Emergency - I'm 90% into acclamation and my buffer up for the dip not working

[schabiazabi]

I bought two fish: ThreadFin Butterfly and Yellow Tang. I am 90% (3 hours) into acclamation and I wanted to do a freshwater/methelyn blue dip, but my Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda is not working for adjusting the PH up.

My PH from tab water is 7.5
My PH from tab water after RODI is 7.9/8.0
My PH after adding lots of Pure Baking Soda is 8.0
MY QT PH is 8.2

I already sent my wife to buy a new Pure Baking Soda, but I'm not sure if it's going to work.
Please advice what to do now. I will let them into my QT if I can't adjust the PH.

Update: I bought new Pure Baking Soda and it's still not working. After adding half of it into the bucket the PHP came down a bit.

Thanks in advance.

[Original Fin]

Baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) is a good buffer for DKH, not as effective for PH. You can, however mix it with Boraxo Laundry booster to reach the higher PH buffer value you're looking for. 4 parts Arm and Hammer to one part Borax.

Keep in mind that using any kind of soda's to raise PH in your main tank is not the best idea as it can cause osmotic shock to your micro flora and fauna. If you must use a PH buffer in the tank, it's better to purchase the natural salt based kinds that are specifically produced for marine aquariums. For acclimation though, it wouldn't make a difference.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

That doesn't sound right. What Ph test kit are you using? You sure its accurate? I've never had problems adjusting freshwater Ph with baking soda. What container are you using? Is it possible theres some contamination issues with the container?
I don't know if its a good idea but maybe try adding some Ph up from your LFS? Hopefully someone else can chime in with ideas.

Looks like Fin beat me to it!

[schabiazabi]

Boraxo Laundry booster - I do not have that one and it sounds scary. Did you try it before, was it ok for fish?

My test kit is: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit (the one everyone recommended)
Test Kit - I assumed is working fine.
Container - plastic bucket
LFS PH Buffer - the ones close by do not have it. I'm not sure how much more I can keep them in those small 2g tanks. If I have an hour more (4.5 acclamation total) I would drive and get PH Buffer Up (I hope).

[Original Fin]

I know...any of the DIY buffers sound scary IMO. You could also try using an airstone...the extra aeration usually raises PH a bit.

But yes, I have used it for buffering in acclimation. I found the recipe online, passed on amongst many different reef forums. No doubt it came from one of the chemistry wiz's like this guy:

Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

This article talks a little bit about using borax to calibrate PH buffers...

A Comparison of pH Calibration Buffers by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

[reeferbill]

Hi Schabiazabi ; Whats wrong with dipping in 8.0 and then acclimating to the quarratine tank ph. The difference is only.2 I do not think that will matter and if you do just skip the dip because you are quarrantining anyway....

[schabiazabi]

Update - not so good

I did all this without the dip as I could not control the PH. I just bought (after I was done with these fish) PH UP by API and this one is working as oppose to Pure Baking Soda.

The Tang (medium) is doing fine, but not eating as of now.
My other fish (butterfly - small) I'm afraid is not going to make it. He lays on the bottom and swims once an hour grasping for air. His swim is weird and he is not aware of the surroundings. I think I over acclaimed him as the whole thing almost took 4 hours due to the PH problem.

This was my test for buying fish online. The Tang and the Butterfly looked ok from what I could see (health wise). I will need to inspect them (hopefully) tomorrow with light. The Tang is way bigger than I wanted.

You could also try using an air stone...the extra aeration usually raises PH a bit.

- another mystery solved today. I finally know why these QT had different PH than my DT. I added an air stone in order to move the water before the fish arrives. That increased my PH.

I will rest the Test Kit tomorrow as I noticed different results on the PH.

I do not think that will matter and if you do just skip the dip because you are quarrantining anyway

- was hoping to kill any external parasites and not import them to the QT.

Whats wrong with dipping in 8.0 and then acclimating to the quarratine tank ph

- the timing is wrong. At least that's how I see it. If I acclaim the fish and it takes x amount of time and perform the dip I want to put the fish into the QT and not have to do the acclamation again extending total acclamation time. This is how I see it, but what do I know.

[schabiazabi]

Both died overnight. Very disappointing, because I have no idea why and this is my 3rd fish in the row that does not survive overnight.

Attached are the pictures.











Is there anything obvious why they died. The water is from RODI. These fish were not dipped. The QT was setup 3 days ago. My Angel (below) that is alive is fine in the same water. It is super frustrating as I am following the sticky posts as close as possible (except I use the drip method in order to keep the guarantee alive).

[schabiazabi]

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

So sorry to hear about your losses. It would be difficult to diagnose the cause of the fish's deaths. A couple of things I do know is that the drip method can cause problems in itself. I read a thread where Lee stated no fish should be acclimated with that method because the water could layer, rather than mix, rendering the process unsuccessful. If I remember correctly, when fish die within a couple of days, its usually an acclimation concern that caused it.
It sucks the seller requires the drip method for a guarantee.
sorry if I'm not much help.

[Original Fin]

Just a thought, not sure if you considered photosensitivity shock? Did you follow Lee's sticky advice to the T and keep light levels low?

[schabiazabi]

photosensitivity shock

- It was very dark and I followed those steps.

Yes, I followed everything except I had to make it drip as oppose to bag acclamation.

I read a thread where Lee stated no fish should be acclimated with that method because the water could layer

- I read this as well, so every 5 minutes I would gently raise and lower the colander in order for the water to mix.

This problem seemed to start when I bought RODI system, even though my Angel lives in the same water. One more thing that is different is that I do not use carbon. I bought this 50 micron pad and I built the filter from that. In the beginning small hair like particles were in the water, but the filter removed it. Maybe that is killing them. I'm worried, because I killed 3 healthy fish from 2 different sources.

I did some water testing and I have a feeling something is wrong with my RODI water, here is the thread:
Is My Water OK - I killed 3 fish during acclamation.