LFS truth or lies

A lfs told me a couple of things that I wasn't so sure about. Luckily I have you guys to set me straight. He told me that it is best to just place a fish in the tank without aclimating it, that way the ph in the bag water doesn't get low. He said this works because his salinity is kept at 1.025 and mine is at 1.026. He also mentioned that since I have live rock that adding a raw shrimp really wouldn't do anything. Guys please advice.

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I always just temp acclimate my fish I do not drip them or anything. If it is a fish that is prone to ich or other diseases I will QT them.

As for as not adding the raw shrimp I would agree but you still have a cycle. I didn't use anything to start my cycle it just happened and about 3 or 4 weeks later it was finished and I began to add fish. Did he mean that it wouldn't cycle since you have LR?

 

That would be no Aclimation of the temp. Mag. Cal. Kalk. Nitra.........you have to acclimate your fish!!! And the shrimp thing what's up with that??

 

Okay, thats the first time i have heard that in my 2 years of reefing. I work at and LFS and the two owners have ALWAYS told people to acclimate them. I would not listen to that and probably just acclimate everything.

 

ALWAYS acclimate, i pour my fish in a bucket after letting it hit the same temp for about 5 mins and then i do a drip aclimate so there is no time for the ph to fluctuate. as far as the live rock, that he may have a point on, but many people do it as well just to speed the process along, ive personally never put a shrimp in my tank to cycle it, i just let it take the few weeks without trying to rush it along

 

Assuming you have a relatively stable tank to begin with...

I'd actually say he knows what he is talking about. A .001 swing in SG is nothing to worry about.

Fish don't really care about Mg and Ca too much... nitrates could be a problem but, IMO, only if the big increase is in your tank (and then you shouldn't be adding one anyway right).

The idea behind the pH is that the fish is defecating and breathing, using up O and adding ammonia. This sucks. The pH drops and this keeps the ammonia from being too toxic. But when you start acclimating, you add fresh supply of O, the pH jumps and the ammonia becomes toxic. (more or less)

If the fish is in the bag for 30 minutes... this isn't really a big deal. If it's been shipped to you over night, it's more of a concern.

My LFS keeps their tanks at 1.021 and I keep mine at 1.026. That is a big swing and I'd certainly acclimate that.

Sounds like your LFS knows your tank (or at least your SG) and is giving reasonable advise. Different ways to skin a cat and all that.

Also, LR negates the shrimp, I agree. Are you adding a fish to a new tank?

 

I agree with the not acclimating the fish if your SG and theres are that close. I normally test my SG and the bags SG and if that close, I just temp acclimate.

Dont ever, ever pour the water in the tank from the fish store. Many LFS will dose low dose copper of formaldyhyde in their tank and you dont want to add that to your system.

My lfs runs their fish system at hypo at 1.018 and i run mine at 1.026-27 I definately drip in these instances.

When I drip, however, i always add a drop of Prime to the bucket that the fish is in. THis will help decrease the stress on the fish by cutting down on the ammonia.

If there is ever a question on drip or not to drip, I would say drip to be safe. But regardless you will want to check your SG against the drip SG as that is the biggest concern

 

Great advice guys. I am planning on buying some fish soon depending on my parameters. I will post when I get home. He did tell me to bring him some water so he could test just to make sure. So that brought my hopes up

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Yeah, people always come in and have us test their water, its a good idea because most of the test kits that are used are mostly brand new so we know it should be as accurate as possible. The 3 biggest for fish IMO are Nitrates, nitrite, and salinity,

as long as every thing looks pretty good you should be fine with getting a fish.

 

Ph 8.0
Ammonia .50
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Salinity 1.026


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