...Oh yes I did, Advice??

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by reefgirl16, Jul 7, 2011.

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  1. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    BTW, I've probably acclimated 50,000 fish in my life and these aren't just damsels, clownfish, and other hardy fish. Many of my animals have been very rare (and expensive)

    At the store, I buy it in several gallon jugs. When acclimating a shipment, the first thing that goes in the acclimation tub, is Prime. At home, I use it too because you don't know if the fish, anemone, etc went to the bathroom on the drive home. At my store, we fill the top of the bag with Oxygen so there won't be any pH drop while people drive their new purchase home.

    However, if people buy fish online, doing a slow acclimation drip can ACTUALLY BE DANGEROUS if you don't add Prime (or Amquel). I won't go into too much detail here but I'll try and explain it quickly.

    When fish respirate, they are just like us. They take in Oxygen and expell Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
    Ammonium and Ammonia are the same thing depending on the pH of the water.
    As the fish continues breathing in the bag, more and more CO2 enters the bag. Now, that's a good thing because this excess CO2 drives down the pH which, in turn, converts the very dangerous Ammonia into harmless Ammonium.
    Here's where it can become dangerous. This fish has been in this bag for the last 24 hours (or more) and probably has gone to the bathroom by now. Once you open that bag, allow the CO2 to offgas and be replaced by Oxygen, the pH will rise again which will convert that harmless Ammonium into very dangerous Ammonia. That's why I believe every serious reefer should have Prime on hand at all times.
     
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  3. M-Ocean Man

    M-Ocean Man Flame Angel

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    +1 to this . .. very succinct explanation as well! Thanks curt!
     
  4. Magnett2

    Magnett2 Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Soo.... How's the nem?
     
  5. Aaarrrggg

    Aaarrrggg Plankton

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    1 person likes this.
  6. reefgirl16

    reefgirl16 Feather Duster

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    the nem looks good took some water to the lfs said my prams were perfect, tenticules nice and plump, mouth closed, and always attached to something. coloring looks good too.
     
  7. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    That's wonderful news! Glad to hear. :)
     
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  9. jimmy_beaner

    jimmy_beaner Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    If you have relatively new (dead) rock... be careful with feeding it. The more you feed, the more waste it produces... which until your biological filter is established will result in more ammonia. Very small feedings maybe once a week should help keep it low while you monitor your params.
     
  10. proreefer

    proreefer Feather Star

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    I try to stay out of acclamation because alot of people don't agree with any one way of doing it, that said, about 15 years ago i guess, i was in a fish and coral store in gainsville fla and was buying and acro, that had blowed my mind when i seen it, it was called chips ora coral, he was so different looking from other acros i ask the young man selling it how to acclimate it. he said i'm gonna tell ya but your not gona believe me, i said go ahead, he then explained that he was a student at fla university and was to finish his major in biology that year, he explained to me his acclimation system.
    1-place unopen bag in the tank. depending on the amount of water in the bag 15 to 30 minutes.
    2-open the bag and place the coral or fish in the tank.
    I said what???
    He said well just think about it, look at how much water is in that bag.
    now Im gonna put air on top of the water then compress the bag with air,
    so your gonna get that bag home let it sit for an hour or more then finally open it, and when you open it that compressed bag of water, the air escapes, the oxygen in the water turns to gas and leaves the water so now you have a bag of water with absolutly no oxygen in it now, your gonna give that fish or coral a little bit of oxygen one drop ata time for who knows how long, this is what puts stress on it, it want open for a long time and or might die. he then said, what kind of water do you have in your tank is it poison or something if it is that bad don't buy this coral Well to make a longer story shorter I acclimate everything I buy that way since then and have never lost a fish, coral or invert. My zoas and coral open before they get to the bottom or minutes after. I placed 50 cleaner shrimp in my 220g 3 weeks ago i counted 45 last night when i feed them. I placed 6 corals in last night look at them on show my tank, less then 16 hours ago there beautiful, they got 15 minutes of acclimation. So if you know your tank water is good as soon as your bag is the same temp as your tank let that animal go so he can take a breath again, he will thank you for it by being beautiful. James
     
  11. Magnett2

    Magnett2 Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Good news
     
  12. Babytank

    Babytank Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    My anenmone has lived for several years now and I never fed him. My clown totally takes care of him!