Coral help!

[dragonet123]

Hi. I am new to coral keeping, so I need some help. I know corals need calcium, strontium and other trace elements. I have been using regular instant ocean salt, but I have found that Instant Ocean reef crystals has all of these elements. Can I switch salt brands without it killing my fish. Also, I was planning on getting LPS hard corals and polyps. Can these two different species of corals live together? Finally, how do I acclimate corals?

Thanks!

 

[Marinne13]

yes you can switch salts, just make sure you mix at least 24 hours before WC's...LPS hard coral and polyps can go together but ensure they have ample space between them so they don't sting each other (some LPS like hammer/frogspawn can use a 6 inch sweeper tentacle so adjust accordingly)

acclimation is all personal preference but this is how I do it...I float them in the tank to temp acclimate for about 15 minutes, then I drip acclimate them for 30 minutes or until the salinity is spot on, finally I dip them with a coral cleanser like Revive

you can youtube how to drip acclimate corals, fish etc...there are some good videos out there

if you want to keep coral I would suggest getting a refractometer to measure salinity (should be 1.024-1.026 for a reef) and some testing equipment for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium

 

[Washburn82]

I'm not disagreeing here. Just curious as to why you should let your newly mixed saltwater sit for 24 hrs? Is it so the pH can stabilize? I ask because I think out of all my water changes I've maybe done this once. I normally mix it to the specific gravity I'm looking for. Heat it to match my tank water the test the salinity again. Usually an hr or so. If there's something I'm missing in this method I'd love to know to change my process. Thanks!

 

[Marinne13]

I do it to ensure the salt has mixed completely...sometimes i still se salt in the bottom of my container 4 hours after I added it

 

[Marinne13]

I can back off to maybe 8 hours or 12 hours...I use a 750GPH in my container so it does mix in about an hour but you never know

I always mix mine a day before so I am not scrambling the day of

 

[reefnoob]

Yeah...one time I didn't mix properly so the salt ended up "burning" some of my corals. I usually mix for at least 12-24 hours.

 

[Washburn82]

OK cool. . Wasn't sure if there was something I was missing I always make sure there's no traces of salt grains before I add. Maybe I'll do a test this weekend after 1 hr of mixing and then after 24 hrs of mixing. Things like pH calcium, magnesium and alkalinity. Just to see if there is any variance between the two. For the fun of it. :thumbsup:

 

[kbuser92]

I mix with a 425 gph in a 5 gallon (usually 4 gallon changes) and I grab it and make sure it kicks up all the salt. Never had any problems and max make-up time is 15 minutes. I usually try to get it mixing before I start siphoning from the tank, though.

As far as corals, yes they can go together. I use Reef Crystals with good results and yes, you can change salt mix. As for acclimating, I just float the bag and toss them in. And I don't usually dip, but you can do a freshwater dip on zoas. I know my LFS dips EVERYTHING so I don't usually worry, but if you don't know if yours does or not, I would buy Coral RX or Revive and follow the instructions.

 

[bronson]

I mix with a 425 gph in a 5 gallon (usually 4 gallon changes) and I grab it and make sure it kicks up all the salt. Never had any problems and max make-up time is 15 minutes. I usually try to get it mixing before I start siphoning from the tank, though.

As far as corals, yes they can go together. I use Reef Crystals with good results and yes, you can change salt mix. As for acclimating, I just float the bag and toss them in. And I don't usually dip, but you can do a freshwater dip on zoas. I know my LFS dips EVERYTHING so I don't usually worry, but if you don't know if yours does or not, I would buy Coral RX or Revive and follow the instructions.

you never had problems not acclimating corals ?

 

[kbuser92]

Nope. I guess I do with Euphyllia, but the have big, fleshy polyps and you want as much osmotic equilibrium as possible. But zoas, SPS, softies, nope. They do just fine as long as your params are good and everything is close. Another factor for me is that my LFS uses the same salt I do and mixes to 1.025-1.026 like I do. I also get my water from him, so I guess it should be damn close.

 

[bronson]

ok might give that a try next time as i have softies and i get my water from the same lfs everytime.nice zoas you got.would love to get some more myself but i lost mine to dont know what.possibly asterina stars?:confused:

 

[kbuser92]

I've never had a problem with asterinas, either. I haven't seen any in awhile, either. And one of these days I may be willing to ship a bunch of frags when I actually have big enough colonies to frag some nice pieces from.

 

[Aquarian]

I always temp then drip acclimate. I find the corals open quicker that way. But my LFS uses different salt and lower salinity than I do.

 

[bronson]

I've never had a problem with asterinas, either. I haven't seen any in awhile, either. And one of these days I may be willing to ship a bunch of frags when I actually have big enough colonies to frag some nice pieces from.

aint saying it was asterina stars just sure i read somewhere that someone saw them wiping there zoas out .this happened a while back now but at the time everything was fine except the zoas and my yellow polyps which are one of my faves

 

[Aquarian]

Yellow polyps are very hard to keep for some reason.

 

[bronson]

Yellow polyps are very hard to keep for some reason.

is that right?in my first coral book it recommends them for beginners and weird thing was they were multiplying nicely really yellow and then suddenly started dying

 

[Aquarian]

I haven't had them in years but mine did the same but it could have been my lights at the time too.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

I temp match my corals then dip them and into the dt they go. As far as mixing salt, I agree with marine and letting the mix set for 24 hrs before using it. Try checking the PH 15 minutes after dumping in the salt mix. You should have this mix all set up anyways incase issues arise. Double redundant systems, right?

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

is that right?in my first coral book it recommends them for beginners and weird thing was they were multiplying nicely really yellow and then suddenly started dying

Weeds, that is what those corals are. I missed 1 polyp on my old tank and they are taking over my rock work on the top of my dt, right next to my acros. Can't believe they can take that much light

 

[salt_for_brains]

Some people actually dump salt straight into their filter sock. I have never been that bold but I have always mixed and used the same day. There are many ways to do the salt mix just as there are many ways to put new corals in the display. I would always recommend dipping the corals b/c it is too easy and too cheap not to add a little insurance, IMO.