour
Have heard being exposed allows the coral to booger up and purge waste which get rinsed away when the tide/flow returns.
chort55
unregistered
I actually had a rock w/ sps out of water during a move for nearly 2 hrs (unintentionally) during a move, it slimed up and was mad for a while but it made it..... it was a warm day for January in MI, but it was still like 35-40 degrees out, so I am sure during a water change they will be fine (I do mine from the sump so its not an issue I need to even consider personally though).
I have heard the same thing about the "booger" purge process. I've never really tested it, but it seems like when I move things around or pull certain pieces and they slime up they go through a little increased growth period shortly after.... I do know that my Pearlberry (which slimed up) that I moved and trimmed a little is already healed over after just a couple days, but my tri-color (that didnt slime) on the same rock that went though the same time out of water, normally grows a little faster, and was trimmed up about the same amount has not yet healed over. Coincidence, possibly but to me the purge theory makes sense... purging the bad, makes room for more good energy to fuel growth
Me z
Active Member
Agreed. But would like to add that this is under the midday sun at the equator! Few minutes out of water in our cushy houses shouldnt be a problem.
CJO
Valuable Member
spanko
Henry
The purge hypothesis is interesting but I'm not sure I would say that the mucous corals secrete eliminates waste. I would more so say that the mucus likely cleans the surface of the coral. If mucous production in corals is anything like it is in humans, then there are specialized cells with the sole purpose of making and secreting mucous. If mucous in corals is made in the corals digestive tract and then secreted from the the polyp it may purge the coral of waste but if it is secreted from specialized cells on the surface tissue of the coral, it is likely cleaning the coral rather than purging it of waste. Either way it probably helps clean the coral in some way. Think of mucous produced by humans in our nose. Our mucous helps to trap and eliminate waste that we don't want in our body. Corals are likely similar as well as there is a "sunscreen" factor produced in the mucous of SPS as well.
reefingsaw
Community Member
interesting so does anyone purposing drain their water so they be out of the water?
Really depends on the acro. Some can be out for a long time and some a very short time. Also can be dependent on room temperature.
In the wild some species of sps, lps and softies are out of the water at low tide and bake in the sun. They produce a slime to protect themselves. Not all sps come from shallow water or shallow enough to be exposed to air. Some do not grow where exposed to air at low tide because they cant handle it for very long. The real problem is we do not know where are coral are from.
That said most do not have a problem being exposed to air for a short period of time, ussually the length of a water change.
One thing is the temps are warm in the tropics, my place in the winter is kept at around 67 degrees most of the time. Corals out of the water subject to those temps can actually have issues pretty quick.
Dave Polzin
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