[FONT="]Here's what you want to do. (Tried and true method. I found out through trial and error. Trust me.)
When you get the fish home, set up a small/medium container. One that if you dump the bag into, the fish have adequate space, and big enough that when drip acclimating, it won't overflow every 15 minutes.
Put the fish into the container. Take baseline readings on the tank, as well as the bag water, BEFORE starting the drip. Test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, as well as pH. Write these down on a piece of paper, you’re going to need them later.
Start the drip, 1-2 drops per second is a good start. Wait 30 minutes, and test both the tank and the bag water again. Note the readings and record them along with the time. Remove about the same amount of water from the fish container as you put in with the tank.
Continue this for another 30 minutes, and test again. Your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates (if any of each) will start to drop, and your pH should start changing toward the level in your tank. Discard, once again, the amount of water that you put in.
Next, step up the drip to 2-4 drops per second, and monitor every 15 minutes. You’ll need to keep a close eye on the container now, to make sure it doesn’t overflow. Yes, take readings every 15 minutes until they match your tank (should be between another hour to 2 hours for a max total of about 3 hours.) once all the readings (including pH) match, let the drip operate for another 15 minutes to be sure, and then net the fish into your tank.
This might seem like overkill, but it's tried and true... and my losses were drastically less than when I float and dumped.
If you have a dangerous level of ammonia in the bag water before starting the drip, you can add 1 drop (READ: ONE DROP) of Prime or Ammo-lock into the bag to detoxify the ammonia while the fish are in acclimation... DO NOT add any more during the process, as it will falsify the ammonia readings.[/FONT]
When you get the fish home, set up a small/medium container. One that if you dump the bag into, the fish have adequate space, and big enough that when drip acclimating, it won't overflow every 15 minutes.
Put the fish into the container. Take baseline readings on the tank, as well as the bag water, BEFORE starting the drip. Test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, as well as pH. Write these down on a piece of paper, you’re going to need them later.
Start the drip, 1-2 drops per second is a good start. Wait 30 minutes, and test both the tank and the bag water again. Note the readings and record them along with the time. Remove about the same amount of water from the fish container as you put in with the tank.
Continue this for another 30 minutes, and test again. Your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates (if any of each) will start to drop, and your pH should start changing toward the level in your tank. Discard, once again, the amount of water that you put in.
Next, step up the drip to 2-4 drops per second, and monitor every 15 minutes. You’ll need to keep a close eye on the container now, to make sure it doesn’t overflow. Yes, take readings every 15 minutes until they match your tank (should be between another hour to 2 hours for a max total of about 3 hours.) once all the readings (including pH) match, let the drip operate for another 15 minutes to be sure, and then net the fish into your tank.
This might seem like overkill, but it's tried and true... and my losses were drastically less than when I float and dumped.
If you have a dangerous level of ammonia in the bag water before starting the drip, you can add 1 drop (READ: ONE DROP) of Prime or Ammo-lock into the bag to detoxify the ammonia while the fish are in acclimation... DO NOT add any more during the process, as it will falsify the ammonia readings.[/FONT]
