Moving a Tank

Marzy

Marzy

Okay. But dogs CAN look up!
Jan 17, 2007
39
0
0
43
UK
Hi Guys

I recently split with my girlfriend and she dont want the tank anymore. I am willing to take it and its fish to my dads house. How is best to transport my fish? Was thinking of emptying 3 quaters of the water and leaving them in for the move. Or should I bag the fish? That would take some time though and to be honest I dont wanna be round the house too long.
 
Depends on the size of the tank,5--10--15--20 or larger?
Take fish and put in 5 gallon bucket ,move tank and half the water in buckets. Refill with old andnew water and add fish.Keep water temp close to what fish are in bucket. Short move no air in bucket necessary
 
They best way would be to bag them or put them in a rubermaid type storage container, there was a thread yesterday about moving a 10 gallon, it looks like you have a 20, i have moved a 10 in the way you described, a 20 may be a little heavier for one person, if your strong enough and can safely Carry it, go for it, i know what you mean when you say you don't want to be there that long,,Good luck.......:)
 
Cheers for the replies guys.

Yeah its a 20g. I am lending my mate and his van to give me a hand. He is a big guy so between us should not be a problem. Thinking of taking out the 3 quaters and then transporthing. These things happen in life I guess but I cant be bothered hanging around for to long, there are some sharp knives in the house! lol
 
i would reccommend bagging the fish (with plenty of air please!)

i usually use those styrofoam coolers filled about halfway up with water.

the reason for this is that whatever water you leave in the tank will slosh around quite a bit, and even in small tanks it can be very unsteady, and the fish get all shaken around (especially when going up and down stairs) by puttingthem into another container, they dont run into plants or get slammed into the gravel.. its just a lot easier on their little bodies.
 
Moving the tank with water in it is a bad idea. Empty the tank into doubled plastic bags (one inside the other) inside a garbage can. Moving the fish with a 1/4 of the water in the tank is asking for fish death. Don't do it.
 
Nolapete said:
Moving the tank with water in it is a bad idea. Empty the tank into doubled plastic bags (one inside the other) inside a garbage can. Moving the fish with a 1/4 of the water in the tank is asking for fish death. Don't do it.
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couldnt have said it better. with water sloshing around, even without fish, you risk breaking the tank, and you negate any warranty that the tank had.

keep just enough water in there to keep the gravel moist (you should not see a water line ANYWHERE above the gravel) and thats IT.
 
moving a tank with water still inside has a very real risk of breaking through the bottom, especially in tanks that are over 2 feet long like 20 gallon tanks. either put the fish in a rubbermain container, or put them in a bag. make sure to keep the filter media, gravel, and decor wet. if they dry out, you will loose the benificial bacteria that were growing on them. then you'll have to re-cycle the tank
 
Cheers for the advice guys.

Ok I did it, I went round and collected my tank. As I was on limited time to get it done I had to take the risk of moving the tank with the fish still on. All rocks etc were removed as well as 2/3 of the water. I am happy to report that when checked this morning the fish were ALL fine! I know its not an ideal way to be moving them but I was not in an ideal situation. The fish should not be moved now for a long long time!
 
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