Coral Acclimation: The MCC Method
Congratulations! You new tank inhabitants have arrived!
It is very important to acclimate your corals when they arrive. Simply put, acclimation refers to allowing the corals to adjust to their new environment in a relatively slow fashion. There are many different methods that can be used to acclimate your corals but this is what we recommend, especially if you're a beginner.
Inspect the corals inside their sealed bags
- Is the water clear?
- Is the temperature at about room temperature?
- Does anything look damaged?
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Float the corals in your tank for 15-20 minutes.
This helps the temperature of the bags to adjust to that of your tank slowly. Since there is so little water in the bags its not necessary to wait longer than 20 minutes. While its important to be patient we must also realize that the sooner these corals are into your tank the better.
Place the corals in a container and inspect them.
Regardless of whom you get your corals from, you never want to introduce foreign water into your system. Grab the corals by their frag plug stem and give them a good look, then proceed to gently swish them around. Sometimes there is a little detritus that collects on the plugs or the corals. Now is a good time to handle that. Some people even use this step to cut the coral off the frag plug or remount it on some small rubble so the tank looks more natural.
Place the corals in the tank.
We recommend giving the corals an observation period of about a week. There are no specific requirements to this period but its in place to make sure the corals are adjusting to your aquarium. During this period we recommend using a frag rack to keep a close eye on the corals. Its also incredibly helpful to light acclimate the corals.
Enjoy!
We love seeing our corals thrive! Make sure to tag us on instagram to show their progress! We might even repost you!