Receiving Your Coral — Acclimation & First 24 Hours

Your coral has just completed an overnight journey. The aim now is simple: check it, temperature acclimate it, get it out of the shipping water promptly and give it somewhere suitable to recover.

1. Check the Coral on Arrival

Inspect each coral on arrival. Reduced colour, closed polyps or a generally stressed appearance after shipping do not necessarily mean the coral is dead.

Our 24-Hour Coral Guarantee covers corals that arrive dead or die within 24 hours of delivery, subject to the care conditions in our Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy.

If you have any concern about a coral, please let us know within 24 hours of delivery, even if the coral is still alive. Contact us as soon as you notice a problem so we can help.

Please provide your order number and clear, sharply focused photographs under neutral white lighting, showing the whole affected coral and a close-up of its condition. Images must be clear enough for us to assess the concern. If they are blurred, poorly lit or inconclusive, we may request clearer photographs or a short video before deciding the claim.

If a bag arrives cloudy, take a quick photograph before opening it, where possible, and let us know promptly. If the coral is alive, follow our acclimation and introduction instructions without delay. Do not keep a living coral in its sealed shipping bag while waiting for our reply. Monitor that coral and document any deterioration.

WhatsApp / Telephone: 07506 022952   Email: signaturefrags@gmail.com

Please see our Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy for the full claim and care conditions.

2. Temperature Acclimate — Do Not Drip Acclimate

Float the sealed bag in your aquarium or sump for approximately 15–20 minutes.

Do not exceed 20 minutes.

After an overnight journey, the coral needs to return to fresh, oxygenated, flowing aquarium water as soon as reasonably possible. Leaving it unnecessarily in the shipping bag can prolong its exposure to deteriorating water conditions and increase stress.

Why We Don't Drip Acclimate

During transport, carbon dioxide accumulates in the sealed bag and the pH of the shipping water falls.

At the same time, some organic die-off is almost inevitable. This doesn't necessarily come from the coral itself — algae, coralline algae, bacteria and other organisms growing on the frag plug can die back during transit. Together with normal biological waste, this contributes to ammonia building up in the bag.

At the lower pH of shipping water, much of this is present as the less toxic ammonium (NH₄⁺) form.

When aquarium water is slowly dripped into the bag, the pH rises. As it does, a greater proportion becomes un-ionised ammonia (NH₃) — the considerably more toxic form.

This can expose an already stressed coral to increasingly harmful shipping water.

It is particularly important with sensitive species such as Acropora, where prolonged drip acclimation may contribute to tissue damage or mortality.

After a maximum of 20 minutes:

1. Open the bag.
2. Remove the coral promptly.
3. Discard the shipping water — never add it to your aquarium.
4. If dipping, use a clean container with fresh aquarium water.
5. Once dipping or inspection is complete, move the coral into oxygenated, flowing aquarium water without unnecessary delay.

3. Coral Dipping — Take Extra Care With Shipped Acropora

There are many coral dips available, and some are perfectly suitable in other situations.

However, freshly shipped Acropora can be particularly sensitive.

A product that may be suitable for a coral collected locally, or for a more tolerant LPS coral, can be considerably harsher on Acropora tissue that has already been stressed by transit.

For freshly shipped Signature Frags corals, we recommend only:

• our own Signature Frags Coral Dip, or
• Polyp Lab Reef Primer.

When dipping:

• use fresh aquarium water, never shipping water;
• follow the appropriate dosing instructions;
• avoid unnecessarily strong concentrations or extended exposure;
• keep the coral under observation;
• gently use a turkey baster or similar tool to move solution around the coral and help dislodge unwanted organisms; and
• return the coral to flowing aquarium water promptly afterwards.

The aim is to inspect and cleanse the coral without adding unnecessary additional stress.

Although every coral entering Signature Frags goes through our own extensive quarantine and treatment process, no responsible supplier can guarantee that a living coral is completely free from every possible pest or microorganism. We therefore still encourage customers to inspect and quarantine where possible.

4. Where to Place Your Coral

Our recommendation differs between LPS and Acropora.

LPS

For LPS corals, we generally recommend starting them on the sand bed.

