Need to move a 20 gallon aquarium

[jarnism]

Moving to a different house

is it okay to pour out about half the water in it and then replace it when put back in place?

 

[fishfairy]

It would be about like doing a 50% water change so as long as you keep the substrate and filter media wet (in old tank water) to preserve the bacteria you should be fine.

 

[JRagg]

I'm guessing you're talking about moving it with half the water in it. Eek.

You'll get some differing opinions here, and I've moved a 10g with fish in it and about 3g of water in it, but I wouldn't ever recommend someone else do that.

Your best bet is going to be to drain about half the water to a cooler, move the fish into the cooler and drain off the rest of the water as much as you can. You can move the tank with gravel in it (others are going to disagree with me) as long as you're careful. And by careful I mean putting it on a somewhat soft surface, holding it at the edges, and not driving like a nutcase.

When you get to your new place, get some new water in the tank and transfer your fish back over.

You may have to take some other precautions if the trip is over about 20 or 30 minutes.

 

[Ky'smommy]

i wouldnt reccomend it either.
i moved my 10g with with it full with fish... and everyone was fine.
and i bought my dad a 10g for christmas with oscars with about half the water and they died shortly after.. I killed them.