Coral Acclimation Guide
Bringing home a new coral is exciting! Whether you've purchased it at our Boynton Beach store or received it through overnight shipping, proper acclimation helps your coral transition safely into its new aquarium.
Follow this guide to minimize stress, protect your existing reef, and give your new coral the best opportunity to thrive.
Avoid touching delicate coral tissue. Never add shipping or transport water directly to your aquarium. Wear appropriate gloves and eye protection when handling corals, especially zoanthids and palythoas.
Before You Begin
Have everything ready before opening your new coral. Keeping the process organized reduces handling and unnecessary stress.
What You'll Need
- A clean, aquarium-safe container
- Water from your established aquarium
- A thermometer and salinity tester
- Airline tubing if gradual water adjustment is needed
- A coral dip appropriate for your coral, if using one
- A separate container for rinsing
- Gloves and eye protection
Prepare Your Aquarium
- Reduce or dim intense aquarium lighting
- Check temperature and salinity
- Confirm alkalinity is stable
- Prepare a suitable lower-light starting location
- Keep transport water out of your display
Step-by-Step Coral Acclimation
These recommendations are intended for healthy corals arriving in typical retail or overnight shipping conditions. Severely stressed arrivals may require a different approach.
Inspect Your Coral
Carefully inspect the coral and its container as soon as it arrives. Look for obvious damage, detached tissue, excessive mucus, or damaged packaging.
Corals often arrive with closed polyps. This alone does not mean the coral is unhealthy.
For shipped orders, photograph any apparent damage before beginning acclimation.
Adjust the Temperature
Float the sealed bag or suitable sealed container in your aquarium or sump for approximately 15–20 minutes.
Keep the container away from intense lighting and make sure it cannot enter an overflow or contact aquarium equipment.
If the water is already at your aquarium's temperature, unnecessary prolonged floating is not beneficial.
Adjust to Your Aquarium Water
Check the salinity of the transport water against your aquarium when practical.
For a healthy coral from a local pickup with similar water parameters, a brief adjustment may be sufficient.
If the salinity differs meaningfully, transfer the coral and enough transport water to cover it into a clean container. Slowly introduce aquarium water until the parameters are appropriately matched.
For overnight-shipped corals, avoid prolonged drip acclimation in deteriorating shipping water. Once the bag is opened, complete the transition without unnecessary delay.
Discard all transport water afterward.
Inspect and Dip When Appropriate
We recommend inspecting all new corals for pests before introducing them to your display.
Carefully check the frag plug, underside, and coral base for flatworms, nudibranchs, eggs, and unwanted algae.
A suitable coral dip can help reduce certain hitchhikers. Always confirm that the chosen dip is appropriate for your coral and follow its exact dosage and exposure instructions.
Some stressed or recently shipped corals may benefit from recovery before dipping. Dipping is not a substitute for quarantine.
If a dip is used, rinse in separate clean aquarium water afterward.
Place Your Coral in the Aquarium
Start in an area with moderate or reduced lighting compared with the coral's expected final placement.
Choose a location with water movement appropriate for the coral species. Avoid direct, forceful flow onto delicate coral tissue.
A lower frag rack or adjustable mounting location can make the transition easier.
Gradually adjust lighting and placement over several days or longer according to the coral's response and lighting requirements.
Monitor Your Coral
Watch your coral closely during the first several days and continue monitoring as it settles into its new environment.
Some temporary polyp retraction is common, but worsening tissue recession, rapid bleaching, or tissue loss deserves prompt attention.
Avoid moving the coral repeatedly. Maintain stable aquarium conditions and allow time for adjustment.
Coral Placement & Water Flow
Every species has different requirements. Use these general recommendations as a starting point rather than fixed rules.
SPS Corals
Many SPS corals, including Acropora, prefer stronger, indirect, variable water flow and moderate-to-high light once acclimated.
Begin with reduced light exposure and gradually work toward the coral's intended PAR range.
LPS Corals
Many LPS corals, including torches, hammers, and frogspawn, appreciate gentle-to-moderate indirect flow and appropriate lighting.
Avoid strong jets that cause tissue to whip aggressively against the skeleton.
Soft Corals
Many soft corals tolerate moderate lighting and low-to-moderate flow, although individual species vary.
Allow adequate space for expansion and growth.
Frag Placement
An adjustable frag rack is a useful starting location for many newly acquired corals.
Once the coral has settled, secure it to your aquascape with aquarium-safe adhesive or epoxy as appropriate.
Our Lush Corals Farm Parameters
At Lush Corals, we focus on consistency and stability throughout our aquaculture systems. These are the approximate water conditions we strive to maintain in our coral farm.
| Parameter | Our Farm Target |
|---|---|
| Specific Gravity | 1.025 |
| Alkalinity | 8–9 dKH |
| Calcium | 480 ppm |
| Magnesium | 1300–1400 ppm |
| Nitrate (NO3) | 10–15 ppm |
| Phosphate (PO4) | 0.09–0.12 ppm |
| Temperature | 77–78°F |
These are our farm targets, not mandatory values for every reef aquarium. Avoid making sudden chemistry changes simply to match our system. Stable, appropriate conditions are essential for long-term coral health.
Lighting at Lush Corals
Our store and farm corals are grown under EcoTech Marine Radion G6 Blue lighting. We use consistent lighting schedules and adjust intensity according to the coral species and grow-out system.
Your aquarium's lighting may differ significantly in intensity and spectrum. Even a coral grown under similar fixtures can require light acclimation when moved into a new system.
When possible, measure PAR and increase exposure gradually instead of immediately placing new corals in the brightest area of your aquarium.
Helpful Reminders
Do
- Handle corals by the frag plug or base
- Keep temperature and salinity stable
- Inspect closely for pests
- Use suitable coral dips correctly
- Allow adequate time for light acclimation
- Monitor corals after placement
Avoid
- Adding shipping water to your aquarium
- Touching sensitive coral tissue
- Prolonged exposure to opened shipping water
- Overdosing or mixing coral dips
- Sudden exposure to intense lighting
- Making repeated unnecessary adjustments
