I’m filing this one under pest treatment, although it really is more of a pest preventer! While the best way to ensure you don’t bring any unwanted pests into your tank is to use a coral quarantine tank (QT), that isn’t always an option. This coral dip is safe for your corals, but deadly for most of the pests we want to keep out of our tanks. It’s as simple as can be and it is very effective.
I first came across this coral dipping method when I found my CoralRx expired and realized the price had gone WAY up since I last bought it. I wanted to use something less expensive and something that was proven to work. I never really trusted CoralRx, it just smelled like Lemon Pledge to me. A quick Google search for “coral dip” and the first post that isn’t talking about CoralRx takes you here, to Murfreesboro Aquatics. The first time I read it I thought these guys must be nuts! Who dips their prized corals in insecticide!? A little further research and sure enough, it’s a real thing and people are having great results.
If I find some good information on why this works, I’ll come back and update this entry. For now, let’s just get to the real meat of why we’re here…. the dip!
The original entry is for making 5 gallons of coral dip and you need to use it right away. I tend to only want about a cup or two to dip a few frags, so I’ve modified the instructions to match that.
Bayer Coral Dip Instructions
Equipment:
1. Bayer Complete Insect Killer
2. 3 containers for the water
3. Measuring cup and dosing syringe
4. Gloves and eye protection
5. Turkey baster or small power head
6. 3-6 cups of saltwater
Directions:
As with all dips, wear gloves and protective eye wear!
1. Measure out 1-2 cups of saltwater into the first container. I like to use the water the frags came in.
2. Add 1.5mL of Bayer per ounce of water to the cup. (There are 8 ounces in a cup)
3. Add your frags to the cup.
4. Using a powerhead is the best bet here, but if not make sure you use your turkey baster to blast all of the corals on all sides.
5. Let your frags soak for 15 minutes
6. Shake the frags vigorously in the water and move them to your second cup with 1-2 cups of tank water.
7. Let the frags soak for 15 minutes.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
9. DONE!
That’s all there is to it! You’ll notice that the Bayer makes the water milky white and you really can’t see what comes off of the frags. I like to dump the water out through a coffee filter so I can see what I pulled off. It also gives you a chance to possibly do another dip if you see something particularly scary in there.
It is best to do this with tools that are ONLY for use in your tank. I bought a set of bowls that I’ve labeled just for dipping corals. I wrote on the bottom so I know what goes in each so I don’t need to worry. I use these bowls:
As of writing this, these were only $12 on Amazon.com. Having a lid is nice so you can swirl the frags around if you aren’t using a powerhead.
