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Hey y'all. What do you guys do in regards to dipping your new frags.
Me, I examine them all carefully and put them in a 25% lugols dip for 5-10 minutes before they go in the tank.
Oops - me too! I also rinse them in fresh tank water before they go in the tank.
I put all the corals in a 2 gal bucket with small powerhead and heater and add ReefDip until the water turns yellow. I let them go for 15 mins, then I add Interceptor. Usually higher than the normal amount. Then I wait for 3~5 hours.
Before I mount the frags and put them into the tank, I swish them in some tank water to wash off the meds. I didn't swish the corals in some clean water one time and my emeral crab didn't like that very much at all
Out of curiosity what concentration is Lugols compared to some "generic" iodine like Kents or whatever?
-Mike 
hey everyone i did that kugols dip...but i forgot to wash the corals with my tank water b4 putting in the main tank. Am i ok? if not what should i do? thanks!
pogiboy, you should be fine. I wouldnt worry.
Lugol's isn't straight Iodine, that's the difference.
Me, I put the bag in the microwave on 50% for 30 seconds. I then rotate and repeat
Nah, I use a heavy Lugol's dip for lilke 10 minutes...shake...rinse.....place into tank. I'm now using the TMCC and it seems to be pretty good. Easy to measure that's for sure, well, if my top wasn't broken it would be easy. Rich's was easy to use
actually same question as sfsuphysics, i have been using the kent 'tech-1' iodine/k-iodide in distilled water.. seems like the same stuff as in the lugol's just the lugols is at a higher concentration. wondering if anyone knows of the difference, as i have a bottle of the tech-1 that i don't use for much else so i'd like to use instead of lugols if possible.
Kent Tech iodine has other stuff in there to maintain a suitable iodine level in the system over a period of time for "better" coral health. I don't think it was meant to be used as a dip.
Lugol's solution is 5% Iodine in 10% potassium iodide solution. The iodine is the disinfectant part that kills bacteria and pests. It's similar to chlorine in how it oxidizes stuff.
If you don't have Lugol's, you can use Tincture of Iodine, which is typically 2-3% iodine in alcohol... and sometimes some iodide as well. When using tincture, you use 2x as much. For dip purposes, the alcohol should not be a problem.
You can use iodine/saltwater dip as a general purpose coral dip. Reeffarmers recommends, "20 minutes in 1 liter of 100 % captive reef water that has 10 drops of 5 % lugols solution (or 20 drops of the tincture of iodine found at local drug stores which is typically a 2.2 % solution)."
http://www.reeffarmers.com/acclimation.htm
If you are treating for zoanthid eating nudibranchs, you use iodine/freshwater dip. I use about 10 drops tincture per gallon of pH and temp adjusted DI freshwater for 5 minutes. The freshwater kills the nudibranchs, and the iodine helps kills off the bacteria that might affect your zoas after the stress of the freshwater exposure. I've even used iodine/tapwater for zoa nudi dip.
Some people use iodine/freshwater dip for montipora eating nudibranchs. Montipora is less able to take the fw compared to zoas. Recommended dip time is no more than 30-45 seconds. At that, the montipora will be severely stressed, and will slime and slough. Much longer than 45 seconds, and you have a good chance of killing your coral. I've heard of people who killed their monti caps from 1 minute freshwater dips. I don't like iodine/fw much for monti nudis. If you dip short enough to keep your coral alive, the nudis seem barely affected.
If I get new zoas, I do iodine/sw... especially if it looks like there's deterioration or decay. If it's a large wild colony, I lean towards fragging it to make it easier to spot pests, and to limit losses should there be any decay that spreads.
I only do iodine/fw for zoa nudis, and luckily I've not had to dip my own zoas.
Careful of doing fw and no iodine on zoas. I think the fw further stresses the zoa, and the lack of iodine can allow bacteria to multiply and kill your coral.
(Not iodine, but if you have fungus-ey zoas, one recommended treatment is peroxide/freshwater.)
Anyway, that's what I've been doing. I'm sure other people have their own routines.
thanks mr. ugly.. wondered about when to do fresh/iodine versus salt/iodine as well as the diff between lugols and tech-1, though the tech-1 seems to be working for me.
and yeah, i think you are right about the montis not taking freshwater dips very well, i got a orange monti frag from the BAR swap in february that RTN'ed after my dipping for just a minute.
I do pretty much the same thing, except I give them a good shake after about 5 minutes. Anything left sticking on will be weakened enough to just fall off.