I am moving about 10 hours away by car. The new house is being renovated, so i am going over every 2-3 weeks working on that. My 10 gal aquarium only has 5 neon tetras and 2 Cory cats. It's been stable since going through a nitrogen cycle to set it up 6-ish months ago. I have another 10 gal where I'm moving and wonder If I could take the tank water from a 50% change and some of the filter media from the existing setup on my next trip and let the new tank start cycling. This is probably silly, but I'm attached to my fish and want to move them with me- if it won't be too traumatic for them. So, advice about moving the aquarium and, later, the fish would be helpful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Moving Aquarium 10 Hours Away
- Thread starter mzoeller
- Start date
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cgthebeast
Aquarium Advice Addict
Filter media only, water holds very little BB, pack it in a ziplock full of tank water and take it with you, though with you leaving only to go up there every 2-3 weeks it might starve itself and die off before then
I was thinking about putting one of those automatic feeders on the new tank after i get it going, but don't think I trust that way of feeding it.
cgthebeast
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have one that feeds twice a day, I got it cause I was goning on a week long vacation and it worked great, it's called the daily double by pen plex
Thank you! I've used one when gone on vacation and the fish seemed fine. It did overfeed, but a good gravel vacuuming and water change remedied that. Anyway, I may just try it for cycling the new tank setup. Thanks again!
cgthebeast
Aquarium Advice Addict
No prob! Anytime 
Thank you Autumnsky! That was very helpful, and a lot of good reminders, like not rinsing substrate with chlorinated water.
I have finally moved the aquarium (last weekend), and all fish made it. My poor husband had to do all the work because I had already moved to the new house. I couldn't get the destination tank to cycle in time so we just brought as much water from the old tank as we could in two 5-gallon buckets, fish in one and filter media, plants and gravel in the other.
Hubby hadn't cleaned the tank since April and the gravel was GROSS. But I hung a filter, let it sit for a while, vacuumed it, then dipped water out of the bucket. I put an aetator in the bucket with the fish until I got the gravel and water in the aquarium. Then I moved them to the aquarium. I tested the water, which was in good shape, but decided to top off the tank with fresh water - AKA a water change.
Six days later, all fish are fine and hubby gets a big Thank You for moving my fish successfully!
Hubby hadn't cleaned the tank since April and the gravel was GROSS. But I hung a filter, let it sit for a while, vacuumed it, then dipped water out of the bucket. I put an aetator in the bucket with the fish until I got the gravel and water in the aquarium. Then I moved them to the aquarium. I tested the water, which was in good shape, but decided to top off the tank with fresh water - AKA a water change.
Six days later, all fish are fine and hubby gets a big Thank You for moving my fish successfully!
Love the story with a happy ending!
And a whale sized thank you for what a labor of love. That is a really laborious task or series of tasks.
Glad they are well.
Just monitor water quality every few days and keep an eye on how they are behaving just in case of a spike / mini cycle. Agression, erratic behavior, any snails all climbing towards the top of tank like a migration.
And a whale sized thank you for what a labor of love. That is a really laborious task or series of tasks.
Glad they are well.
Just monitor water quality every few days and keep an eye on how they are behaving just in case of a spike / mini cycle. Agression, erratic behavior, any snails all climbing towards the top of tank like a migration.
I thought I had replied to your post Autumnsky. Must have failed to hit the send button. lol
The tank is stable and, from what I can tell, didn't even try to mini-cycle. I have tested every 2-3 days and never saw any rise in values. Every time I look at the fish, I think how sweet hubby was to do the move for me.
On another note, the other tank has cycled now, so I may just leave it going and get some more fish! I have thought about doing a snail tank... Hmmm.... Decisions, decisions.
The tank is stable and, from what I can tell, didn't even try to mini-cycle. I have tested every 2-3 days and never saw any rise in values. Every time I look at the fish, I think how sweet hubby was to do the move for me.
On another note, the other tank has cycled now, so I may just leave it going and get some more fish! I have thought about doing a snail tank... Hmmm.... Decisions, decisions.
