how to.................

[fishman88]

i have herd alot of stuff about how to add fish. first- put the bag in the water keep on poring water in it it full (over a period of 45-60 min) then put the fish in second i have herd to do all that and then put the fish in fresh water??? (don't ask). so what do i do ???? and my last question live rock how would i put that in?????????
thanks
mike

 

[fishman88]

ok thanks now how about live rock???

 

[robchuck]

As Kipass4130 suggested, you want to slowly add some of your tank water to the bag so that the water conditions (temperature, pH, salinity, etc.) in the bag become the same as they are in the tank over a period of time. This method reduces stress for the fish. After you've done this for awhile, pour the bag water over a net so that the fish ends up in the net (as lilbuddy suggested), and you may also want to pour the water into a container so that if the fish misses the net, you could easily get it out of a bucket or pitcher or something along those lines.

 

[reefsoe]

1. Lights out!
2. Get a clean basin ( the kind the elderly soak their feet in ) or any small container that is clean
3. Have a long piece of airline tubeing
4. Start a syphon into your container
5.Tie a knot into the tube to control water flow
6. Watch the container and drip for 45 min removeing water as needed...
Death Toll - 0

 

[benj420]

For fish I prefer the drip method. Get a few feet of flexible airling tubing and a plastic air control valve. Slowly pour the fish and bag water into a clean bowl or small bucket. Start a syphon from the tank to the bowl and adjust the valve so that it is a slow drip. Remove a cup of the blended water when you can safely do so, and wait for it to slowly fill up again. Doing this over a 45-60 minute period will gradually introduce the fish to your water and you will not accidently get LFS water in your tank.
Then, I usually net the fish out of the bowl and carefully release the fish into the tank.
That's just one method, but it works for me.

 

[dreeves]

For your live rock you should put it in a bucket with air and flow. Do water changes often, scrubbing the rock to remove dead tissue matter prior to water change. Check the amonia often. Once all the decaying matter is removed the amonia will have spiked and began to decline to a normal level. Once to zero, put it in your tank.
Cured LR should be treated the same. The process will be faster, but none the less, should still be done. Anytime the rock is exposed to air, tissue contained on it will die off, and the decay will cause the amonia spike.
Also, prior to the initial scrubbing, put the LR in a container with an SG up in the 1.035-1.040 range for a couple of minutes. Any and all living creatures should depart the rock into the water. This gives you a chance to be selective as to what you introduce into your tank.

 

[saltyrich]

I think that there are 2 good methods for fish. 1- the drip method. 2- the SWF.com suggested method works great for me. You simply float the bag in your tank for 30 min. to equalize the temps of the water. Open the bag and add 1 oz. of your water to the bag every 5 minutes until you've doubled the amount of water in the bag. Dump half of the water out of the bag and repeat the process. I've never lost a fish this way.

 

[melbournefl]

OH MY! I can hear Terry B and Beth rolling over in their hammocks LOL we all seem to have forgotten the quarantine tank stage of the introduction!
Just a thought,
Paul

 

[benj420]

Originally posted by MelbourneFL
OH MY! I can hear Terry B and Beth rolling over in their hammocks LOL we all seem to have forgotten the quarantine tank stage of the introduction!
Just a thought,
Paul
There really is no difference in the procedure, just acclimate them to a QT tank instead. Then when they are ready to enter the main tank, the same procedure should be used.
Some also like to use Stress Coat when moving fish. Helps the fish, but makes your Protein skimmer go into overdrive.