Accilmation Of Fish

The importance of acclimatising fish correctly can make the difference between a fish living and dying.
There are so many methods to doing this. Personally i find a slow drip the best and least stressful way to acclimatise fish.
Open the bag the fish is in and clip it onto the inside of an empty bucket, clothes peg is handy for this. Use a length of air line hose, can be purchased in your LFS very cheaply. Place one end of the hose into your tank or sump, i find attaching another peg near the end helps to keep the hose submerged. Use a syphon pump or your mouth to get the water travelling down the hose. Place the other end into the bag the fish is in. If the flow is too great then tie a loose knot in the hose to restrict the flow. Should be just a constant drip.
Let the fish bag overflow into the bucket and when you think there is a sufficent amount of water for the fish to be placed in then empty the bag and fish into the bucket. Continue to let the water drip into the bucket for half an hour. The whole acclimation process should be no more than a hour from start to finish. If the bucket is filling before the hour is up then using a plastic cup take some water from the bucket and dispose of it.
I never allow water from any LFS to go into my tank. Some LFS run copper through their fish tanks to keep fish in good health and white spot/ ich free. Copper is lethal to corals and inverts even in a small dose it will kill them.
After the hour of drip acclimation, net your fish and place it in your tank.

The reasons why drip acclimation is the best method. There are 3 factors to acclimation.

Temperture
The temp in the fish bag is going to be different to the temp in your tank. Slow drip will help the fish body temp to watch that of your tank with little stress on the fish.

Salinity
The salinity (specific gravity) in most fish shops will be 1.019 to 1.022. Reason for this is that in a fish only system the lower level of salinity allows for higher levels of oxygen for the fish to breathe. Another reason or benefit is that in lower salinity fish are less prone to white spot/ ich.
Where as corals need the salinity to be 1.023 to 1.025 for growth and colour.

PH
Normal ph in a tank is usually 8.2 to 8.4.
The fish in a bag will release ammonia which in turn will cause the ph to drop causing the fish stress. Again slow drip acclimation will bring the ph back up to a healthy level.

Good post gerr!

Super write up

Good job Gerr.