acclimating 100 fish

mudpy · 04/02/2012, 07:22 PM

Hi guys my brother who lives in Hawaii is going to ship about 100 fish to me and i need to know how to properly acclimate them.
I have 3 separate 200 gallon tanks with their own sumps
I know i have to match the temp and ph of the water but how do i prevent ammonia spikes if the tanks have not cycled?
i was told to add live rock from my display tank but do i need to add anything else? can you guys help? if your a store owner could you please tell me the steps? thanks so much

Dashiki · 04/03/2012, 08:40 AM

Not sure you could create a system for that bio load quickly or efficiently.

Look into mechanical filtration like a pool style filter. Try lifegard.

dsmhero · 04/05/2012, 05:56 PM

I would hold off until you have an environment capable of handling that many fish.

How long have these tanks been up? Do you have any live rock in either of your tanks? We need to know more information.

LOU A VILLE · 04/05/2012, 05:58 PM

Please have a plan in place before you go any further, It would be a disaster to lose 200 fish.

Everyones Hero · 04/05/2012, 10:36 PM

Are these going to be big fish or small fish?

When I was at Petco we received upwards of 2000 feeders at a time. They would just get floated & then released into a tank that was probably about 140g total system water. Probably lost about 10-15% of the fish on a daily basis.

Everyones Hero · 04/05/2012, 10:41 PM

Double post.

gbru316 · 04/05/2012, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Everyones Hero

Are these going to be big fish or small fish?

When I was at Petco we received upwards of 2000 feeders at a time. They would just get floated & then released into a tank that was probably about 140g total system water. Probably lost about 10-15% of the fish on a daily basis.

Is losing 200-250 fish a day acceptable?

I used to work at one of the largest pet stores on the east coast. They have several systems of 1000 gallons or more. In the salt section, a typical delivery was less than 100 fish per section. Fresh was 200-500 (although there were a lot of guppies, platys, tetra, etc).

We had 5'x5'x3' sumps for each system, the salt sections had 8' tall skimmers, among other things.

To answer your question, there really isn't much you can do if you're set on adding that amount of fish at once, short of keeping a very close eye in ammonia and nitrite, and doing water changes to minimize the spikes.

doctorgori · 04/06/2012, 05:45 AM

I wouldn't do this if it were me...heck if it isn't true the entire thing is almost sounds like its on a "troll" level (OP please forgive us skeptics!)

OTOH my wife did buy a "tankful" of fish from live aquaria and dumped them in at once (spare us the blast, we had numerous reasons for doing this)....

...anyway, that said: I had recalled a "experiment" on a board several years ago using BioSpira ...the concensuis was it worked (and yes this is comming from a eternal skeptic sick of being burned by the assorted snake oils passing as legit products)

...so we used Biospira in tandem with dumping a load of fish in a 150G ...
I'm not 100% endorsing it, but would rather say: "we got away with it"...

BioSpira? "maybe" there's your answer with a big disclaimer

mudpy · 04/06/2012, 06:14 AM

I have 3 200 gallon tanks set up on 3 separate systems meaning they each have their own bubble king 250 skimmers and separate sumps. I'm getting about 100 fish and planing on using some live rock from my display tank when the fish arrive. I'm thinking adding about 35 fish per tank. I will make sure i match the temp and ph of the water when fish arrive. How do fish stores do it? they get a lot more fish
Thanks for the help

Yogre · 04/06/2012, 07:45 AM

I would think your biggest concern will be an ammonia spike, so you'll need to monitor ammonia closely.

