# Moving. Whats the best way to move a tank?



## Peanut72 (Sep 2, 2010)

Hey guys, i will be moving in next couple of weeks and was wondering what the safest way for the fish and plants would be. I have several 5 gal water bottles that i was planning on saving as much water as possible and help the cycling process. I will most likely be moving to a rental for a few months before settling back down again. The tank is 75g and heavily planted and stocked with cardinal tetras, black widow tetras, banded gourami, bloodfin tetras, bronze cory and harley rasbora. More concerned with their wellbeing during the moving process and getting the tank cycled again only to break it right back down in a few months later to do it again. Im open to all suggestions for the safest move possible. 

Thanks


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## chevysoldier (Oct 14, 2011)

I have never moved a tank, but I have a buddy that has moved his 75g a couple times. He gets 5g buckets with lids and fills them 1/2 to 3/4 with tank water and adds the fish. He doesn't have live plants but I am sure the same would work for them too. The substrate you could leave in the tank with some water to keep it moist or in more buckets with water.


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## Stoke88 (Nov 14, 2011)

I like chevysoldier's ideas with the 5 gallon buckets. As far as leaving the gravel in the tank with some water to keep it moist, I'm not sure about. The tank alone is 140lbs empty plus another 80-100lbs of gravel and on top of that however much water is needed to keep the gravel soaked. That could get heavy.


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## chevysoldier (Oct 14, 2011)

Get some strong friends.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

NO - you never move a tank that large with wet substrate in it!!!!
And you don't need the water it has no value - just enough to keep the substrate wet and plants and fish covered.


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## chevysoldier (Oct 14, 2011)

my buddy left the substrate moist in his 75g.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

chevysoldier said:


> my buddy left the substrate moist in his 75g.


A guy in WWII jumped out of a burning aircraft without a parachute and survived...but I'm not gonna try it!


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## chevysoldier (Oct 14, 2011)

AbbeysDad said:


> A guy in WWII jumped out of a burning aircraft without a parachute and survived...but I'm not gonna try it!


Why not? I hear it's a rush. lol


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## spkehl (Oct 11, 2010)

I recently wrote a blog about moving 12 aquariums to my new house. Moving Aquariums to a New Home


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

chevysoldier said:


> Why not? I hear it's a rush. lol


You gotta wonder...how long does it take to fall 18,000 feet ?


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## MinaMinaMina (Aug 28, 2011)

Keeping the substrate wet during the move is a great idea, but in buckets. Keeping filter media wet is also strongly advised. When you refill the tank, make sure you do it with pre-treated (dechlorinated) water. You don't want to expose your substrate, etc., to plain tap water as it will kill the beneficial bacteria.

I (screamingly) second what AbbeysDad said! Moving a large tank with stuff in it is a superb way to spring a leak in it.

Also... goo luck!


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## Jbrofish8 (Jul 7, 2011)

Can you move a 29g with substrate still in it? Im in the same boat as the OP.. moving in a month and trying to figure out the best way to do things.


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## Peanut72 (Sep 2, 2010)

Not so much concerned with the physical part of moving the tank, ive got that covered, thats pretty much straight forward. Remove the fish, drain the tank, take the plants out and keep them wet, remove the substrate, bend at the knees and lift.... I am more concerned about the fish and getting them safely moved from the existing tank to the newly set up tank. and what precautions i need to take to keep the fish alive in the newly set up tank. I plan to save as much of the "old" tank water as possible in an attempt to restore the tank to as close to normal water params as possible. Is saving 25 gals of the old water to get started with a bad idea? Not going to clean the filter, but keep it wet and hope enough of the bacteria survives to get the new set up running. Hoping for no more than a slight hiccup as the tank settles in again. Prepared to keep a watch on params and PWC's as needed. Just wanted to know for those who have made a move if they had any mistakes to learn from or those who know how to make the move so i dont end up with a tank full of dead fish within a few weeks of moving. I dont want to kill them out of a stupid mistake on my part that could have been prevented.

Thanks spkehl. I will take a look at what you posted, sounds like it will have the info im looking for.


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## MinaMinaMina (Aug 28, 2011)

Are you moving very far?

There's a link somewhere out there on the interwebs about moving a tank. It was posted here by another member. You may want to search this forum. I do remember something about doing 25% water changes every day for the week prior to and including the day of the move. That seems like a great way to ensure the water (that they fish will be sitting in during transport) is as fresh as possible without shocking them. If it were me- I wouldn't feed them for two days prior and two days after the move. I would keep them in the dark as much as possible while they're in the buckets. You could use multiple airstones on a pump to aerate each bucket before and after transit. If it were a long move, you could even run small sponge filters. (If its a long drive, maybe it would be best to get an adapter for your car lighter to run the pump off of?) I would include some substrate in each bucket so that there'd be bacteria present. I wouldn't mix species in a bucket. I would use a drip acclimation once you get the new tank set up. I would add your least territorial fish first.

I haven't moved an inhabited tank myself, but I did once spring a leak on my 55g. For a week (a long, long, LONG week) I had a ton of fish and plants crammed in my (previously already full) 25g and in various containers all over my dining room. It was a lot of work, but I had no losses. You can do it! Good luck!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

I have moved three large fully-stocked and planted aquaria, a 115g, a 90g and a 70g, over the same day (about 25 miles distance, house to house). If the water at your new location is basically the same as where you are now (parameters, other substances) it is straight-forward, though a great deal of work.

You are only moving one tank, so I would basically follow the outline linked by another member earlier in this thread. Assuming it will be relatively cold outside, use insulated boxes for the fish. You local fish store might have a couple on hand; Styrofoam boxes, or food coolers work. I moved over 200 fish and only lost 12, due to the drop in temperature and lack of oxygen when the van was delayed several hours.

I had the rest of the move organized, so when the movers arrived I could concentrate solely on the fish. At that point I bagged/boxed the fish, drained the tank [I had removed the wood, rock and substrate and bagged them the day previous, and the plants too]. Boxed the filter/heater.

When the tank was set on the stand at the new house, I hooked up the Python and filled it with 77F temp water, double-dosed the conditioner, connected the filter/heater, and floated the fish bags to equalize the temp [and I said, they were very cold]. After about an hour, I opened the bags and let the water mix and the fish swam out. A couple days later after everything else with the move was sorted out, I worked on aquascaping the tanks.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

Byron said:


> I have moved three large fully-stocked and planted aquaria, a 115g, a 90g and a 70g, over the same day (about 25 miles distance, house to house).


I think you shoulda at least drained the water out!


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## Peanut72 (Sep 2, 2010)

Still havent made the move, but should be soon. Still waiting on some final paperwork from the buyers bank before i even know a moving date. But i did read over the blog and I do plan to move the tank on its own moving day. There was some good info in the blog and was able to pull some good info through this post. Hopefully it will all go smooth, but as with most things I do lately, i am expecting some hiccups. Ill let ou guys know how it turned out when I get everything moved.

Thanks guys for the info, got my fingers crossed.


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## Peanut72 (Sep 2, 2010)

Well i got everything moved and it looks like everyone survived. I had one of the black skirts swim a little sideways for a day or so but seems to be doing fine now. The only thing that didnt make the move so well was the plants. I put them in a bucket of tank water and sat them outside while i cleaned the floors in the house. I forgot to put them in the car with me and take them to the new house and they sat outside overnight and froze. They look terrible right now but some are starting to get new sprouts. Hopefully they will pull through. Thanks to all who provided advice.


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