A Drop of Water in the Bucket: The Advantages of Drip Acclimation in the Aquarium

Traditional Acclimation

Most of us have practiced the age old method of acclimating our new specimens by floating the bag in the tank, pouring in a little bit of water a few times over a half hour, then scooping out the occupants and plopping them into the aquarium.

Most pet stores will give you these exact instructions. The only time you hear anything different is when your newly purchased animal is particularly sensitive. Only then do we hear about aquarium drip acclimation. Why should we not use drip acclimation for every new inhabitant? In my experience, drip acclimation is safer, healthier, and much less stressful on your new specimens, allowing them to explore the tank, unafraid, much sooner.

Drip Acclimation in the Aquarium

Aquarium drip acclimation is a relatively simple process. The idea is that you acclimate your new inhabitants to the water chemistry of your tank, just like you would with the floating bag method, except it's over a longer period of time with a slower and more consistent addition of tank water.

The first thing you'll need is a 5 gallon bucket. The dark and calm environment inside a bucket is much less stressful for your new specimens than a floating bag which is exposed to the activity and the light of the tank and the room around it.

If you are only acclimating a couple of small, aggressive species with limited water in the bag, you can use 2.5 gallon buckets.

Next, you'll need a length of airline tubing, enough to extend about 6 inches below your tank's water level and then down into the bucket with about 12 inches extra. You'll also need an airline valve attached about halfway along the airline tubing, Finally, you'll need two 6 inch pieces of plastic moldable wire ( I use plastic paper clips). Do not use metal, as it could rust and leach into saltwater.

After you bring your new inhabitants home, gently pour them and their water into the 5 gallon bucket. Fish and invertebrates from the same tank can go in the bucket together as long as they are not aggressive. Separate buckets for aggressive fish.

If your fish have been in the bag for more than a few hours I would recommend adding 2-3 drops of Seachem Amguard. This product will neutralize any ammonia in the water and prevent ammonia poisoning while the specimens acclimate.

This is especially important if your fish were ordered online, shipped from across country, and have been in the bag for close to 24 hours. If you bought them from the pet store and they've only been in transit for 30 minutes, its not necessary to add an ammonia neutralizer.

Next, straighten the plastic wire and coil it around one end of the airline tubing with about 6 to 12 inches sticking out. Then, bend the airline tubing and coiled wire over the tank frame so it forms a U-shape with one end submerged in your tank water and the rest of the tubing leading down the outside of your tank to the bucket.

Really, any method of attaching the tubing to your tank can work. I use a suction cup and bracket clip, like the photo above. But the plastic wire is easy and usually handy.

Next, cut the tubing and insert the valve some where in-between the highest point (the top bend), and the top of the bucket. Now coil the second wire around the bucket-end of the airline tubing, far enough up so that it bends over the top of the bucket and only enough tubing extends into the bucket so it is not submerged. This will create surface agitation from the drops of water, allowing oxygen exchange while acclimating.

Finally, you can open the valve and pull water from the bottom of the tubing until it starts to siphon. It's okay if the tubing loops below the top of the bucket as shown in the photo to the right, the water will still siphon effectively.

Then close the valve just enough so you reach about 1 - 2 drips per second. Continue for 20 minutes.

Then pull 1 to 2 cups of water from the bucket and dispose of it. Next, increase the drips per second to 2-4 and continue acclimating for another 20 minutes.

You can safely add fish at this point. For more sensitive species, remove another 1-2 cups of water and continue acclimating at 2-4 drips per second for another 20 minutes (60 total).

To remove the specimens, close the valve on the airline tubing and remove it from the bucket. Then use a net to add your specimens to the aquarium. Do not add the water from the bucket to the aquarium.

Don't worry about temperature fluctuations, the bucket water will reach close to tank temperature as it drips. Just keep the bucket away from air vents and direct sunlight.

With any acclimation process I recommend feeding the aquarium as you add the new fish, this will cut down on any attention towards the new inhabitants. With some more aggressive species, you may need to add them to an acclimation box for several weeks before they are released into the display.

Less Stress Means Less Mortality

Drip acclimation is all around a less stressful process for your new fish and inverts. They have more time to acclimate. They are not bothered by the activity of the tank and room.

Imagine the journey your fish take from either their wild habitat or South Asian farm, across the world to a distributer in Florida or Los Angeles, then to a retail store as much as 24 to 48 hours away, then finally to your aquarium.

Any process we can undertake to reduce the stress put upon our creatures is a valued one.

And as always, if you have any questions about drip acclimation don't hesitate to reach out and we'd love to help you.

Photos

• https://pixahive.com/photo/plastic-fish-bag-for-sale-at-a-shop/