Any tips for moving a 50 gallon tank?

[Talon242]

In a little over a month I am going to be moving into an appartment. The total time to reach my new home will be a little over an hour. I really want to take the tank becuase it would end up costing a lot to drive home every week to clean it. And no one will want to deals with the up keep of the tank.

Things that may cause problems. It will be the middle of winter... Hopefully there won't be too much snow cause that will add to the travel time. If its a huge blizzard I will not move them till it clears just incase.

I'm really trying to plan this out but it seems like a lot of work. Any suggestions will be more than welcome. Something that I know would help would be if I could afford another 50 gallon which I'm aiming for, just before I move. But I'm not positive I can get it yet. Thanks in advance

 

[workfortheman]

I'd say yur best bet is to obtain about 4-5 buckets, probably 5 gallon ones. catch the fish and store them in the buckets with the old tank water, and put lids on to keep light out. then drain the tank water down to the gravel, but don't disturb the gravel if possible. Also keep the filter/media wet in tank water to keep bacteria alive and well. Then make sure you have a strong buddy . . . GL

 

[Scott1980]

I've moved a 20 Gallon Planted Twice. I would recommend you follow workfortheman's advice. Also go to K-Mart and get one of those Strafoam coolers to keep your fish in. It helps keep the temperature steady and keep an air hose thing in it. I usually take some empty gallon jugs and fill about 50% of my tank into those so I can keep some original water. Be mindful of keeping a lid on whatver container your fish are in. Black Tetras love to commit suicide. And strong friends are a plus. It's amazing what a tank can weight even after most of the water is out.

Scott
Espresso!!! Breakfast of Champtions.

 

[Tolak]

I would pull out the gravel as well. I have a friend that recently moved a 72 gallon, left in the gravel. Soon after the crossbrace on the top frame developed a crack. Tanks are designed to be moved completely empty.

 

[lyquidphyre]

What I did when i broke down my 75gal planted was:

Put fish in cooler lined with trashbag, added airstone to run while I broke the tank down. Put all the gravel in buckets (and kept moist) to keep the bacteria living to avoid a cycle
Remove all water
Transport everything.
If you are concerned the water will get to cold in your cooler, add heat packs uner the trashbags- it might help some.

Moving an aquarium is time consuming, but not very difficult

EDIT- if you can borrow/buy/use a cooler on wheels it saves SO much time and energy.

 

[Talon242]

Lots of nice tips, I didn't even think about using a cooler. Lucky that I have one with wheels too.

Whats the best way to keep my filter media alive? I have a fuval 304 and an aquaclear 70.

 

[Thaiboxer]

Keep the filter media wet - the last time I moved a tank I just put my filter media in a seperate 5 gallon bucket of water from the tank. That worked well.

Also, for the actual tank - if you keep the gravel in there, just slip a piece of 3/4" plywood under it and lift from that. That way there's no strain on the glass.

 

[Rupret]

I moved a 75 gallon tank a few years ago, but only less than a block. You got some really good advice from the guys above. I would recommend moving the fish in a styrofoam cooler; did that many years ago when I got my 75 (used with fish) and they survived well. When I moved mine I actually left the gravel, about 1/4 of the water, and the fish in the tank - but, I did only go less than a block. In your case, I would utilize the cooler for the fish, drain the water to gravel level, and the plywood sounds like a great idea that should work well.

 

[Talon242]

Thanks a bunch, I'm going to write these down so I dont forget. I will post after the move, and tell how everything went.

 

[DeFeKt]

I wonder if anyone thinks to move it out the same way they moved it in 8O