SPS acclimation

so im gonna go pic up an SPS coral (not sure yet what kinda but NOT an acro), how long should i keep it in the bag for acclimation, should i have my lights on, and where in the tank should i place it at first? (i think i might be getting stylophora or montipora of some sort)

 

What kind of lighting is it coming from and what kind of lighting do you have? If the lighting at the store is brighter than your then you can place it anywhere. If not then sometimes its best to put it down low and move it up after a week. I just float my corals for about 20-30 min then put them in. Ive never had any problems.

 

yeah they have metal halidfes and i have Pc's BUt my Pc's are 24w, the coral that i bought from them last time also colored up way more when i brought them home and put them under my lights. i dont know the actual wattage of their tanks though

 

I acclimate to temp only for sps, usually takes around 10 min.

 

ok, how about the lights, does it matter if they are on or off?

 

No I just leave the lights on, but that's me. I do acclimate sps to lighting by initially placing them lower in the tank. This is especially true of montipora, I have photo shocked more montis than any other coral.

 

so would you suggest no lights at first, put it at the bottom of the tank, then turn lights on? im pretty sure that the LFS uses MH

 

If the lights are on their normal schedule I would just leave them on. Personally I like to see my new frags.

The lighting they are currently under has so many variable, distance from tank, age of bulbs, clarity of water.......... For montipora I always start lower in the tank. Other frags it depends on the coloration. If they are fully colored with no loss of color or browning I start mid tank and move up over a week or so.