I'd have plenty of Amquel, Prime or other ammonia neutralizer on hand in case ammonia starts to spike.

moshi1ry · 04/06/2012, 08:18 AM

It would make alot more sense to have maybe 20 fish shipped at a time and slowly acclimate them. Would make a lot more sense to slowly go about adding fish. You definitely need to have your tanks already cycled this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen haha. It might cost more in shipping to have them shipped in smaller amounts but it would be alot less expensive in the long run since your going to lose less fish!

jscarlata · 04/06/2012, 08:29 AM

It sounds like you are setting up 3 large qt systems, is that what's going on? You mentioned "display" separately from these 3 tanks. One thing I would say is to have a maybe 100 gallons each if mixed salt water and fresh RO water on hand for water changes. this way if you have issues you are ready with pre made water, or at he least to water that can be mixed quickly

der_wille_zur_macht · 04/06/2012, 08:35 AM

What are the long term plans for these 100 fish?

yh1185 · 04/06/2012, 08:53 AM

I know i'm going to be bashed for suggesting this, but there have been people who have used dr.tim's nitrifying bacteria the day before they put a fish or two into an uncycled tank, and had the fish survive. It's not going to eliminate the cycle, but it did help me shorten my cycle, and people have had fish survive without a true cycle. Just something you might want to look into. (yes i know don't trust snake oils, but if there's science behind the product, i think it's worth a shot, especially if it saves a couple of fish)

Alexraptor · 04/06/2012, 10:19 AM

It all seems like a very bad idea to me.
The thing ive learned from keeping SW over the years, is that patience is a virtue.
Even a fully cycled system is going to have trouble if you add too much at once.

Soccernut5824 · 04/06/2012, 10:27 AM

Dr.tims one and only will work and its been proven.

djkms · 04/06/2012, 10:46 AM

Call these guys

They can tell you how to do it!!

Grendel0501 · 04/06/2012, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht

What are the long term plans for these 100 fish?

Everyones Hero · 04/06/2012, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudpy

I have 3 200 gallon tanks set up on 3 separate systems meaning they each have their own bubble king 250 skimmers and separate sumps. I'm getting about 100 fish and planing on using some live rock from my display tank when the fish arrive. I'm thinking adding about 35 fish per tank. I will make sure i match the temp and ph of the water when fish arrive. How do fish stores do it? they get a lot more fish
Thanks for the help

The fish stores are running mature systems that always have a lot of fish in them so they already have the bacterial colonies established so they can deal with the ammonia the new fish are going to produce are added. We also used MicrobLift. Not sure if the Microblift did any good or not. Smelled like death.

Quote:

Is losing 200-250 fish a day acceptable?

I used to work at one of the largest pet stores on the east coast. They have several systems of 1000 gallons or more. In the salt section, a typical delivery was less than 100 fish per section. Fresh was 200-500 (although there were a lot of guppies, platys, tetra, etc).

We had 5'x5'x3' sumps for each system, the salt sections had 8' tall skimmers, among other things.

To answer your question, there really isn't much you can do if you're set on adding that amount of fish at once, short of keeping a very close eye in ammonia and nitrite, and doing water changes to minimize the spikes.

IMO- no, it wasn't acceptable. But when management only cares about the cute little fuzzy animals... Well, there's a reason I'm not there anymore.

mudpy · 04/06/2012, 02:24 PM

Yes they will be for now 3 qt tanks. I have my display tank 300 gallons but do not want to add these fish in case of decease untill at least 3 weeks. I will be keeping most of the and a few i will give to a friend. eventually i will have all the fish tanks set up for a total of about 900 gallons. I will also have 200 gallons of water mixed ready in case of ammonia spike. The reason why i'm getting about 100 is because my brother is moving and he's getting rid of his tanks

billsreef · 04/07/2012, 07:15 AM

I've used the fresh (you need to have it shipped overnight) bacteria that Tim Hovanec developed, and it does work to shorten the cycle considerably. It's also a bit pricey to get the fresh stuff, but it's the best way to go. Depending on your timeline, you also might be able to ramp up a good biofilter with the LR and dosing some ammonia to feed those biofilter bacteria and expand their population to accommodate the expected fish load.

As for acclimation proper...do this one box of fish at a time in dim lighting. Open box, float bags for about 15 minute to adjust temp. Remove fish from bag...if wild caught stuff do a FW dip for 1 to 5 minutes...place fish in tank...do not allow that nasty bag water into tank.

londonloco · 04/07/2012, 07:29 AM

I've read many times Dr. Tim's works. I use Seachem Stability, but for much smaller freshwater tanks (125g was the largest), and with much smaller fish loads. Stability works for me, I have never lost a fish using it.

mudpy · 04/07/2012, 01:19 PM

Thanks so much guys!! Once i get them will let you know what happened and pics. I really don't want to loose any fish so i will do my best .

eatbreakfast · 04/14/2012, 04:39 PM

why not take a bunch of water from your display and add to each of the tanks?

