Do the dip?

[lcstorc]

Ok well, I just bought a monti cap and I bought some Lugol's thinking I should probably start this dipping that everybody talks about. Then I came home and did a search on RS (after the fact, I know, but I know the coral just not the dip. ) At least with a quick search, it seems that most people do the dip with softies and sometimes SPS.
What are the "rules"
The bottle tells you the amt and time etc but what corals should be dipped and what do you dip in FW and what do you dip in Lugol's and do you ever do both?

 

[rmlevasseur]

I lost a whole rock of bam-bams once on a Lugols dip and I've been scared to try it again. Followed the directions too.

 

[Dentoid]

It's my understanding that SPS should never be dipped in FW. Can others confirm or refute that?

 

[Jeremy0322]

curious too! I am going to do everything to make sure nothing unwanted gets into this tank again, and this was one of my future questions, so im tagging along :chair:

 

[dianezoo]

Iven never dipped, but I have mostly softies. Frogspawn, leathers, colts, zoos, shrooms, trumpets, xenias,

 

[lcstorc]

That's kind of why I was asking. Right now I have a bunch of softies but now I want to expand. My softies are taking over so I really need to get that frag tank going to make room for more stuff.

 

[yungreefer2410]

i've done fw dips on my zoas when they are having problems with great succes. i was wondering as well because i plan to make my 55g sps dominated

 

[BarbMazz]

I dip all my sps before putting them in the tank, but not in lugol's. I use a dip I bought from PEA, and the name escapes me! It's supposed to stop or help prevent RTN. I put the dip in tank water, not fresh water.

I've never dipped an lps because I've read conflicting things about doing so. I err on the side of doing NUTTIN!

I've dipped zoa's in both lugol's and furan 2, using tank water. Both things with good results.

I do all these dips for 6-9 minutes, because that's what the directions on the packages said to do.

 

[lcstorc]

Hmm, I think I am even more confused now.
Meanwhile, the coral went into the tank without dipping but has left me with a bottle of Lugols and a serious desire to learn more about this dipping thing. Both in FW and in the iodine (Which is apparently what Lugols is.)

 

[tex5620]

Tagging along

 

[BarbMazz]

Lynn, I looked at the coral dip I use for the sps. It's a Warner Marine product called Reef Pure Coral Dip & Conditioner.

As I read the tiny, tiny print on the label it says it can be used on sps, lps and "most" soft corals. It says it's NOT a medication. Hmm. It does NOT list what the ingredients are, either.

 

[Dentoid]

It's another Dr. Mac special formula!

 

[dianezoo]

Probably saline LOL

 

[reefer4200]

I ONLY dip when i am having a problem with a coral and i have had 50/50 succes rates with them so who knows if the dip is working or not. Hard for me to say but i will continue regardless but only when theres a problem.

 

[miaskies]

Anyone used a dip with success? If you are supposed to slowly acclimate a coral, would'nt a dip shock the coral?

 

[BarbMazz]

I don't slowly acclimate corals. I dip them for about 10 mins and then plop them in the tank.

 

[Dentoid]

Same here. I've never acclimated any coral to my tank. Straight from the bag to the tank. That being said, you should do what you feel is right.

 

[Jeremy0322]

I was unaware that it was that easy to introduce corals, I have always dripped for a long long time

 

[seafansar]

I usually drip acclimate all my corals (sps, lps, and zoas) and then give them a lugol's dip before putting them in the tank. I haven't had any trouble with the dip. I just do what the bottle says, put the coral in a small container, and put the container on a heating pad so the water doesn't get cold.

If I get a "sick" frag from a friend who wants to see if it will do better in my tank, I make a VERY strong dip of lugols just in case there are any pests on the coral. One dip I made was so strong it immediately killed the pods that were on the frag plug. The sps turned white, but it's gotten all its color back since then. I wouldn't advise doing such a heavy dip though.

I've also saved a brain coral frag from brown jelly by dipping it in iodine a few times.

And I've dipped a coral I suspected of having red bugs in a strong solution of interceptor and it didn't hurt the coral at all. And zoas in both freshwater and furan-2. It either helped or didn't make a difference in most cases.

 

[Ganrin]

I dip most new incoming corals in Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure, which I believe is basically an iodine based dip also. I usually acclimate the corals by drip method for half an hr, then add the dip to the bucket they are in and soak them for 15mins, then rinse and into the tank.