Acclimation Guide
VIEW PDF
Note: We ship our livestock at a salinity of 35ppt (1.026SG)
Step 1.
Dim or turn off aquarium lights prior to acclimation and leave them off for at least two hours after the livestock has been added.
Step 2.
Float the bags in the aquarium for 15-20 minutes to allow the temperatures to equalize.
Step 3.
If using the float or drip method, open the bags and add ammonia reducer (ex. Prime, ClorAm-X, Amquel, AmGuard, StressGuard) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations to detoxify ammonia that has built up in transit.
Step 4.
A. Float Method:
- Discard half of the water in the shipping bag and roll the top of the bag down to create an air pocket, which will allow the bag to float without spilling.
- Compare the salinity of the water in the bag to that of the aquarium.
- Add ½ cup of aquarium water to the bag every 5 minutes until the salinities match (Discard water, if necessary, to create more space in the bag).
- Add the livestock to the aquarium and discard the shipping water.
B. Drip Method:
- Add the livestock and water to a five gallon bucket or bin.
- Compare the salinity of the water in the bag to that of the aquarium.
- Using a length of airline tubing create a siphon from the aquarium to the bucket and tie a knot to reduce the incoming flow to 2-4 drops per second until the salinities match (Discard water, if necessary, to create more space in the bucket).
- Add the livestock to the aquarium and discard the shipping water.
Your livestock has been conditioned to accept a variety of the following food items:
- Hikari and/or Piscine Energetics Mysis
- Hikari Spirulina Enriched Brine Shrimp
- LRS Reef Frenzy/Herbivore Frenzy/Fish Frenzy or Chunky (for larger fish).
- Hikari Cyclopod and/or Piscine Energetics Calanus
- Hikari Mega Marine Angel
- Reef Nutrition TDO Chroma Boost Pellets
- New Life Spectrum marine Fish Pellets