Halszka Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Hi guys, I'm moving out this weekend and would love some tips on how to move my fish tanks (the 150L community tank being the biggest worry) to my new digs Have any of you any experience in moving? What went wrong? What went right? How did you move the fish themselves? I was thinking of bagging them and into a bucket. And the filter? Will the bacteria survive? My new place isn't that far away, about a 10 minute drive but I've no idea how long it will take from me stopping it to being able to restart it. How long can it live for without aeration? The fish in the community tank are: 8 Emerald Eye rasboras 7 Diamond Tetras 3 Congo Tetras 4 Bristlenoses (They're getting huge! I bought them as 1cm long little tykes, 2 months later they're all over 4cm!) 4 Khuli loaches (These are gonna be a killer to catch!) 1 Plakat 4 Julii cories and lots of Vallis, Java Fern, Amazon swords and some other plants Quarantine tank: 3 Chocolate gouramis 2 Baloon mollies 1 Bristlenose also quite heavily planted - I don't know the name of the stuff but it grows like weeds. The Diamond and Congo tetras aren't going back into the tank, I'm selling them back to my lfs to make room for the 3 chocolate gouramis I have in my quarantine tank (and hopefully more if these survive). Delicate little buggers, but 3 out of the 4 have survived over a week now. If I had known I was moving this soon I wouldn't have bought them, I thought it would take a few months tp find a place, not two weeks lol! The plants I'm not as worried about, they'll grow back lol Anyways, _any_ help and tips are much appreciated :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 You Should be right. Bag the fish not too many to a bag, your filter will be fine off for ten mins, if possible, have a bucket of aged water at the new place you can pop it strait into and turn it on and keep it there till you have filled up and dechlorinated the new tank, then you can add it and the fish :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Depending on how long the tank needs to be down you should be fine. I moved my 4ft a few months ago. I got a LG nappy bucket - with lid! and siphoned a whole heap of tank water into it and added the fish. Although you're going to need a strong helpful guy to move this for you.. or a whole heap of muscles yourself. Then another bucket for the gravel. Drained the tank & filter and moved. Added an airstone & heater to the bucket of fish at the new house. Immediately set the tank back up at the new house, filled it with dechlorinated water and waited till the temp was stable, then added the fish. The tank was instantly cycled, no ammonia spikes, no cloudy water, no casualties. I bought some ammolock2 just in case of a spike, but didn't end up needing it. Over all it was a heck of a lot easier than I imagined it was going to be. I had visions of horrors, so I was pleasantly surprised! Good luck with the move Holly! I'm sure everything will go smoothly for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Good luck! I moved a 6', 2 x 4's and a 2' - twice in 7 months - a couple of years ago. No dramas :tongue: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halszka Posted November 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Cheers guys, I'm feeling a bit more confident now :tongue: The filter is an external canister filter so it won't fit in a bucket, but I'm taking all the gravel in one of those big plastic boxes, with enough tank water to keep it wet, and as much of the tank water as possible as well - in plastic tubs if I have to. Would the fish be better off in a plastic tub or bagged up in small lots/individually? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Personally I think a tub is less stressful than bagged.. providing its big enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 I got a LG nappy bucket - with lid! and siphoned a whole heap of tank water into it and added the fish. Then another bucket for the gravel. Drained the tank & filter and moved. Added an airstone & heater to the bucket of fish at the new house. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I did the same, fish and plants in one 25L bucket, gravel and a bit of water AND a buried airstone with portable pump in another. I put the airstone in the gravel in an attempt to keep at least some of the bacteria alive, as it took me far longer to set up than I anticipated (3 hours to take down and 2 and a bit to put back for 2 tanks?) and the bacteria starts to go a bit toxic at about the 30 min mark. I thought the airstone would keep it aerobic, but I had no way to test, so I don't know if it helped. make sure EVERYTHING is out of the tank. I know it sounds self-explanatory, but you'd be suprised how many people leave the gravel in and pile other stuff in to carry it and then the backside drops out and they wonder why :tongue: Is there any overlap time? Chocolate gouramies are not renouwned for being very hardy, any way to set a tank up for them prior to moving? With the filter, what type are you running and what media do you have in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halszka Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Portable pump? Can't say I have one of those I think I'll try the fish in tub idea, I have some 25 or 30L tubs. Well, just one actually. I might invest in a few more and take more of my old water along. The canister filter is a ProAqua 1000, with ceramic beads, peat and carbon. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it in half an hour from turning the filter off to turning it back on at the new place. I won't have to dismantle the stand, and I can keep the filter going while I take the fish, plants, gravel and most of the water out. Then when I set it up I can just dump in the gravel and the old water and crank up the filter again. Phew... sounds like a job and a half! I don't want to disturb the choccies any more than I have to. I'm down to just 2 now but they seem in good health - seem being the operative word with these though! - they seem fine till they start to float. They're in a 35L JEBO tank. Maybe I could drain half the water (or 2/3?) and take it as it is. That way I won't have to catch and handle them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 They're in a 35L JEBO tank. Maybe I could drain half the water (or 2/3?) and take it as it is. That way I won't have to catch and handle them. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thats my plan with my Jebo when I move. I don't see why it won't be ok so long as you handle with care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 With the cannister, i'd empty it, as with all the organic matter it'll turn faster than otherwise. Just rise the stuff out in tank water and float it in clean tank water and stuff it back in the cannister when you get there :blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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