Relocating Fish tank Help.

[Dave-ZZ4]

Hello All,

We are doing some remodeling in our house and I need to move my tank about 25 feet into another room. (It will stay in it's new location) The tank is a 65G tall acrylic on a stand and has a top cap. The question I have is what way would be the least stressful on the fish?

Some idea's I have been told about are:
1. Drain the tank until there is a few inches left for the fish then muscle the tank to the new location.

2. Drain tank water into a large bucket. Catch the fish and put them in a bucket. Then drain the tank move it and refill it them catch the fish and put them back in the tank.

3. Buy another tank like a small 20G, Fill the tank up with water from the 65G, Move the fish into the 20G, Drain and move the 65G then fill it up and wait a day before moving the fish back into the 65G.


If I do it the number 1 or 2 way, Is it OK to do a 90% water change??
The tank has been running for over a year now and has had no problems with water quality.

I have African Knife Fish, Leopard Bushfish, USD catfish, and a King Tiger Pleco.

Any other idea's or suggestion?

TIA

 

[Squawkbert]

If you can move it w/o twisting/dropping/shifting contents, I'd just move (or remove) large decs to one end, drain 85-90% of the water, move it & refill (take a little care & Prime in doing this, watch temp closely etc.).

 

[mountain_webste]

I just went through this moving a 55G and a 46G bowfront about the same distance as you're attempting. Go to your local hardware store and buy the furniture sliders, they make them for carpet or hard floors and a pack of 4 was well under $20. I can't say enough good things about them.

I took about 50% - 66% of the water out of the tank, saving as much as the original tank water as I could, in clean buckets, to add back in right after the tanks were in their new location. Lifted the tank far enough to insert the sliders, and moved the tank. The sliders glide realy well so there's no herky-jerky motion causing splashing water etc. and my fish didn't appear any more stressed then they would during a large water change. I had no injuries or losses to my fish.

I felt this was the best way to go. Let me know if you need any other info.

 

[krytan]

I have just moved my 180g tank, all my fish went in my empty 65g then went back into my 180g with no problems. I would never move a tank with any thing in it.
Before i had my 180g and had to move 65g all the fish went into bags, then i emptyed the tank moved it and put the fish back. The Fish didn't look happy but i had no losses.

 

[Que]

I would go with method number 2 or 3. I would never attempt to move tank, fish and water together. There is too much room for trouble. The tank and stand aren't designed to be moved this way. If the tank starts leaking half way through the move then what? I wouldn't want that fire drill.

Q

 

[RoseFishWatcher]

I'd go (and in fact did) with #2.
Just moved to a new apartment ('bout an hours drive away from the old one) and did this with all 8 (yup, EIGHT) tanks. 2 are saltwater, and one is a 90 gallon. IMO, anything over about 20 gallons is too much to try and move with water and gravel in it.

Of course, due to the millions of tanks I have and their particular setup, when I moved my 55 I couldn't get the stand yet (it still had 2 smaller tanks on it, and I didn't have enough buckets to get 3 tanks in one trip). So the 55 ended up on the floor, out of the way. About a week after, we moved it to it's final home across the room. Even for that short move, we took out all the fish and gravel.

And can you believe it, the ONLY casualty in all that was a single apple snail.

I used mostly five gallon home depot buckets.

 

[salty420]

i just moved my 75g tank about 10 feet using method #2 with no caualities. except it wasn't a large bucket, it was a garbage can and all the water i could fit and all the fish went in. i did end up doing a hefty WC in the process of course but i didn't clean the filters...

 

[davexstumpe]

#2 ! of course

 

[Dave-ZZ4]

I just went through this moving a 55G and a 46G bowfront about the same distance as you're attempting. Go to your local hardware store and buy the furniture sliders, they make them for carpet or hard floors and a pack of 4 was well under $20. I can't say enough good things about them.

I felt this was the best way to go. Let me know if you need any other info.

UPDATE:

Moved the tank today per your post.

Everything worked out GREAT!
Tank moved, fish are happy.

Big thanks!!!!!

 

[tonytheboss1]

# 2 worked well for me w/ -0- casualities. (fish were a bit larger). Empty 80% of the water & remove all decorations, plants, lge. rocks ect. Coax/trap fish into a sm. gallon container rather than net (especially the 'cats'). Then just pour them into one of the 3 or 4 five gallon bckts. of tank water. (fill only to 3/4). Now you can remove the gravel & filters (bckts) move m/t tank to new location & reverse. Fill halfway w/ new treated water & get the filters moving. Pour the fish into their old/new home. Top off w/ more treated water. Keep the lights low till they get comfortable. Worked like a charm. "T"