so I'm moving this weekend...

[mizzi]

and i've only had my 20gal tank stocked and functioning happily. i have 3 snow white cichlids and a small pictus catfish. i'm moving about 20 minutes away from my current residence, and i'm looking for some advice on how to do this.

how much of the water should i keep before it becomes an issue? my buddy mentioned maybe getting some 5 gallon buckets from the hardware store and siphoning the water into those, then including the fish in one of the buckets for the short ride.

any suggestions on the least stressful (for both the fish and myself) to do this? also, how long would the fish last in those buckets? it may be an hour or so before their tank's home is set up in the new place.

thanks!

<3Mark

 

[Fazzafaris]

I moved my 25 gallon tank about 5 miles down the road. This is what I did, rightly or wrongly:-

• Turned off all filters, lights and heaters.
• Removed decor e.g. driftwood and rocks - making 100% sure there was nothing hiding in any of the holes and crevices
• Drained half the water to a large, lidded plastic box I got at a diy store
• Transferred the fish into the plastic box
• Put my filter media into a bucket of tank water
• Got rid of the rest of the water
• Emptied the gravel from the tank
• Put the whole lot in the car and drove embarrassingly slowly to the new place
• Positioned the tank in the new place and added the gravel
• Half filled the tank with warm treated tap water
• Added the decor back in
• Added the filter media and got the filters and heater going
• Waited for water to clear up a bit and temperature to stabilise
• Transferred the fish and then the old tank water back to the tank
• Added some stress coat
• Left the tank in darkness for the rest of the day

Think that's the lot, didn't lose a single fish, but may have been lucky

HTH

 

[H3D]

That sounds about right.

 

[mizzi]

ok, interesting. thanks!

what is stress coat though? i've never heard of that.

 

[H3D]

what is stress coat though? i've never heard of that.

What people use when they should be using Prime instead. :joke:

 

[mizzi]

ah...i use prime. good to know though

any other suggestions? fish should survive? lol

 

[mizzi]

tomorrow is the big day, any last minute suggestions?

 

[Mgamer20o0]

try to keep the gravel and decor wet also. since it isnt too far you want to try to save as much bacteria as you can. i would use rubbermaid tubs since they have lids and overall better then a bucket. plus makes good quick qt.

 

[mizzi]

rubbermaid tubs rather than buckets? if you have a sec, can you send me a link to what you have in mind? thanks

also, how long do you think the fish should be able to last in that environment?

 

[Mgamer20o0]

people use them as qt. if its not over stocked with a cycled filter they can last weeks. the rubbermaid tubs give more surface area also then most buckets.