questions about pests/dipping/quarantining

MitchM · #1 10-30-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishytime

nothing.....I mean nothing hits my tank without being dipped........

Doug,

What do you with new live rock?

Thanks,
Mitch

fishytime · #2 10-30-2010, 03:53 PM

well to be perfectly honest.....I dont do a thing with new LR

.....I suppose you could use the same dips on lr.....would probably render it dead though.....if it was just a few pounds it wouldnt be an issue.....any more than a few pounds(dipped or not) and I would let it cure for a couple weeks before I added it.....

Myka · #3 10-31-2010, 12:08 AM

Freshwater dip will help out for the Zoas, but I wouldn't do that to the LPS. However, I wouldn't put any corals in my tank without dipping. Even then, I've had my fair share of pests since dips aren't as good as quarantining.

ALang · #4 10-31-2010, 04:23 PM

How much iodine to how much water? and for how long?
Myka, you mentioned that FW dips aren't for LPS, so iodine is OK?
What about clams? Do you dip in FW or in iodine/Water sol??

Myka · #5 10-31-2010, 04:31 PM

Many years ago I used Lugol's solution to make my own iodine dip, and I lost many LPS corals doing this. LPS can be quite sensitive to dips. Buy a premixed dip. I recently switched to Coral Rx, but have used Tropic Marin Coral Cure and Julian Sprung's TLF ReVive Coral Cleaner in the past. As well as others I can't seem to think of right now. TMCC is iodine based, and ReVive and Coral Rx are not. I haven't used Coral Rx long enough to give an opinion, although the reviews are really good on it.

Dips are worth their weight in gold if you don't use a quarantine tank for corals. With no QT you rely on that dip to protect your reef from incoming infection. I don't know about you, but I have a lot of money tied up in corals, and I am not a happy camper when my reef gets infected!

For clams, freshwater dips are the only thing I would ever recommend, but I only dip clams for pinched mantle. Newly incoming clams get their mantles washed in freshwater and scrubbed with a toothbrush. Clams are usually fairly sensitive, so I don't use any sort premixed dip on them. They need at least a few days to acclimate to the tank before doing any sort of dipping, and even then I would only dip if there is a problem.

albert_dao · #6 10-31-2010, 07:40 PM

You may also want to consider 'after-dip', longterm solutions such as Yellow Coris Wrasses and their ilk.

ALang · #7 10-31-2010, 09:48 PM

Thanks, that's easier to understand now.
Will be looking for said pre-mixed dips. And fw dip and scrubbing for that new Cook island clam!