Where to put them?

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fishiefishie

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Nov 12, 2006
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I am wondering how to go about adding corals... say I find one that should fit my lighting/tank size... what then? When I bring it home I assume I acclimate it just like fish/inverts, but when I add it to the tank do I just sit it where I want and hope it likes it there?
Is there a beginner's sticky telling me all of this kind of stuff, by chance? I'm sure I'm going to have a lot more questions and hate to bother y'all with them.
 
Yes, acclimate as you would fish. The drip method is not necessary though if that's the method you use for your fish. Just place the coral on the sand bed for a day or two to help it acclimate to your lighting. From there, place the coral in what you determine from resarch to be the best place (considering flow and light needs). You may need to move it a bit from there but don't move it all over the tank each day as this will stress the coral.

You can usually tell fairly quickly if the coral is going to be happy based on polyp extension. If the polyps are retracted or completey bent in one direction as if the flesh is being torn off you should probably move it or place some LR around it to shield it a bit.
 
If the drip method isn't necessary, how would you go about acclimating a coral? Over how long of a period of time?
 
Many people will just temperature acclimate coral by just floating the bag for 10 - 15 minutes. I've done that many times without any problems, but prefer to drip acclimate since it's a good excuse to do a water change.
 
^^ that's what I do, usually. Especially with frags.

it also depends on what corals you're adding and what kind of lighting you have. If you have strong lighting and you put in a coral that isn't accustomed to that lighting, you might bleach your coral.

If you have strong lighting, you should cut down the lighting and increase it daily. I start off with turning on my MH lightinh for 2 hours on day 1, and work my way up to 6 hours.
 
mlefessler said:
If the drip method isn't necessary, how would you go about acclimating a coral? Over how long of a period of time?
Click to expand...

Sorry should have elaborated. When I add corals I float/temp acclimate them for a bit, open the bag and add some tank water to the bag off and over roughly a 30 minute period (although I have also just floated and placed in the tank with no losses).

The drip method I was referring to is where one would use a "drip line" into a secondary container. I do this with all fish but not corals. It is a good way to do a little water change at the same time like fsn77 mentioned :)
 
Hmmm, that's really interesting. I've always thought that drip-acclimating corals was crucial since they're very sensitive to water parameters. I usually do the bag method for my fish, but drip acclimate for the corals.

Thanks.
 
ive always just floated and added them to the Qt tank. Qt for 4 days then do the same to the DT
 
OK, so how about knowing how many to stock? Is there some sort of rule of thumb that says this many corals per this many gallons, or does it just depend on what other life (fish and inverts) is there, how big the tank is, how much LR?
I just wonder if I need to only plan on 1, or 3, or 8, or.... it will help me decide which ones I want to try.
Also, is there an order you add them in, like you would fish?
Sorry for the stupid questions, I just can't find this kind of info anywhere.
 
If a coral is healthy the SG of the water at your LFS/online vendor/fellow reefer should be 1.024-1.026ish and would assume your tank is about the same in order to maintain a healthy reef tank. Therefore, there should not be such a big swing to acclimate them to. Fish on the other hand can live in much lower SG and therefore can have a bigger range of acclimation.
 
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