acclimation drip method table?

[CWO4GUNNER]

Anybody know or use a specific formula or set of for tables for PH acclimation using the drip method over a given time period for a specific amount of water? This of course for new fish coming to a home tank or QT tank where the PH is significantly different from the bag or origination tank?

Im asking becasue I'm tired of guessing and getting different numbers depending on who you talk to can be anywhere from 1 to 5 hours using the drip method. Their has got to be a table somebody has come up with right?

 

[Chrisinator]

What I do is I float the bag first, while getting everything read for abotu 15 minutes. Then, I put the fish in a container. I use one of those critter keepers so I can look in and watch them while they're acclimating. I use one of those things for airline tubings which control how much air goes out and I use that to put the amount of drips per second. I usually do this for about an hour. But most of the fish I have have the same range of pH or will be fine in neutral water.

If it's going from like a 7.4 to a 6.2, then you should consider slowing down the flow more and doing the acclimation for 2-3 hours. Unless your keeping some sensitive fish, I'd just do it for an hour. You can always extend it if your not feeling comptable. Also, checking the water would help while acclimating.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Appreciate the reply. I already have the equipment and been involved in trying various drip acclimation methods. but what I'm looking for are documented formulated procedures. So Im still looking.

In my search I found some very surprising information from research groups that work for the aquatic pet industry in methods of successfully shipping ornamental fish from suppliers to retailers and maintain a low loss of product (fish) due to stress related death. What I found out completely surprised me but made perfect sense. Now suddenly for me a QT tank has taken on a much more important aspect then just to QT a new fish becasue it may or may not have disease that can or cannot be detected right away. The need for a QT with respect to acclimation is suddenly so clear and makes perfect sense IMO.

The recommendations for low mortality from the supplier to shipper had to do allot with method of shipping, types of gas exchange bags used, temperature control in packing and antibiotics and chemicals needed in the bag to help the fish survive the journey by fending off both toxins and infections. all of which was not as important to me as a customer as the recommendations and methods given to retailers once the fish arrive. Something that can also apply to the buyer when you get your fish home or receive them by mail.

The recommendations for retailers had allot to do with what NOT to do that has been shown through research to be detrimental to new fish.

Never float a fish bag as the increase in temperature change causes both loss of oxygen and increase in NH3 toxicity. and never allow any part of the bag, bag water, and especially the outside of the bag to contact a community tank as studies have found as much if not more harmful contaminants and pathogens on the outside.

Time is of the essence and no time should be wasted with drip acclimation or floating both of which do more harm then good. Drip acclimation is a very poor method of acclimating fish to PH and temperature differences between the bag water and tank water and only further increases their stress unless done over the span of days (5) rather then hours.

The new fish need to immediately be netted from the bag and placed inside a quarantined aquatic environment that both matched temperature and PH of the bag water for the best possible chance of survival and then slowly over a period of 5 days matching both temperature and PH to community tank parameters.

New bagged fish should be fed immediately after being placed in the QT tanks which matches both PH and temperature of the bag water.

Anyway I'm going to try these recommended solutions for retailers by this [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]research group[/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]that develop solutions to these problems for businesses, and organizations in the aquatic pet trade around the world.
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[Pearl]

In my opinion, there is no rule when it comes to introducing critters into a new habitat, be they goats, dogs, cats or fish. The only thing any of us can do is observe how the critters are reacting, then do what we can to ease their stress.

 

[jbradt]

In my opinion, there is no rule when it comes to introducing critters into a new habitat, be they goats, dogs, cats or fish. The only thing any of us can do is observe how the critters are reacting, then do what we can to ease their stress.

Agreed. I think it depends a lot upon the type of fish and ammount of variation from bag water to tank water. I've never drip acclamated (I float the bag and add tank water to it slowly over about 1.5 hours), and have never lost a fish due to poor acclimation. I think if you find a method that works for you and your fish, that's the rule.

... except ottos, but I don't count them becuase they are reputedly so fragile anyway.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Well I don't think we are in disagreement as I wouldn't be researching this if I didn't have the need and since Im having limited success with drip acclimation loosing 1 out of 4 fish to shock. Probubly becasue most of the LFS around here allow their nitrate to run as high as 80 and as a result runs PH levels as low as 6.4.

My tanks are always clean and low in nitrates so they run at a constant 8-8.3 PH which is tap, that is a huge difference almost 2 points in acclimation needed.

So I need a better method then drip alone and I think the method mentioned in Aqua Science Research Group is just what might give me better success. And like you said I should find out and know becasue I'm the one having to deal with such hard and high PH water. For you this all might seem moot but for me its a real not speculated concern.

So the findings on this method are not wrong as you allude, just provide less risk and more effective method for those that need it and cannot afford to cut corners.

 

[Rbishop]

I wouldn't think pH would be the issue..that is a relatively short (minutes) acclimation time. The real issue would be GH/KH, which can take hours.

 

[SubRosa]

Tropical fish are very tolerant of rapid changes in pH, GH and KH as long as the changes are in the right direction. Otherwise they'd all die when the rainy season came along.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Well no matter which way the direction or whether it is GH/KH vs PH, a debate that runs in all directions with hobbiest depending on who you speak with, this method by ARG laboratory researchers deserves a chance and I will try it with my next fish buy.

Im going to call it the Match & Dunk method where I spend 30 minutes preparing a 2.5 gallon QT tank and match all the 3 parameters from bag reading PH, Temp, and TDS. TDS should also be easy by using a combination of RO and tap water and TDS incorporates the more important aspect of GH/KH.

Ill let you all know how it goes.

 

[fishorama]

I use a TDS meter since my water is fairly low in KH, GH, & tds. I don't worry much about pH. I adjust the quarantine tank to the new fish's water as much as possible & drip acclimate for the difference. Then over several weeks I gradually lower tds through small water changes.

Some places use salt or naturally hard water & can have very high tds. That can lead to osmotic shock (often called pH shock but it's not really). It's much harder on fish to go from high to low tds than low to high but either can cause shock.

I bought a HM TDS3 on ebay for under $20 shipped.