Drip Acclimation

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biondoa

biondoa

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Feb 6, 2015
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Alison
Could someone please explain this process? I have been using the floating bag and then adding tank water over a period of about 45 mins. So far it has been working fine, but apparently there are some fish like neons for example, who need some serious acclimating. Many folks recommend the drip method, but I don't know how that works.
Thanks for your help with this.
Alison
 
A

Andre7

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Nov 19, 2014
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To acclimate my fish I let the bag sit on the tank for a few minutes. Then I add 5 mL of water every 5 minutes for about an hour. Toward the end of the hour I start adding more water at a time.
It worked for my neons :thumbsup:
I suppose you might not technically call it drip acclimation, but it's close.
 
Last edited:
Rbishop

Rbishop

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When doing drip, most folks will use a section of airline tubing to create a siphon from the tank to a container the fish are in. They can pinch off the line and let the water drip in.
 
Slappy*McFish

Slappy*McFish

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An airline valve at the end of the airline leading into the bucket works great for fine tuning the rate of drip.

t204179.jpg
 
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Narwhal72

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Keep in mind that drip acclimation should only be used if the fish have been in the bag a relatively short period of time.

If the fish have been in the bag a long time (such as on overnight shipment). Float the bag in the tank to bring it up to temperature, then open it, net the fish out and put them directly in the tank.


The longer the fish are in a bag the higher the CO2 level will be. As CO2 levels increase it drives pH down. When pH is below 7 all of the toxic ammonia becomes nontoxic ammonium. Since fish are continuing to produce ammonia during shipment the levels of ammonium can get pretty high but don't cause any harm.

As soon as you open the bag the CO2 escapes and the pH goes back up. This turns the nontoxic ammonium back to ammonia. If you drip acclimate a fish in this water you are just exposing them to a high level of toxic ammonia for a long period of time.

If the fish were only in the bag for a couple of hours though, the levels of ammonia/ammonium are still very low and it really doesn't matter how you acclimate.

Andy
 
tekonus

tekonus

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Narwhal72 said:
Keep in mind that drip acclimation should only be used if the fish have been in the bag a relatively short period of time.

If the fish have been in the bag a long time (such as on overnight shipment). Float the bag in the tank to bring it up to temperature, then open it, net the fish out and put them directly in the tank.


The longer the fish are in a bag the higher the CO2 level will be. As CO2 levels increase it drives pH down. When pH is below 7 all of the toxic ammonia becomes nontoxic ammonium. Since fish are continuing to produce ammonia during shipment the levels of ammonium can get pretty high but don't cause any harm.

As soon as you open the bag the CO2 escapes and the pH goes back up. This turns the nontoxic ammonium back to ammonia. If you drip acclimate a fish in this water you are just exposing them to a high level of toxic ammonia for a long period of time.

If the fish were only in the bag for a couple of hours though, the levels of ammonia/ammonium are still very low and it really doesn't matter how you acclimate.

Andy
Click to expand...
This is the first time I've heard this. I was planning on mail-ordering fish for the first time pretty soon. Can anyone else confirm the validity of this?
 
FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Very good info indeed. Thank you again Andy.

Also helps to justify my lack of patience for drip acclimation..:nilly:
 
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kiddevo

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Sep 7, 2010
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Narwhal72 said:
Keep in mind that drip acclimation should only be used if the fish have been in the bag a relatively short period of time.

If the fish have been in the bag a long time (such as on overnight shipment). Float the bag in the tank to bring it up to temperature, then open it, net the fish out and put them directly in the tank.


The longer the fish are in a bag the higher the CO2 level will be. As CO2 levels increase it drives pH down. When pH is below 7 all of the toxic ammonia becomes nontoxic ammonium. Since fish are continuing to produce ammonia during shipment the levels of ammonium can get pretty high but don't cause any harm.

As soon as you open the bag the CO2 escapes and the pH goes back up. This turns the nontoxic ammonium back to ammonia. If you drip acclimate a fish in this water you are just exposing them to a high level of toxic ammonia for a long period of time.

If the fish were only in the bag for a couple of hours though, the levels of ammonia/ammonium are still very low and it really doesn't matter how you acclimate.

Andy
Click to expand...

Wow. I never thought of that! Just when you think you know it all.....
 
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