AquaJoe
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hello all;
First off, sorry for the repeat post. I know I made a post similar to this one several months ago. I figured with the time that has passed I should just make a new thread.
Anyway here's the deal. I need to move my fish from Nova Scotia to Alberta (roughly 5500 kilometers). I will be driving in a Mazda 3 and anticipate at least 6 days of driving. The problem is I have to move my fish and (like anyone would probably be in my position) I am VERY worried about their well being. So basically I was hoping to post the method/ideas I plan to use during the move and ask a couple of questions along the way. Please please please help me out here and give me some advice!!
The plan:
I am going to put the fish in to two separate insulated coolers (more on the separation thing later). Each cooler will hold somewhere around 5-10 gallons of water [do i need that much water?] and have its own 50w heater and an air stone. I'm planning on buying a 500w power inverter to run the heaters/air pump. The two coolers will go in the trunk of the car, rear seats folded down to avoid excessive trunk temperatures. I plan on spending roughly 12 hours per day driving (split between a friend and I) then crashing at a hotel each night. When I get to the hotel the idea is that I take the coolers in and remove the lids. Plug the heaters and air pump in maybe throw in some food if the fish feel like eating and getting water ready for the next day. I plan on doing as close to a 100% water change as I can EVERY DAY to keep NH3 levels at a minimum. 90% [give/take] water changes will be done each and every day of the trip. When I get to my destination I should have a tank waiting for them. I am currently putting a 20 gallon tank which I JUST purchase through a fishless cycle. So in other words, when the fish get to their new home they'll have a place to do their thing while I get their old aquariums set up/cycled etc etc etc.
Concerns and Questions:
#1 Will it be safe to run a standard aquarium heater in a plastic coleman cooler? I would really like to avoid melting the plastic/having a fire/making a big mess in the car 8O
#2 The fish being transported are 3*balas, 1*pleco, 4*weather loaches, 1*betta, 2*ID sharks (or catfish). My concern here is can they all be transported in the same cooler? My thoughts tell me no because of possible aggression issues in addition to the increased rate of water contamination do to the fish's 'waste'. On the flip side, it would make life a whole lot easier if I had to transport one cooler instead of two.
#3 Water changes & quality. Is doing a near 100% water change every day such a good idea or should I be doing it more like every 2nd day? I will be using treated water at whatever hotel I am at that night but still.... Is the goal to keep the water chemistry at 0 ppm EVERYTHING or what? I'm not going to be running any filtration equipment so obviously I will not be putting the cooler through a cycle or whatever. I WILL however be bringing my master test kit with me. And by treated water I mean tap water dosed with dechlorinator and allowed to sit out over night.
#4 To heat or not to heat. For this situation, running a heater is a big risk because of the plastic cooler, everything will be in a car etc etc. Is it possible I could get away with out running any heaters while in the car? It's starting to get pretty warm out and with the car's climate control/HVAC system I am sure we could keep a somewhat constant temperature.
#5 I want to try and keep as much of the bacteria in my current set up alive and well during the trip too. I was thinking I could put the gravel and filter media in buckets with used aquarium water then 'install' it in my set up here in Alberta. Will the bacteria survive with no filtration, circulation or new waste to process? It's only six days but still, I am not sure.
#6 The last one I can think of right at this moment.... Feeding. We all know that often times fish will not eat when they are stressed. Is it possible or should I say likely that the fish will not eat during the entire drive and then perhaps die from starvation?
______________________>
Anyway that's all I am going to ask. I feel like I am imposing by asking so many questions. If there is anyone who can maybe answer a couple of my questions or give me advice or maybe point out some stuff that I haven't even thought of please please please make a post!
Thanks again everyone. Stay safe.
Joe
First off, sorry for the repeat post. I know I made a post similar to this one several months ago. I figured with the time that has passed I should just make a new thread.
Anyway here's the deal. I need to move my fish from Nova Scotia to Alberta (roughly 5500 kilometers). I will be driving in a Mazda 3 and anticipate at least 6 days of driving. The problem is I have to move my fish and (like anyone would probably be in my position) I am VERY worried about their well being. So basically I was hoping to post the method/ideas I plan to use during the move and ask a couple of questions along the way. Please please please help me out here and give me some advice!!
The plan:
I am going to put the fish in to two separate insulated coolers (more on the separation thing later). Each cooler will hold somewhere around 5-10 gallons of water [do i need that much water?] and have its own 50w heater and an air stone. I'm planning on buying a 500w power inverter to run the heaters/air pump. The two coolers will go in the trunk of the car, rear seats folded down to avoid excessive trunk temperatures. I plan on spending roughly 12 hours per day driving (split between a friend and I) then crashing at a hotel each night. When I get to the hotel the idea is that I take the coolers in and remove the lids. Plug the heaters and air pump in maybe throw in some food if the fish feel like eating and getting water ready for the next day. I plan on doing as close to a 100% water change as I can EVERY DAY to keep NH3 levels at a minimum. 90% [give/take] water changes will be done each and every day of the trip. When I get to my destination I should have a tank waiting for them. I am currently putting a 20 gallon tank which I JUST purchase through a fishless cycle. So in other words, when the fish get to their new home they'll have a place to do their thing while I get their old aquariums set up/cycled etc etc etc.
Concerns and Questions:
#1 Will it be safe to run a standard aquarium heater in a plastic coleman cooler? I would really like to avoid melting the plastic/having a fire/making a big mess in the car 8O
#2 The fish being transported are 3*balas, 1*pleco, 4*weather loaches, 1*betta, 2*ID sharks (or catfish
). My concern here is can they all be transported in the same cooler? My thoughts tell me no because of possible aggression issues in addition to the increased rate of water contamination do to the fish's 'waste'. On the flip side, it would make life a whole lot easier if I had to transport one cooler instead of two.#3 Water changes & quality. Is doing a near 100% water change every day such a good idea or should I be doing it more like every 2nd day? I will be using treated water at whatever hotel I am at that night but still.... Is the goal to keep the water chemistry at 0 ppm EVERYTHING or what? I'm not going to be running any filtration equipment so obviously I will not be putting the cooler through a cycle or whatever. I WILL however be bringing my master test kit with me. And by treated water I mean tap water dosed with dechlorinator and allowed to sit out over night.
#4 To heat or not to heat. For this situation, running a heater is a big risk because of the plastic cooler, everything will be in a car etc etc. Is it possible I could get away with out running any heaters while in the car? It's starting to get pretty warm out and with the car's climate control/HVAC system I am sure we could keep a somewhat constant temperature.
#5 I want to try and keep as much of the bacteria in my current set up alive and well during the trip too. I was thinking I could put the gravel and filter media in buckets with used aquarium water then 'install' it in my set up here in Alberta. Will the bacteria survive with no filtration, circulation or new waste to process? It's only six days but still, I am not sure.
#6 The last one I can think of right at this moment.... Feeding. We all know that often times fish will not eat when they are stressed. Is it possible or should I say likely that the fish will not eat during the entire drive and then perhaps die from starvation?
______________________>
Anyway that's all I am going to ask. I feel like I am imposing by asking so many questions. If there is anyone who can maybe answer a couple of my questions or give me advice or maybe point out some stuff that I haven't even thought of please please please make a post!
Thanks again everyone. Stay safe.
Joe
