MOVING!

[shayfish]

So here's my situation...

My 50 gal community is about 6 weeks old and has only had fish in it for about 3. Its planted and houses 5 rummynose tetras, 6 zebra danios, 2 sailfin mollies, 2 mystery snails, 1 amano shrimp and 1 BN pleco.

Stocking came to an abrupt halt with the discovery of ich spots on a couple of the tetras this week. My temp is raised to treatment levels and that seems to be going fine.

BUT... I'm going to be moving in about a month now. It was a little unexpected, but that's just the way it goes I guess! My new place is not too far from where I live now (about 15 minute drive), but it is probably going to be pretty cold when I move.

I've read the article on here about moving tanks, but I was wondering if anyone had their own experiences to share with me. I just can't believe after the ordeal of setting this tank up that I have to move it so soon!! And that I'm going to have to somehow outsmart that pleco to catch him...

 

[clubsuperduty]

I would get a large rubbermaid container and drain as much of the water from the tank as you can put the fish in the rubbermaid container and cut a hole in the lid of a airhose and drop a airstone in there with a car adapter for the cigarette lighter and you should be good to go. Keep the gravel wet and in buckets and also keep the filters wet and just set everything back up and try to use as much as the old water as you can and after your move your tank will be pretty much cycled and ready to go.

 

[shayfish]

I am afraid I will kill everything, plants included.

Especially after this ich battle... I will be so pleased if everyone makes it through this, and then to turn around and stress them all out again with a move!

 

[Pleco]

A friend of mine moved his 40 gallon by draining the water half way, removing ornaments, filtration media and putting them in a bucket of tank water, and literally moving the tank and its stock to the new house. His new home was about 20 min from his old home, its been a year now and he still has the same fish, not sure if this is the corret way, but it seemed to work for him.

I will be moving withing 2-3 months so it will be interesting to see peoples views on this subject.

-Pleco

 

[Zagz]

I recently moved and have 11 tanks. 2 larger tanks, 125 and 75gals. I got several rubbermaid containers, not used for anything else. Rinsed them out well with hot water. Started out with removing 50% water then caught the fish put them in the rubbermaid containers with an airstone running. I removed all the ornaments and substrate and plants. Keep the filters wet and keep the plants in another smaller rubbermaid container. Keep the airstone running as long as possible. Set up new tank, get filter running with substrate, ornaments and plants. Get the temp to what it was in the old tank and add the fish back in. Keep an eye on things and you should have no trouble. I lost one fish when I moved and it was due to aggression in the rubbermaid bucket, not the move. That was the cichlids from the 125. Good luck.

 

[severum mama]

Moving a tank with any water or substrate is really risky IMO. I'm glad it worked for your friend, but it could have been a disaster as that is very stressful on the tank's seals. Just a couple of months ago I moved all 5 of my tanks 100 miles. I syphoned out a bucket about half full of water from each tank and put the fish in buckets. Then I drained out the rest of the water and scooped out the substrate (be careful not to scratch the glass), and put the substrate and decor in other buckets. I pulled the filter media and Biowheels out of my filters and put them in the buckets with the fish. I didn't save much of my water except for what was in the buckets with the fish- with 5 tanks, that would get pretty ridiculous LOL. I didn't use battery powered air pumps, although I probably should have. When I got to the new house I just set everything back up as quickly as possible. I didn't lose any fish at the time, but I did lose some pygmy corys a couple weeks later. Still, everything worked out better than I expected.

shayfish- I was looking at your "info" popup, and most of your fish are pretty small. You could go to your LFS and get some bags and rubber bands, and just bag your fish and put the bags in a styrofoam cooler. That may help if you are worried about temperature.

 

[shayfish]

Well, if you can move 11 tanks, I suppose I can move one.

I'm wondering about temperature in the rubbermaid... should i stuff my heater in there too? How big were the rubbermaids you used? How freaking HEAVY were they??

As for the plants, I have never even had a planted tank before. Do I just dig them right out of the substrate? And when I replant, do I need to do anything to the roots, or just shove 'em back in there? My plants are finally starting to actually grow, so I am a little disappointed that I have to interrupt them so soon.

edit: ha! you beat me s. mama!

