Drip Acclimation vs keeping water at NSW params

[keddre]

Not sure why you treat inverts differently than fish. Also don't know if you're getting them from your LFS or online. Reef Cleaners will not guarantee inverts if you drip acclimate them. They say that being closed up for a day causes ammonia to spike and opening the bag makes it worse so leaving the inverts in the shipping water while dripping causes more harm than putting them into the tank after floating with the bag still closed to even the temperature.

Hmmn, doesn't really make sense to me. All of the places I buy inverts keep them at 1.024/25, which negates the need to drip them. Fish, on the other hand, come in all over the place, as low as 1.015. I don't drip them either because I adjust my QT, but if I didn't I'd be inclined to do some kind of salinity acclimation.

I drip my inverts because I run a "dirty" tank and usually don't want to run the risk. For example, when I got my sea apple and my slug, I wanted them to drip because if they got stressed then my whole tank is gone.

As far as obtaining, I have my lfs special buy them so I don't have to pay shipping

 

[Rick Cavanaugh]

If the fish has been in its shipping water for some time, there will be ammonia and low pH water. The lower pH will keep the ammonia in a less toxic state and dripping can be deadly if the pH of the water rises and the ammonia changes to the more toxic state.

I feel temperature is the most important parameter and it should be within 2 degrees F. Some will say 4F, but I prefer it to be closer. Salinity should should also be close. If salnity and pH are close I add 50% new water and wait 5 minutes and then dump the fish into new water. This reduces the risk of exposure to toxic ammonia.

 

[Ross Petersen]

Old chain here but I've come to realize through acclimating new fish with different methods, and using a wireless pH meter and ammonia checks, that drip acclimation for fish is most often completely unnecessary and often very harmful.

Calibrate temp and salinity within reason, then transfer over asap.

The moment the bag opens, pH readings increase... converting ammonium to ammonia (super toxic). Get those fish out of the bag!