How to Dip Coral - Beyer, Peroxide, Iodine and More

So you go to the Pest ID and Solutions and find out what you have in your tank. Some kind of coral eating nudibranch. Now what?! Take out all of that coral, dip, QT, and repeat for MONTHS! But what if this could have all been prevented by dipping the coral, setting up a QT tank for just a couple weeks?

This may seem a bit extreme, however, once a pest is in your reef tank, getting them out is really a pain! In fact, it can even lead to restarting your reef! I'm going to walk you through how to dip your coral using a variety of methods to help prevent or treat for pests and infections!

Table of Contents

If you just need the quick instructions for how and when to use a specific coral dip, feel free to jump ahead!

• How and When to use Coral ReVive Dip
• How and When to use Coral RX Dip
• How and When to Dip Coral in Beyer
• How and When to Dip Coral in Hydrogen Peroxide
• How and When to Dip Coral in Iodine

How to Dip Coral

In terms of coral dipping, there are multiple methods based on the coral and reason for dipping. I am going to walk you through how to dip coral using:

• Coral ReVive
• Coral RX
• Bayer / BioAdvance Complete Insect Killer
• Hydrogen Peroxide (3%)
• Brightwell Lugol's Solution Iodine

Coral ReVive

Dipping coral with Coral ReVive is not intended to do the same as the other coral dips mentioned. Coral ReVive is NOT for pest removal nor is it for bacterial infections. Per the bottle, Coral ReVive is a dip used to rinse corals before adding them to a new tank or after fragging.

I can guess your next question, why would you use Coral ReVive if it doesn't treat these things? Coral ReVive is intended for reducing stress and helping to treat parasites. So when you add a new coral or if you see signs of a parasite attacking/stressing the coral, then Coral ReVive will come to the rescue!

When to Use Coral ReVive:

• Help reduce stress response
• When adding new coral to your tank
• When fragging coral
• When treating coral parasites

How to Dip Coral with Coral ReVive

1. WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR SUCH AS RUBBER GLOVES AND GOGGLES AND WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA. (General Care when working around any chemicals)
2. Shake the bottle of Coral ReVive
3. Mix 20mL of Coral ReVive per 1/2 Gallon of salt water from the aquarium in a small bucket or bowl that is not used for water being added to the aquarium. (Do not add Coral ReVive to your aquarium)
4. Stir the mix of Coral ReVive and salt water to ensure the Coral ReVive is mixed in
5. Place the coral in the bucket or bowl for up to 15 minutes. Swirling the coral and solution is ideal for helping remove anything on the coral.
6. Shake the coral in the Coral ReVive Solution, and rinse the coral in another small bowl of tank water to get off any chemical, slime, etc that is still on the coral.
7. Dump the Coral ReVive solution and place your coral in a quarantine tank or back in your display!

Coral RX

Dipping coral with Coral RX is a very good minimum solution. This pine oil based coral dip can help stun many pest so that you can use a turkey baster and remove pest while they're weakened. Keep in mind, Coral RX is unlikely to kill any pests, but just stun or weaken them while in the dip. Coral RX is also used to help with some algae, and prevent some infections, RTN, and STN! This is a lighter weight "all around" solution, but there are better options for the individual problems you're trying to solve.

When to Use Coral RX:

• Help prevent some pests
• Helps with bacterial infections
• Known to help with RTN and STN
• May help prevent some algae

How to Dip Coral with Coral RX

1. WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR SUCH AS RUBBER GLOVES AND GOGGLES AND WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA. (General Care when working around any chemicals)
2. Shake the bottle of Coral RX
3. Mix 10mL with 1/2 Gallon of salt water from the aquarium in a small bucket or bowl that is not used for water being added to the aquarium. (Do not add Coral RX to your aquarium)
4. Stir the mix of Coral RX and salt water to ensure the Coral RX is mixed in
5. If possible, cut the frag plug off of the coral and throw the frag plug away. This prevents any pests, parasites, or bacteria from the plug to enter your reef tank.
6. Place the coral in the bucket / bowl for up to 10 minutes. Stirring the solution occasionally.
   • I like to shake the coral in the solution before adding them in the bath, as well as when I take them out. This helps remove the pests from the coral
7. Remove the coral from the bucket or bowl and place it in another bucket or bowl of water from your reef tank. Consider shaking the coral in that water as well to help remove anything that is still loose
8. Dispose of the Coral RX Solution, do not reuse
9. Your coral is now ready to be placed in a coral quarantine, tank, or better yet, a Bayer Dip. You may especially consider quarantining and Bayer dipping the coral if you notice any pests that came off the coral.

