Moving 40g

[absolutangel04]

Hi all, I know this has been asked before, sorry, but I would like a bit of individualized help for my set-up. My boyfriend turned out to be a terrible human being, so I need some help figuring out an exact strategy to move my 40g tank out of his house.
I have adult angels, kuhlis, corys, platys, and rummies plus a couple other straggleers. I figured I would eleicit the help of some men to help me move the tank. How much water do you guys recommend I drain and how many fish do you all think would be ok if I left them in there during the move. I don't know if I will be able to catch the kuhlis, even with most of the water drained. But, I am afraid of draining water and then having too many disolved solids or what-not in the bottom making it bad for fish.
I have a hob filter, so I was going to just take the filter cartridge out and put it in the tank with the left-over water. Good idea or no?
Thanks. This sucks.

 

[blert]

Well, if I needed it done in a hurry (which it seems like you do), I would call my LFS and pay him to move it as it is a service he provides (fully insured and guaranteed). Other than that i have no advice for you as I've never moved a tank that large before, sorry.

 

[jcolon]

If your just moving the tank a few miles then a simple thing to do is drain some water into a cooler, or even a clean rubbermaid bin and put the fish in there, put the filter cartridge in a plastic bag with tank water.

A 40 gal could be bit too big / bulky to transport with fish in it, but you could transport the tank, substrate and decor with a few gallons of water to keep the substrate wet (lots of BB in there). Remove any heavy decor that could roll around and break. Even though you don't have to, if you can get your hands on a couple of 5gallon jugs, move about 15 gallons with you, then just add the rest.

Good luck, hope it works out ok!

 

[Terrance]

I just moved all of my tanks this weekend. I left my fish in the tank with 3-4 inches of water above substrate. Then I put my filter pad in the water during the transport. I must say that it was a terrible idea. It was cold outside, and I had to transport the tanks in a truck. My fish was very cold! It was a bumpy ride, so I think my fish reached the air at one point since the water swiveled from side to side. Although I cleaned the pads, small particles still left the pad and went all over the water. Its very difficult to siphon the water, so I just filled the tank up again and let my filter do its work.

If I were to do it all over again, I would use a tub of tank water to hold my filter pad. Then put my fish in another bucket. The whole process took me 2hrs to transport from break down to setup.

The bottom of your tank should be fairly clean. You can leave all the fishes in the tank and leave ~4inches of water (assuming you're not moving more than 10miles). 2 strong men should be able to easily transport your tank safely onto the truck. Just put the filter pad somewhere else wet.

 

[absolutangel04]

If your just moving the tank a few miles then a simple thing to do is drain some water into a cooler, or even a clean rubbermaid bin and put the fish in there, put the filter cartridge in a plastic bag with tank water.

A 40 gal could be bit too big / bulky to transport with fish in it, but you could transport the tank, substrate and decor with a few gallons of water to keep the substrate wet (lots of BB in there). Remove any heavy decor that could roll around and break. Even though you don't have to, if you can get your hands on a couple of 5gallon jugs, move about 15 gallons with you, then just add the rest.

Good luck, hope it works out ok!

Thanks. I should have added that I only have to move everything a grand total of 5-6 miles, no huge distance or anything.
I currently own 3 5g buckets, but no lids. I could probably get my hand on a few more in a hurry if necessary. I have plastic bags big enough for an angel a piece to move them. And I am guessing the kuhlis/corys would be ok in a few inches of water for 20ish minutes (gotta drive slow with the tank after all).

 

[absolutangel04]

I just moved all of my tanks this weekend. I left my fish in the tank with 3-4 inches of water above substrate. Then I put my filter pad in the water during the transport. I must say that it was a terrible idea. It was cold outside, and I had to transport the tanks in a truck. My fish was very cold! It was a bumpy ride, so I think my fish reached the air at one point since the water swiveled from side to side. Although I cleaned the pads, small particles still left the pad and went all over the water. Its very difficult to siphon the water, so I just filled the tank up again and let my filter do its work.

If I were to do it all over again, I would use a tub of tank water to hold my filter pad. Then put my fish in another bucket. The whole process took me 2hrs to transport from break down to setup.

The bottom of your tank should be fairly clean. You can leave all the fishes in the tank and leave ~4inches of water (assuming you're not moving more than 10miles). 2 strong men should be able to easily transport your tank safely onto the truck. Just put the filter pad somewhere else wet.

Thanks. Yes, I have a couple strong guys to help me and I need to go less than 6 miles. Not a far move, just an important one.

 

[lornajane89]

we recently bought a 2nd hand 45g and had to travel about 40 miles back the tank had aload of fish in which we were unprepared for. we managed to get 2 buckets of water which we put the fish in and just enough water to keep the gravel wet. we lost 1 small fish but the others did fine, ammonia was a about 0.1 for a few weeks but regular pwc kept things manageable. im sure youll be fine

 

[steez]

I hope everything goes well for you, fish tank and "other" situation!