Waddleboy · 04/14/2012, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatbreakfast

why not take a bunch of water from your display and add to each of the tanks?

water does non contain enough bacteria to do anything here. Good luck with process keep us posted

04/02/2012, 07:22 PM	#1
mudpy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 31	acclimating 100 fish Hi guys my brother who lives in Hawaii is going to ship about 100 fish to me and i need to know how to properly acclimate them. I have 3 separate 200 gallon tanks with their own sumps I know i have to match the temp and ph of the water but how do i prevent ammonia spikes if the tanks have not cycled? i was told to add live rock from my display tank but do i need to add anything else? can you guys help? if your a store owner could you please tell me the steps? thanks so much

04/06/2012, 07:45 AM	#10
Yogre Cheesehead Reefer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 1,351	I would think your biggest concern will be an ammonia spike, so you'll need to monitor ammonia closely. I'd have plenty of Amquel, Prime or other ammonia neutralizer on hand in case ammonia starts to spike. __________________ "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." ~ Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: 215 gal TBS Reef

04/06/2012, 08:35 AM	#13
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	What are the long term plans for these 100 fish? __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

04/06/2012, 08:53 AM	#14
yh1185 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 279	I know i'm going to be bashed for suggesting this, but there have been people who have used dr.tim's nitrifying bacteria the day before they put a fish or two into an uncycled tank, and had the fish survive. It's not going to eliminate the cycle, but it did help me shorten my cycle, and people have had fish survive without a true cycle. Just something you might want to look into. (yes i know don't trust snake oils, but if there's science behind the product, i think it's worth a shot, especially if it saves a couple of fish) __________________ 40b, bh2000 skimmer, 48X3w Cree LED Eshine Systems with a sun-rise/set controller. 2X750gph koralia evolution powerheads

04/06/2012, 10:27 AM	#16
Soccernut5824 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fox Valley Wisconsin Posts: 236	Dr.tims one and only will work and its been proven. __________________ stuck between..."wanting to know everything" and "too lazy to learn" Current Tank Info: It's getting there

04/03/2012, 08:40 AM	#2
Dashiki Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 199	Not sure you could create a system for that bio load quickly or efficiently. Look into mechanical filtration like a pool style filter. Try lifegard.

04/05/2012, 05:56 PM	#3
dsmhero Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Montana Posts: 232	I would hold off until you have an environment capable of handling that many fish. How long have these tanks been up? Do you have any live rock in either of your tanks? We need to know more information.

04/05/2012, 05:58 PM	#4
LOU A VILLE Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Louisville, Ky Posts: 127	Please have a plan in place before you go any further, It would be a disaster to lose 200 fish.

04/05/2012, 10:36 PM	#5
Everyones Hero Registered Member. Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Leonardtown, MD Posts: 1,154	Are these going to be big fish or small fish? When I was at Petco we received upwards of 2000 feeders at a time. They would just get floated & then released into a tank that was probably about 140g total system water. Probably lost about 10-15% of the fish on a daily basis.

04/05/2012, 10:41 PM	#6
Everyones Hero Registered Member. Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Leonardtown, MD Posts: 1,154	Double post.

04/06/2012, 05:45 AM	#8
doctorgori Moved On Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Simon Bar-Sinistar Posts: 1,097	I wouldn't do this if it were me...heck if it isn't true the entire thing is almost sounds like its on a "troll" level (OP please forgive us skeptics!) OTOH my wife did buy a "tankful" of fish from live aquaria and dumped them in at once (spare us the blast, we had numerous reasons for doing this).... ...anyway, that said: I had recalled a "experiment" on a board several years ago using BioSpira ...the concensuis was it worked (and yes this is comming from a eternal skeptic sick of being burned by the assorted snake oils passing as legit products) ...so we used Biospira in tandem with dumping a load of fish in a 150G ... I'm not 100% endorsing it, but would rather say: "we got away with it"... BioSpira? "maybe" there's your answer with a big disclaimer

