Acclimatising non ZEO corals to ZEO tank

[CurvBall]

I know one has to acclimitaze any new livestock they introduce to their system. However, what about adding new corals to one's system? Same procedure? I normally do the drip method over an hour or so.

The big reason for asking is that I will be setting up my ZEO tank soon, all my corals from my 20g will be transferred. The 20g will become a frag tank

[GTR]

I set the bags in a tray, open them and add 1/2 tank water and float the tray/tub in the sump for 15 min or so. I then take another tub and fill it with tank water and add Lugols and Salifert Flatworm Exit as dip.
With corals that have been bagged for some time I skip the water mixing and go straight to the dip after floating the bags to equalize temp only.
SteveU

[bogg]

I acclimate just like I normally would I have not had any problems

[fkadir]

Do the LFSes is your area take the same exacting acclimitazation process we tend to take when introducing new specimens in their holding tanks?

Over here, they just dump em straight from the plastic bags into the tanks without any floating, dripping etc etc. Make me wonder if we really need to do all that since they dunt and the corals are all still pretty much healthy.

[bogg]

From what I have seen at my lfs they drip theres. If I have a few several to acclimate I drip them but if I have only one I will just float him in the bag and add a small amount of water every few min.

[mesocosm]

Greetings All!

Do the LFSes is your area take the same exacting acclimitazation process we tend to take when introducing new specimens in their holding tanks?

Speaking as an evil LFS drone ... :devil2: ... it depends ...

Part of my job is to select, transport, and acclimate between 150 - 200 specimens of soft corals (~40%), LPS (~40%), and SPS (~20%) every week. The time any given specimen is "bagged" is typically less than 6 hours.

If the specimen is from the SoCal 104th street wholesalers, then I generally don't bother with too serious of an acclimation process. The wholesalers have already performed their own acclimation process (... quite nicely, usually ...), and specimens are typically well adapted to their systems. The difference between "well adapted" specimens and "poorly adapted" specimens is usually very apparent.

... but if I have only one I will just float him in the bag and add a small amount of water every few min.

A good temperature equalization (~30 minutes), and a crude 'head fake' towards chemical equalization (... ~1/4 cup of destination tank water 3 to 5 times over 15 minutes ...) is typically all that is required for a healthy specimen that has been bagged for a relatively short time. Some groups expel significant amounts of mucus during transport, and they get more water additions.

If we're talking about specimens straight out of a transship box ... that's an entirely different situation. Those guys have been bagged for typically 24 -48 hours ... or more ... and usually require watchful and gradual adjustment of light, temperature, and water chemistry parameters.

... I then take another tub and fill it with tank water and add Lugols and Salifert Flatworm Exit as dip.

We all have our own ways of doing things. IMO, GTR's method is very excellent.

As a side note: The whole 'dipping' thing is something that has become more problematic ... IME ... during the last 2 years. The presence of nudibranchs, flatworms, and obscure 'beasties' has become a major issue. Time constraints and LFS 'realities' have forced me to make compromises. I currently rely on black velvet nudibranchs, leopard wrasses, and arrow crabs for biological control of invaders. If I've noticed obvious infestation, all the specimens from that source get a lugol's solution dip prior to being placed in the system ... this has not been 100% effective as a control strategy. Ideally, all specimens should be dipped prior to introduction into a display system.

BTW, SPS specimens introduced into our ZEOvit frag system appear to be adapting "better" and "more quickly" than in our old Berlin-style system. AND ... they hold their colors with better polyp extension. You've got to love it ...



JMO ... HTH.

[mesocosm]

Greetings All !

The big reason for asking is that I will be setting up my ZEO tank soon, all my corals from my 20g will be transferred. The 20g will become a frag tank.

I've been transferring SPS specimens directly from wholesaler tanks to our ZEOvit frag system twice weekly, for over a month now. Temperature adjustment, and the introduction of "invader" beasties have been my only concerns.

My experience is been consistent: SPS specimens from LAX wholesalers LIKE ZEOvit ...

Sorry I didn't include that in the previous post ...

HTH.

[Aged Salt]

Thnx. Gary, that's good to hear that about our ZEOvit tanks Bob