"Drying out" my tank...how?

[Anthony8858]

Ok, here we go.

I've pretty much reached my patience limit with my 36 gallon bow tank. This tank has been plagued with cloudiness from day one. All readings have been good, filtration is excellent.
I can honestly say that I am totally fed up with the look of this tank as it sits in my family room.
This "ice-breaker" was the recent loss of my Angel fish. I don't have a clue as to why they died, the other fish seem OK...at least for now.

A recent visit to a local aquarium shop interested me in one of their "special promotions".

For X amount of $$$$, I can have a 90 gallon salt water tank, completely installed, maintained, and have a "fish guaranty" (as long as I have a maintenance contract). This contract includes water changes, gravel, and anything that goes into the proper care of this tank. (6 month contract). In due time, I hope to learn enough from the aquarium techs to maintain the tank myself.

I have freshwater fish in my 36 gallon.
I want to bring that tank to my office. However, I would prefer to totally break down that tank, and start over.

How do I preserve my fish during this "drying period"?

I kinda look at this as formatting my hard drive.

[OrionGirl]

Unfortunately, there isn't a way to 'back up' the fish while you re-format. Other than seeing if the store can baby sit them for you, they need a cycled tank.

For Saltwater--fun! Come check out the Saltwater threads, and we'll get you on your way to a successful tank.

[ChEeRs_BiG_EaRs]

bah, i beg to differ, whenever i ahve to do this, i just get one of those storage tubs (you can usually pick one up from your local hardware store), throw a few airlines/airstones in there, along with whatever filter was attacted to the tank, and use this temporarily whilst i work on the tanks :)
justin