Coral Dip - best brand to use?

[Oxylebius]

All my sps corals came from the same person - frags from his corals - no issues with pests/parasites so I never dipped these corals before placing into my tank. I plan to place a coral purchase (first time) and was looking through the various dips but not sure which to go with. Any suggestions on brands that have worked well with you?

Some of the brands I was looking at included Lugol's solution and Coral RX coral dip (I welcome suggestions about others also).

What has been your experience?

Thanks

 

[David Shaw]

I always use Coral Rx with great success. I never put anything into the tank without dipping it in that first. Better to stop things getting into the tank in the 1st place then to have to try the various traps etc to get something unwanted out.

 

[DianaKay]

I have only used Coral RX and it works. I watched a YouTube video on dipping them using a couple of bowls (or small buckets) and a turkey baster. The turkey baster works great if you don't use a powerhead. I saw results in blowing out a couple of micro-brittle stars & a tiny crab of some sort. Makes me sad for the good little hitchhikers but I have saved a bunch of zoas colonies using the dip & they seem to actually like getting dipped. Hard to imagine, but if pests were chomping on me, I guess I'd not mind taking a dip to get rid of them.
Some even put corals in QT.

 

[Choff]

Bayer advanced insect killer. I used to use coral rx, but the stuff expires to soon for my liking. Bayer is cheaper and can get it at HD or Lowes.

Photo courtesy of Bryan (PSU) who got me on it and I believe Reggie got him on it.



Edit : I wanted to use the coral rx 1 shots, but they don't put expiration dates on them. So I don't trust them.

...stupid auto correct

 

[goma]

+1 I use Bayer as well! And for the same reason, the Coral RX expires too quickly.

 

[ziggy]

+1 I use Bayer as well! And for the same reason, the Coral RX expires too quickly.

Really! What diluted strength?

For how long?

How many rinses?

 

[PSU4ME]

Bayer for sure!!! It's what I use. Reggie (mr sps) says 10ml per cup of tank water followed by a rinse in tank water. 8-12 minutes for the dip.

The thing about dipping.... Don't be afraid to kill a coral. I know it sounds bad but getting a pest in your tank is even worse!

 

[Gasturbineguy]

....The thing about dipping.... Don't be afraid to kill a coral. I know it sounds bad but getting a pest in your tank is even worse!

Great advice for sure! Better to pay up front and chance a coral loss than risk a CDC level outbreak in your tank(s).

FYI... I've seen lots of differing opinion on the Bayer method, mainly on RC. But the above advice on dosage seems like what most if not all would deem safe.

 

[goma]

Just about the same here, I usually do 10 ml per cup of tank water for 10 minutes. Then rinse 10 more minutes in a fresh cup of tank water and then into the tank. Others may use different concentrations but this has worked for me.

 

[ziggy]

Thx

 

[Oxylebius]

Thanks, will look into it.

 

[cah73]

I would be cautious with this approach. My father is the owner of a pest control company and is very educated in this field. I discussed this with him and he took a look at the MSDS sheet and the active ingredients (imidacloprid). He explained that this particular CHEMICAL works by slowly shutting down the nervous system of insects, inverts, etc... He said it most likely isn't harming the corals since everyone is having success with this product, however he did mention that this particular chemical has a residual effect that could cause problems in the future. He said if the coral absorbs any of this, which it most likely will, there is a possibility that the chemical could leech out of the coral at some point, OR if a fish or another animal nips at the coral, it could possibly die since this chemical will not evaporate, or dissolute in water!

Not knocking this method at all, just informing everyone of some possibilities and to be cautious with this HIGHLY toxic chemical!!! I will prob stick with coral RX since it is all natural from what i have read!

 

[Mike Johnson]

I'd like to add something to this discussion. My youngest tank right now is three years old. I don't risk putting anything in my tanks without observing it in quarantine first for a few weeks. There is no dip that has been proven to kill AEFW eggs; just one example.

So, I dip my corals and watch them in quarantine.

 

[PSU4ME]

Aefw eggs is the only thing bayer won't and can't kill. It's a great point to state but there isn't anything out there that can do it. If you're looking for total assurance, you need to quarantine and do multiple dips. If the qt tank is a suitable tank replacement (lighting and all) then you shouldn't have any issues but the majority of people don't have DT quality quarantine tanks. Without that, you run some risk in qt'ing a coral for an acceptable time in a qt.