This gives them a lower-light position while they settle before being moved gradually towards their final placement if required.

Acropora

We recommend that newly introduced Acropora never come into direct contact with the sand bed.

Sand naturally supports large populations of bacteria, microorganisms and other surface-associated life. Keeping a freshly shipped Acropora elevated reduces unnecessary contact while its tissue is recovering.

Our preferred position is:

A frag rack on the front-centre pane of glass, approximately two inches above the sand bed.

This position provides two important advantages.

Gentler initial lighting: The coral sits low in the aquarium while it adapts to the chemical, biological and lighting conditions of your reef. The clean front pane also provides useful reflected light without exposing the coral immediately to intense lighting higher in the tank.

Strong indirect flow: Most powerheads are mounted on the sides or rear of an aquarium, making the lower front-centre area an excellent place for multidirectional water movement. The aim is good flow around the whole frag, rather than a strong direct blast from one direction.

Avoid placing an acclimation rack high in a rear corner simply because it is convenient. These areas can have poorer circulation, uneven lighting or both, which can slow the coral's recovery and growth.

For Acropora, keep it simple:

Front-centre glass. Around two inches above the sand. Reduced initial light. Good indirect flow.

5. Don't Mount It Permanently Straight Away

We strongly recommend not gluing newly delivered coral directly onto your rockwork on arrival.

Allow it to settle first.

Keeping the coral removable makes it easier to observe and lets you gradually adjust its position as it adapts to the lighting, flow, chemistry and biology of your aquarium.

One of the easiest mistakes to make with Acropora is to receive a beautiful frag and immediately glue it high up on the rockwork under intense light.

Don't rush it.

A coral that is pushed too hard before it has acclimated can easily become stressed and stall. Instead of settling in and putting down new growth, it may sit there doing very little for months — sometimes six months or more.

That's exactly what we're trying to avoid.

We want our corals to grow.

Giving the coral time to establish itself lower in the aquarium before gradually moving it towards its final position gives it a much better opportunity to settle, maintain its health and begin growing sooner.

Once the coral is responding well and you are confident it has acclimated, gradually move it towards the lighting and flow appropriate for that species before fixing it permanently into place.

For Acropora in particular, think of acclimation as a process rather than a race.

A few extra weeks of patience at the beginning can save months of stalled growth later.

What Is Normal During the First 24 Hours?

A freshly shipped coral may temporarily show:

• little or no polyp extension;
• reduced colour;
• mucus production;
• slightly retracted tissue; or
• a dull or stressed appearance.

These signs do not necessarily indicate a problem.

The coral has been packed, transported overnight and introduced into an entirely different environment. Give it time to recover.

You should generally be looking for gradual improvement over the following days.

If something appears significantly wrong or continues to deteriorate, please contact us.

Don't Chase Numbers

Your aquarium does not need to perfectly match Signature Frags.

Our corals are deliberately conditioned across different systems, dosing regimes and parameter ranges before they are offered for sale.

What matters most is:

reasonable parameters, appropriate light and flow, and good overall stability.

Avoid making large changes to your aquarium simply because a new coral has arrived.

Let the coral adapt to your reef rather than changing your reef around the coral.

Quick Arrival Checklist

Before opening: Inspect the coral and photograph any suspected DOA.

15–20 minutes maximum: Float the sealed bag to equalise temperature.

Do not drip acclimate: Remove the coral from the shipping water promptly.

Discard the shipping water: Never add it to your aquarium.

If dipping: Use fresh aquarium water and either Signature Frags Coral Dip or Polyp Lab Reef Primer.

LPS: Begin on the sand bed.

Acropora: Keep off the sand. Use a frag rack on the front-centre glass around two inches above the sand bed, with reduced initial light and strong indirect flow.

Do not mount permanently on arrival: Give the coral time to settle before moving it higher or fixing it to the rockwork.

Then give the coral time to settle.

If you have any concern about your coral, please contact us within 24 hours of delivery and refer to our Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy for full claim conditions. Continue caring for a living coral without waiting for our reply.

Your Signature Frags coral has already spent a long time learning to adapt to different captive environments.

Now give it a little time to learn yours.