Shipping question

[Joshua2598]

I'm ordering from saltwaterfish.com, and I was wondering how long the package can sit inside my house without me taking them out and starting acclimating them. I will have someone home to put them in the house where the temp is stable, and can I acclimate all these in the same bucket

 

[tdileo]

They should be fine for a few hours provided the temperature stays pretty stable.
I’m not sure how many agree with me, but I don’t like dripping online shipments because I think after a day or two in transit it’s much more important to just get them into clean water at the right temperature as fast as possible. Of course if there is a major salinity difference, it may be better to drip.

 

[Joshua2598]

Say if they were to arrive at 11 am, and then I'd start acclimating at 3 45?

 

[Joshua2598]

I dropped the coral and rfa I have and they did amazing

 

[Ron Reefman]

I don't acclimate half the things that are shipped to me, especially if they aren't small. And if I do acclimate, I don't drip. I'll do a 50/50 mix of my tank water with the shipping water and let that sit for 10 minutes or longer and then move whatever it is to my tank. I've never had issues with acclimating except with critters that already looked seriously stressed in the bag after opening the shipping box. Like an anemone that was basically a wad of jelly and slime after being shipped the day before.

In fact, right now I'm nursing 2 anemones we found on a Sanibel Island beach 2 days ago back to health. First they were on the beach drying out and second, we have a huge red tide issue here in SW Florida with hundreds to thousands of dead fish washing up every day. So these guys were very suspect. I collected them in a plastic peanut butter jar while at the beach and did a couple of water changes while there to keep cooler and better aerated water in the jar. After a 30 minute drive home I simple dumped all the sea water and added water from my tank. One anemone started to open up in the first hour, the other looked like a lost cause. I done 2 or 3 100% water changes each day since. Although I was concerned about the smaller anemone that didn't open, it didn't appear to be dead and the water always smelled OK in the morning after being left overnight. And this morning I was greeted by both anemones being attached to the bottle and with tentacles out some. I'll continue doing water changes for 2 or 3 days and if all goes well I'll add them to my 5g holding tank. This is what they look like this morning.

 

[lapin]

I don't acclimate half the things that are shipped to me, especially if they aren't small. If I do acclimate, I don't drip. I'll do a 50/50 mix of my tank water with the shipping water and let that sit for 10 minutes or longer and then move whatever it is to my tank. I've never had issues with acclimating except with critters that already looked seriously stressed in the bag after opening the shipping box. Like an anemone that was basically a wad of jelly and slime after being shipped the day before.

I do the same thing execpt I do 25% every 10 min. until the water has doubbled. If they send "prime" you can use a few drops of that also to help bind the ammonia.

 

[Joshua2598]

Good to know. Got some stuff coming in 2 days

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

I do this all the time. I work overnight so I sleep during the day. Order arrives usually around 9 or 10 am and someone at the house brings it inside for more stable temp. I wake up around 2-3pm and acclimate them and into the tank.

 

[Joshua2598]

Ok I can sleep easy now. Thanks

 

[Jesterrace]

A few hours shouldn't be any big deal. It's when they are in the bag for over 12 hours where you get ammonia build up, lack of air, etc.

 

[Joshua2598]

I might try @lapin s method. I'll see what I do when I get home from school, that will work for coral inverts and fish right?

 

[Joshua2598]

And does anyone know if saltwaterfish.com ships their fish with copper or anything? If I were to acclimate in all the same bucket would they all be fine? Just if anyone knows

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

No copper that I know of. Salinity is lower at 1.016-1.018

 

[vetteguy53081]

They pack for 48 hours. I too have a shipment from them for arrival Thursday and 24 hours more than safe. Temperature plays more of importance.
Too hot or too cold will have a higher impact on time in the bag