Bayer IME, is the best 99% dip solution out there short if a full qt process.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I QT everything, even snails. Had bryopsis come in on a snail a few years ago. Had a tiny baby (1/4") Gorilla Crab come in inside a Crocea Clam that was in QT for about a week. Introduced Aiptasia to my new reef tank, that I treated like an operating room, from a Turbo Snail.

Setting up a QT for corals can be as easy as using a 5 or 10 gallon tank, an air pump, small power head, and a 6500k bulb in a shop light. Use DT water and change every week. There is no reason not to do it.

 

[ziggy]

I QT everything, even snails. Had bryopsis come in on a snail a few years ago. Had a tiny baby (1/4") Gorilla Crab come in inside a Crocea Clam that was in QT for about a week. Introduced Aiptasia to my new reef tank, that I treated like an operating room, from a Turbo Snail.

Setting up a QT for corals can be as easy as using a 5 or 10 gallon tank, an air pump, small power head, and a 6500k bulb in a shop light. Use DT water and change every week. There is no reason not to do it.

Mike

In the QT you mention, is the empty i.e. no gravel, Rock?
Also no particle filtration?

You peaked my curiosity

 

[Mike Johnson]

I'm not sure how to answer the question. I should have included a small heater on the list also. Maybe I should have called it an observation tank instead of a QT. A QT for fish is a bit more elaborate. I use a power filter for a fish QT and use a filter that's been in a high flow area in the sump for a couple weeks. Corals put out little waste. A QT of any kind would be completely bare. When you feed your corals in QT you would then syphon out any food not consumed immediately and replace the water, kind of like a fry tank.

Have you heard stories of people having rapid tissue necrosis or slow tissue necrosis on new corals? There is not a definitive answer on why it happens yet. There's a percentage of new corals that just don't make it. I don't want corals to do that in my DT. And maybe spread that bacteria (it could be bacteria/virus related?) to my other corals - another reason to observe them for 2 - 3 weeks in an observation tank.

AEFW was found on 7 out of 10 wild collected corals in Indonesia (the coral triangle area).

There is a difference between a hospital tank (medications applied), QT tank (just for observation).

Also, it has been proven that 6500k is a good wavelength to grow corals.

 

[ziggy]

I'm not sure how to answer the question. I should have included a small heater on the list also. Maybe I should have called it an observation tank instead of a QT. A QT for fish is a bit more elaborate. I use a power filter for a fish QT and use a filter that's been in a high flow area in the sump for a couple weeks. Corals put out little waste. A QT of any kind would be completely bare. When you feed your corals in QT you would then syphon out any food not consumed immediately and replace the water, kind of like a fry tank.

Have you heard stories of people having rapid tissue necrosis or slow tissue necrosis on new corals? There is not a definitive answer on why it happens yet. There's a percentage of new corals that just don't make it. I don't want corals to do that in my DT. And maybe spread that bacteria (it could be bacteria/virus related?) to my other corals - another reason to observe them for 2 - 3 weeks in an observation tank.

AEFW was found on 7 out of 10 wild collected corals in Indonesia (the coral triangle area).

There is a difference between a hospital tank (medications applied), QT tank (just for observation).

Also, it has been proven that 6500k is a good wavelength to grow corals.

Thanks Mike

 

[PSU4ME]

So Mike, in your QT tank do you put them through a dipping process? I would assume you would need to dip them cause if they had eggs, they would hatch and spread if allowed.

A QT (observation tank) is not a treatment but it allows you to collect more information. Corals still need to be treated if anything is found.

 

[Mike Johnson]

My process is this when I acquire a new coral: First, I will drip acclimate them to the DT water. Then I will dip them for around six minutes in Coral RX blowing them gently with a turkey baster. I will scrub the frag plug with a tooth brush. Then they get rinsed off in fresh DT water; I use a real small tank for this. If I notice any problems with them using a magnifying glass or jewelers loop they will get cut or dipped in Bayer. Then they get put into the observation tank for at least two weeks.

If I notice a serious problem right off the bat they go into the Bayer right off.