I saw someone post a great article they wrote detailing how to move an aquarium. I'll do what I can to convey what you'd have to do to be able to move your tank.
You'll need:
5 gallon buckets with lids, at least 3
a battery powered air pump & air stone (depending on how far you're moving)
1) Fill the 3 buckets with tank water.
2) Put the fish in one of the buckets with the air stone from the batter powered air pump. That will agitate the water enough for some oxygenation of the water for the fish.
3) Put any live plants you have in the second bucket.
4) Put the filter media in the third bucket (to keep your bacteria colony safe). You could maybe throw the decorations in here as well to keep them wet (and any bacteria on them alive).
5) Empty your tank water down until you just have enough water to cover the gravel so it doesn't dry out. You want to minimize the weight of the tank so it's movable without damaging it. Make sure that any heavy decorations are out of it in the tank with the filter media.
6) You should be able to move the tank without damaging it now. Drive it, your aquarium stand, and the buckets to your new destination.
At your new spot for the aquarium:
- Put the decorations back in the tank. Re-add the tank water from that bucket. Temporarily float the filter media in the tank until you have enough water to run the filter.
- Replace the plants in the tank, arranged how you want them. Re-add that bucket of water back to the tank.
- Start dechlorinating water and add it to the 55g. Turn on the heater to get the tank back to the right temperature. You should also be replacing the filter media and starting the filter back up at this point.
- You may have to re-acclimate your fish to the tank because of the temperature fluctuation, and also because only 20% of the water in the tank will be the original tank water. The tap water at the two different locations probably have different enough pH/GH/KH that you'll want to take some care in re-adding your fish to the tank.
That's pretty much it. You'll have protected your bacteria colony enough to hopefully avoid a mini-cycle.
If anyone else has any critiques, please add them.
