Coral Dips

[Jonathan Gonzales]

Wanted to see what everyone is using for coral dips. I'm approaching week 6 (water tests look good) since I setup my tank and starting to get antsy. So before I purchase any coral (not sure what yet) I wanted to ask about coral dips. I don't see many options a LFS.

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[Sascha D.]

I remembered a post from a while back that I thought would be helpful.

It's time! I'll be doing my first round of dips tonight and follow up with 2 more dips each following week for a total of 3 dips in 3 weeks.

Step 1, dislodge all corals from rock and prep them for easy dipping. Put small frags on plugs so they don't roll around and burn each other.







Step 2, let the dipping begin!



Dip 1
Bayer dip - pour until its milky white in container of tankwater (never been able to overdose it), leave for 10 mins, then shake each coral really hard in solution to dislodge any pests. Use gloves!





Dip 2
Interceptor dip - 1/2 tablet (exact dosage not important for dip, can be up to 100x recommended dose with ill effect). Crush up tablet, combine with hot RO/DI water to mix and dissolve thoroughly, then add to tankwater in container. Dip acros for 30-60 mins.




Dip 3
Potassium dip - 2 teaspoons of KCl (potassium chloride... Can be found as water softener pellets at Home Depot) per gallon of water. Will raise solution roughly 1200 ppm of Potassium to a total of 1600 ppm (most teef tanks are at 400 ppm already), causing flatworms to fly off coral and all animals to die. Dip for 30 mins. This one is the harshest dip out of the 3 as the other two hardly even bother the acros.

[Sascha D.]

I've been experimenting with Melafix Marine as a dip on new corals for the past three months . I start with a 45 minute drip acclimation, add Melafix at a dosage of 20 ml per half gallon and then float for 10 minutes. When the temp is right, I swish it around in the water a few times to dislodge anything clinging to it. It's supposed to be good for AEFW, red bugs, and isopods.

I have tried it as a fish dip, but haven't had great success. At the recommended dose, the fish stop breathing and lay on their sides. None of the ones that I have treated perished, but it was pretty scary! I've been using it as a precaution when receiving new fish and I'm not sure it's very effective at a lower dose. If it worked as intended, then it would be good at bacterial infections, fungal infections, free swimming Ich and sanitation.