I am most worried about the rummynoses... 2 of them barely made it through the move into this tank from my bud's place.

 

[Zagz]

How far are you moving? If the fish are going to be in the container for a couple of hours and not out in the cold then no heater necessary. As it is getting colder, I would add the heater if you plan on having them outside at all. Of course you will have to unplug the heater while moving but before and after will keep the temp stable. I'm in Regina, and it has been cold here!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I helped a friend move a 55G long by just keeping 5-6 inches of water in the bottom. Wasn't too bad to move, just have to be very careful. But moving the fish to buckets is the best bet, and remove all but about 1 inch of water above the gravel to keep it wet. And move the tank that way. There won't be too much weight that way as well.

 

[trotty]

Zags is on the money. i used syrofoam boxes to house the fish.. Ive moved 9 tanks 3 times in 3 years. All moved this way.The biggest being a 240 gal, trust me you get every drop out of that before you move it. TOO HEAVY
Just keep as much water as possible and get the temp right before you add the fish back.

 

[JRagg]

When I moved my 45g I used a variation of the above methods. I drained out water into a large igloo cooler (52 quart) and put the fish into there. I’m not sure about the necessity of airstones during the drive since no matter how carefully you drive the water will slosh around in the cooler. It will stay aerated.

I drained as much water out of the tank as possible and left the gravel in there. Wet gravel doesn’t move, so it’s more of a static load in the tank. When moving the tank just make sure to hold it at the edges (like you should be doing anyways). Make the move, fill the tank and put your fish back in.

Depending on the size of the plants I would remove the larger ones and leave the smaller stuff in the tank.

15 minutes isn’t a long drive. They’ll only be out of their home for an hour or so if you do it properly.

Good luck!

 

[happygirl65]

My husband and I once moved our 55 gal tank from one apartment to another. This is what we did.

We started out like we were doing a normal PWC. Cleaning the gravel and siphoning the water.

We removed all decorations and plants (we only had fake ones) and large lava rocks.

Then we siphoned clean water into a 5 gallon bucket until it was about half full.

Then we got a one gallon plastic pitcher and a small net. I slipped the large pitcher into the tank on its side at one end and began guiding the fish into the pitcher with the net. As some fish would go in I would turn the pitcher upright and pull it out of the tank and pour them into the bucket (carefully of course). That way I did not have to net many fish at all and especially the pleco who I was most concerned about.

When we got all the fish in the bucket by this time it was about 3/4 full we put some stress zyme type stuff in there, put the lid on it, wrapped it in a blanket and put it in the corner.

We continued to removed all but about 4 inches of water in the bottom along with all the gravel. And then set the tank on the floor.

We took the stand out quickly and set it up at the new place right away then went back for the tank. We put the tank on a rubbermaid cart and wheeled it to the new place then carried it up the stairs and into the new place, put it on the stand and started filling it again.

We put the decor in while we were filling it since that process was slow and treated the water with appropriate amounts of declor.

We then put the heater on, filter etc and then went back for the bucket of fish.

Then we slowly poured the fish into the tank reset up in the new location.

They were in the bucket for less than an hour and it didn't seem to stress them any more than a normal water change. No losses.

I know you are moving farther than I did, and I would recommend taking enough water out so that the gravel doesnt slosh around on you, but if you plan it just right you should be able to do it fairly quickly, just have some friends there to help you load everything as quickly as possible.

I would put the bucket of fish in the car with you and keep a blanket around them, or as one poster said use an ice chest that will help regulate the temp. Whatever it is have a lid or some of your fish can jump out.

I definitely recommend a cart or something to help you carry the container full of water and fish, even if it is a little red wagon and its just from your door to the car, it will slosh less and be way easier on your back.

Good luck, you can do this, it wont be so bad. The key is just getting through the new setup as fast as possible so they can get into their new home asap.

 

[55gallons]

have a friend with a cargo van ? borrow it for a day and move the tank(s) stands in the van - and let movers take the rest of your stuff in the moving truck -