How to dip corals?

[jrgilles]

Hey guys. I'm picking up many frags from a friend of mine as a backup for his tank.

I would like to dip all of these, as I know his fuge had some flatworms, and I don't want to get anything into my tank.

In my supplies, I have some Flatworm Exit, Lugol's and Coral RX.

How much dipping is too much? I was thinking of doing a dip in CoralRX following the directions, then a dip in a 3X concentration of Flatworm Exit (maybe 30 minutes?)

Should I also dip in a Lugol's solution? If so, how many drops of lugol's per pint of water?

I've never done coral dips before, so any info would be awesome. Such as how much is too much dipping, and what of the solutions above should I use?

I was going to put each coral through 3 dips, RX, FE and Iodine, but I'm wondering if that is overkill and I'm going to hurt the corals. Anyway, if any of you experts can give me some advice on how to safely add these guys to my tank, that would rock! Thanks

rob

 

[jrgilles]

I found this online for lugol's dips.

Lugol's or Iodine Dip... Lugol's is a concentrated iodine solution, 40 drops to a gallon of saltwater for no more than 7 minutes, should effectively disinfect a coral.

I also see people doing FW dips in DI water. Is this something I should think about?

 

[jrgilles]

Any advice on dipping corals? Picking up a batch of frags in about 5 hours. Woud like to make sure they are all safe, but I don't want to kill the corals. Any advice would be welcome

Rob

 

[iroll253]

a tub for each kind of dip. Start with one for 10-15 minutes then move to the next.

 

[jrgilles]

Am I ok doing 3 different dips in a row, 10 min each? Or should there be a 'rest' in saltwater between them? Is 3 dips (iodine-flat worm exit-coral rx) overkill?

 

[iroll253]

i dont think so. It wouldn't hurt to do 1 then salt water 2 salt water 3

 

[iroll253]

you could try asking luisee25 i know she does multiple dips like your mentioning. I do 3 in a row but am only doing zoas and lps

 

[mcoomer]

Do you have a small QT? I set my QT up with lights and a skimmer so that I can support fish and coral. If you have a small tank set it up and QT your corals just as you would your fish. Dip the corals in your favorite dip, put them in the QT and monitor, and if they're free of critters in a few weeks dip again and into the display tank.

Mike

 

[jrgilles]

I did 3 dips, first in a 3X concentration of FWE for 15 min. Then coral RX (reccommended dosage) for 7 min and then iodine (40 drops lugos/gallon) for 7 min. Then into a bucket of salt water with a powerhead for 15-20 min, then into the DT.

So far all the corals look good. We'll see over the next couple of days.

I do have a QT tank, but I got a little 5 gallon tank that I was just going to fill off my main system drain line when I needed to use it. It doesn't have a heater, and only has a crappy utility light. So, don't think it could keep corals alive. Think I need a better QT tank. I'll keep an eye on the used equip forums and maybe pick up a functioning system.

Anyway, 12 H later and all looks good. thanks for the info guys.