Beyer / BioAdvance Dip

WARNING

There are multiple types of insecticides by Beyer/Bioadvanced! You need the one pictured above! The others will likely kill your coral! Specifically, you need the one with the following active ingredients:

• Imidaclopid - 0.72%
• Beta-Cyfluthrin - 0.36%
• Other - 98.92%

Dipping your coral in Beyer, now known as BioAdvance, is a great solution for killing pests such as nudibranchs and flatworms. Unlike Pine Oil based coral dips like Coral RX, BioAdvance will not just stun the pests, but it will kill them! Yet, Bayer / BioAdvance Complete Insect Killer won't have a negative effect on most coral!

Using Bayer to dip coral is a very common and effective method of killing pests that hitch-hike on new coral. Often, Bayer dipping is considered standard practice, however you likely needed instructions on how to do so. I expect that is how you found this article. Bayer Dip for Corals is actually quite simple

Before we continue, Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer has been re-branded as BioAdvance Complete Insect Killer. This is the product you are looking for.

When to Use Beyer Coral Dipping:

• Preventing/Killing live "bug like" pests

How to Bayer Dip Coral

1. WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR SUCH AS RUBBER GLOVES, MASK, GOGGLES, AND WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA. (General Care when working around any chemicals).
2. Shake the bottle of Bayer.
3. Mix 80mL with 1/2 Gallon of salt water from the aquarium in a small bucket or bowl that is not used for water being added to the aquarium. (Do not add Bayer to your aquarium).
4. Stir the mix of Bayer Insect Killer and salt water to ensure the Bayer is mixed in. It will cause the water to become milky.
5. If possible, cut the frag plug off of the coral and throw the frag plug away. This prevents any pests, parasites, or bacteria from the plug to enter your reef tank.
6. Place the coral in the bucket / bowl for 15 minutes. Stirring the solution occasionally.
   • I like to shake the coral in the solution before adding them in the Bayer dip, as well as when I take them out. This helps remove the pests from the coral
7. Remove the coral from the bucket or bowl and place it in another bucket or bowl of water from your reef tank. Consider shaking the coral in that water as well to help remove anything that is still loose.
8. Dispose of the Bayer Dip, and observe if any pests fell off so that you know what might still be on the coral.
9. Your coral is now ready to be placed in a coral quarantine or tank. You may especially consider quarantining the coral if you notice any pests that fell off the coral.
10. You're done! Easier than you thought, right?!

Hydrogen Peroxide Coral Dipping

Using household Hydrogen Peroxide (3%) as a coral dip can help with a variety, but some things more than others. For example, while hydrogen peroxide dipping may help prevent some pests, that's not what it's really known for. Dipping coral in hydrogen peroxide is a great way to prevent/treat nuisance algae, as well as help treat bacterial infections!

When to use Hydrogen Peroxide Coral Dip:

• Treating and Preventing Nuisance Algae
• Bacterial Infections
• May help with some pests

How to Dip Coral with Hydrogen Peroxide

Make sure to ONLY use the 3% hydrogen peroxide. While this is the most common, just double check the container to prevent killing coral.

1. WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR SUCH AS RUBBER GLOVES, MASK, GOGGLES, AND WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA. (General Care when working around any chemicals).
2. Fill 2 containers with aquarium water. One container that you plan to dip in with aquarium water, and one for rinsing the coral off after. (1/4 gallon to 1/2 gallon is usually enough)
3. Add hydrogen peroxide to the water in the dipping container. The amount to mix is a little tricky, but here is a quick reference for how much hydrogen peroxide to add depending on the coral type.
• Acropora (tolerance varies by species), Montipora, Astreopora, Duncanopsammia, Turbinaria, Galaxia, Cyhpastrea, Alveopora, Hydnophora, Echinophyllia, Mycedium, Oxypora, Tubastrea
• • 20-40ml per 1/4 gallon
• Pocillopora, Seriatopora, Stylophora, Caulastrea, Clavularia, Pachyclavularia, Sympodium, Cespitularia, Yellow Leathers, Pachyceris, Echinpora, Leptoseris, Pectinia, Psammacora
• • 50-70ml per 1/4 gallon
• Porites, Xenia, Brown Leathers, Pavona, Fungiids, Heliofungia
• • 80-120ml per 1/4 gallon
• Goniopora, Favia, Favites, Goniastrea, Platygyra, Leptastrea, Blastomussa, Cynarina, Physogyra, Plerogyra, Symphyllia, Sinularia, Corallimorpharian
• • 130-200ml per 1/4 gallon
• Zoanthids, Palythoa, Scolymia, Acansthstrea, Micromussa, Lobophyllia, Euphyllia, Catalaphyllia, Trachyphyllia
• • 210-350ml per 1/4 gallon
• Amounts provided courtesy of the Humble.fish Forums and are not "my" formula
4. Once the peroxide is in the dipping water, you can add the coral!
5. Let the coral sit in the hydrogen peroxide bath for no more than 5 minutes. You will notice fizzing. This is normal, but I was also really nervous watching that...
6. After the 5 minutes, rinse the coral in the second container. You can use a light amount of water from a turkey baster to get the hydrogen peroxide bubbles off the coral.
7. Dispose of the hydrogen peroxide bath. While likely not too harmful, you don't want to risk any unwanted bacteria hanging around.
8. Your coral is now ready to be placed in a coral quarantine or tank. You may especially consider quarantining the coral if you notice any pests that fell off the coral. Keep in mind that your coral may need a day or two to recover from being dipped.

Brightwell Lugol's Solution Iodine

While there are other Lugol's Solution Iodine on the market, Brightwell is specifically used for dipping coral because it is more concentrated than the newer solutions. Iodine dipping for coral is a good idea as an anti-septic to help prevent infections in damaged coral, to helping prevent the spread of bacterial infections, or even brown jelly disease! Iodine coral dipping is most common for zoas and Euphylia like hammer and torch coral.

When to Use Iodine Coral Dip

• Bacterial Infections
• Brown Jelly Disease

How to Dip Coral with Brightwell Lugol's Solution Iodine

First I just want to note, that if you use other Iodine solutions, you will need to do the math to make sure all of the ingredients match up. There are a LOT of options and every one is different. So I encourage that you use Brightwell Lugol's Solution Iodine.

1. WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR SUCH AS RUBBER GLOVES, MASK, GOGGLES, AND WORK IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA. (General Care when working around any chemicals).
2. Fill 2 containers with aquarium water. One container that you plan to dip in with aquarium water, and one for rinsing the coral off after. (1/4 gallon to 1/2 gallon is usually enough)
3. Add 10 drops of Brightwell Lugol's Solution Iodine per 1/4 gallon (40 drops per gallon).
4. Add your coral to the dipping solution!
5. Let the coral sit in the iodine-dip bath for 7 to 10 minutes.
6. During the dipping time, you can use a turkey baster to blow off any infected areas or just ensure the iodine is hitting the areas it needs to and blowing off debris.
7. After the 7 to 10 minutes, rinse your coral off in the other container to dilute and remove the iodine on the coral.
8. Make sure to dump the iodine bath after every use. You don't want to add bacteria to other coral in the process.
9. Your coral is good to go! Make sure to either quarantine the coral or place it in your tank! Don't forget it in the bucket... I've definitely never done that...

Conclusion

While this is by no means a complete list of every coral dip or solution, hopefully you can see how each method of coral dipping has it's own advantages and use cases. Some dips, like Beyer/BioAdvanced are GREAT at pest removal, while others like Lougol's Solution Iodine is known for infection prevention. Hydrogen Peroxide is the GOAT for algae removal and Coral RX is a good all around solution. Hopefully you take the information here and apply it to your corals to prevent or treat pests and infections, and maintaining a beautiful reef tank!

Share this article:

Share

Pin it!

---

About the Author

John Krenzer

John is a Software Engineer with a passion for saltwater aquariums, as well as the founder and president of Reef Stable. He started in the aquarium hobby as a child with a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium. His interest in aquarium life grew and in 2008, John set up his first saltwater aquarium.

Today, John maintains an over 300 gallon reef tank system, consisting of a 120g reef and a 210g reef. These large tanks are contained within the same system, sharing a sump as a means to reduce total maintenance and increase total water volume.

John writes articles for the blog as a means to learn about more reef aquarium topics. These articles act as a reference for the readers as well as himself. John updates these articles frequently to provide additional information or make corrections as new information becomes available.

If you would like to request an article, tank tour article, or to collaborate, let me know via the Contact Me Page!

---