04/06/2012, 06:14 AM	#9
mudpy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 31	I have 3 200 gallon tanks set up on 3 separate systems meaning they each have their own bubble king 250 skimmers and separate sumps. I'm getting about 100 fish and planing on using some live rock from my display tank when the fish arrive. I'm thinking adding about 35 fish per tank. I will make sure i match the temp and ph of the water when fish arrive. How do fish stores do it? they get a lot more fish Thanks for the help

04/06/2012, 08:18 AM	#11
moshi1ry Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 163	It would make alot more sense to have maybe 20 fish shipped at a time and slowly acclimate them. Would make a lot more sense to slowly go about adding fish. You definitely need to have your tanks already cycled this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen haha. It might cost more in shipping to have them shipped in smaller amounts but it would be alot less expensive in the long run since your going to lose less fish!

04/06/2012, 08:29 AM	#12
jscarlata Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Long Island,New York Posts: 875	It sounds like you are setting up 3 large qt systems, is that what's going on? You mentioned "display" separately from these 3 tanks. One thing I would say is to have a maybe 100 gallons each if mixed salt water and fresh RO water on hand for water changes. this way if you have issues you are ready with pre made water, or at he least to water that can be mixed quickly

04/06/2012, 10:19 AM	#15
Alexraptor Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Sweden Posts: 352	It all seems like a very bad idea to me. The thing ive learned from keeping SW over the years, is that patience is a virtue. Even a fully cycled system is going to have trouble if you add too much at once.

04/06/2012, 10:46 AM	#17
djkms Fish Freak Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Spring Hill, FL Posts: 1,136	Call these guys They can tell you how to do it!! __________________ Kris - 200 Gallon Baby Reef Current Tank Info: 225 Upgrade Setup 11/17/2012 72x27x27 - Custom 40g sump/Diablo DCS-250int skimmer/Blueline HD40x/2 MP40's/Tunze ATO/2 Part/BRS RODI/ Neptune apex, WXM/3 Radium 250w Galaxy Ballast/8 39w T5's/Litermeter III/Aquavitro Salinity/20%WC/Carbon/GFO/Vinegar

04/06/2012, 02:24 PM	#20
mudpy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 31	Yes they will be for now 3 qt tanks. I have my display tank 300 gallons but do not want to add these fish in case of decease untill at least 3 weeks. I will be keeping most of the and a few i will give to a friend. eventually i will have all the fish tanks set up for a total of about 900 gallons. I will also have 200 gallons of water mixed ready in case of ammonia spike. The reason why i'm getting about 100 is because my brother is moving and he's getting rid of his tanks

04/07/2012, 07:15 AM	#21
billsreef Moderator 10 & Over Club Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami Posts: 36,538	I've used the fresh (you need to have it shipped overnight) bacteria that Tim Hovanec developed, and it does work to shorten the cycle considerably. It's also a bit pricey to get the fresh stuff, but it's the best way to go. Depending on your timeline, you also might be able to ramp up a good biofilter with the LR and dosing some ammonia to feed those biofilter bacteria and expand their population to accommodate the expected fish load. As for acclimation proper...do this one box of fish at a time in dim lighting. Open box, float bags for about 15 minute to adjust temp. Remove fish from bag...if wild caught stuff do a FW dip for 1 to 5 minutes...place fish in tank...do not allow that nasty bag water into tank. __________________ Bill "LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi) Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.

04/07/2012, 07:29 AM	#22
londonloco Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: virginia Posts: 261	I've read many times Dr. Tim's works. I use Seachem Stability, but for much smaller freshwater tanks (125g was the largest), and with much smaller fish loads. Stability works for me, I have never lost a fish using it. __________________ All I seem to do is water changes........

04/07/2012, 01:19 PM	#23
mudpy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 31	Thanks so much guys!! Once i get them will let you know what happened and pics. I really don't want to loose any fish so i will do my best .

04/14/2012, 04:39 PM	#24
eatbreakfast Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: seymour, ct Posts: 1,636	why not take a bunch of water from your display and add to each of the tanks?