Acclimating Corals

[SuperScro]

By acclimating corals I mean acclimating them to the light once they get in my tank. I will do the drip method for about 1.5 hours or however long it is needed to get it in the tank.

I read somewhere that corals need to get adjusted to your light. I was planning on getting a plate coral, fungia sp. as my first coral, and wasn't sure what to do since it sits on the bottom of the tank, and it will be adjusted to that light for most of it life, unless it moves to a spot it prefers.

But how does it work for other corals? Such as purchasing a montipora, do I put it near the top right away? Or do I gradually do it? What should my photoperiod be?

 

[Grins]

I haven't gotten my first corals yet but have been reading so I'll be prepared. I have seen lots of advices towards starting corals lower in the tank and gradually moving them up as well as to place egg crate in stacks and remove a piece of the stack every few days to allow the corals to adjust to intense lighting.

You might want to give this article a read and by all means search for others. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm

 

[blockamon]

If possible, always put the coral near the bottom at first and gradually move it higher. Of course, this gets more difficult as the tank becomes more stocked. How sensitive a coral will be depends on the type for coral and the lights it was originally kept under.

As for the photo period, it really depends on the type of lights. I usually have actinics on for 12 hours per day. If you are using VHO or PC white lights, I'd say 10 hours a day. For T5 or MH whites, maybe 8 hours a day.

 

[5xevy]

I have a plate coral and put it in my FOWLR that only has PCs. It adjusted fine and still sits exactly where I placed it on the sand. I'm upgrading my lights soon to MHs and will not be putting them on the full 8 hours right away.

I don't know where you purchase your corals but my LFS has all of their corals under MHs. Because of this, I'm not too worried about my corals acclimating to my lighting.

I notice you have T5s. If your LFS has lighting not as strong than I agree with starting low and then moving them up. If your LFS uses MHs, or something just as strong as yours, than it shouldn't matter what height you put them at.

 

[SuperScro]

My LFS uses Metal Halides which is probably stronger my than my light, but probably not by a whole lot. My tank isn't realy deep either. 16-18 inches i think it is.