Long Distance Move

[vermilk]

I am a new member who is about to get a 55gal. The only problem is that my uncle has it about 4-5 hours away. The tank is very old - I think about 45 yrs old (bottom replaced and in good condition). My questions: 1. What is the best way to transport the fish? 2. What is the best way to transport the aquarium?

I have a 4x4 Toyota truck. Also, the aquarium has been setting on the base for a long, long, long time and may be stuck to it.

I'm very excited! And like I said, the aquarium is in really good condition - my uncle has taken great care of it over the years.

[webcricket]

Best thing to do would be to empty the tank completely. If you don't, you're asking for trouble in a tank that size!

Get some large rubbermaid containers - one for the gravel, plants, any decor, and the filter - these all need to stay wet to keep the bacteria alive. Try to reserve as much tank water as you can. Don't rinse anything as you'll risk damaging the bacteria. Get a second large container for the fish and more tank water. In this one put an airstone and battery operated air pump to keep the water oxygenated. They should be okay in this way for 6 to 8 hours until you can get the tank set back up. Both containers should be kept out of extreme temperatures (i.e. not in the direct sun or outside on a hot day, and not in air conditioning).

For the tank, I'd get some heavy duty plywood to place underneath for the ride to your place to keep it level. If it's riding in the back of a truck, be sure it's secure and not going to slide anywhere or have anything slide into it.

You may want to get a liquid test kit (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals has a good basic kit) to be sure you're not seeing any signs of "old tank syndrome" in the water. Google it, and you'll see why it's important to know if the tank and fish are at risk. Also, if you're tap water differs significantly from that in the tank, you'll need to keep that in mind when acclimating the fish (another good reason to keep as much tank water as you can for the initial set-up).

[vermilk]

Thanks a bunch for the info. I had not thought about rubbermaid type containers!

[vermilk]

Would the info above make a difference if I told you that I posted in the wrong forum area? Being a newbie, I posted in the Marine section rather than the Freshwater section. Sorry!!!

[webcricket]

The info would be correct for a freshwater tank.

[sumthin fishy]

if you go to wallmart or target, you can get an inverter that plugs into your cig lighter of your car. they have different load ratings. for my 10 gal I got the small one to run an airpump during a move, but you could go with the 4 outlet one and run pumps for the fish, as well as keep the filter running so no bacteria will die off. also, if you use the batery pump discribed in the posts above, might as well get 2 and keep one in the filter tub. You want to keep the filter oxygenated so the bacteria can breath :P HTH

[tikitiki]

That's almost identical to what I did for my move from Florida to Tennessee, and had no problems. Only thing I didn't do, was the plywood under the tank-good idea, and I wrapped it up in blankets really thick underneath & inside. I had bought some battery pumps online at drs. foster and smith, think they were about 6. each, will take about a week to get in the mail though.

[ara35]

how much would this differ if it were a 15G tank moving about 30 minutes

[Marinemom]

Just do the same thing.

Marinemom