I need help with moving tank to diffrent room.

[Catfish lover 991]

Im moving my 25 gallon tank with fish to a different room and I was wondering if it's ok to pour water to a 30 gallon bucket and move my tank to the room then pour the water back in. Will this mess the the cycle or no? Or should I sell my fish and start over?

[Rocksor]

You can empty the aquarium, and put the fish in the old tank water. Make sure you put the bio media in with the old tank water. The fish and media can be in separate 5 gallon buckets or together if you wish. Just be sure to empty the aquarium completely, even the gravel, during the move. You can use 100% new water that has been dechlorinated and matched to the same temperature as the buckets within a degree or 2. I'm assuming you change at least 25% of the water a week.

[Catfish lover 991]

Yes I do 25% water change.

[crf8]

Just moved my 55. Took 4 hours. Be sure to rinse the gravel, I used a flour screen.
One fish died, but it had been set up for years and needed to be redone even without the move.

[Catfish lover 991]

Ok thank you

[SeaLady]

I had a leak in a 45 ga tank. Had to drain most of the water into a tub, added a heater, a bubbler and netted the fish into the tub, along with some of the plants. (there was a LOT of plant) Bought a 29 ga, put the gravel/sand back into the new tank. added plants, put the original water back into the new tank and netted the fish back into the tank. Over the course of the next day or so, I added back in the rocks, pots, more sand, more plants. Didn't lose a fish. Very lucky girl! In fact I found an Oto I didn't know I had! What water I had to add, I just treated like a WC. Conditioned and match the temp. Kept the same filter and just kept the media and sponge in the tub..

[Plecos]

I moved 27 grown Cichlids 1 mile in a 5 gal bucket. Hardest part was catching them in a 50 gal tank! I had my tank the same temp and water parameters as the one they came from and used its water for transport. I put them in as fast as I could to get them out of the bucket. All lived for at least a year so far and one just died of old age I think?

[SueD]

When moving or upgrading tanks, it's not necessary to add old tank water to the new set up. Use it in the holding container (buckets or tubs) for the fish/plants/decor/filter media while you set up the new tank, but add 100% new, dechlorinated water to the new set up. It's a 100% water change, but that's a good thing.

[Slaphppy7]

+1 to the above...most importantly (besides the fish, of course), keep the media submerged in old tank water until the new set up is ready.

[Catfish lover 991]

Alright thanks everyone for the advice.thumbs2:

[mermaidwannabe]

SealLady, I'm curious. You went from a 45 gallon tank (that leaked) down to a 29 gallon. Was there room for everything in the smaller tank? How were you able to avoid overcrowding?

[SeaLady]

I was kinda surprised too. You see, I did NOT add a lot of plants, a manzanita branch and a couple of rocks BACK in to the 29. So there was actually a lot more swimming area than the 45. All are smaller fish, easy going community, and now triple the filtration! I was lucky too. Since then I have lost a couple of Purple Harleys, and a couple of Neons. I haven't added to the community until the numbers go down a bit more. I have plans for different livestock...{rubs hands together}...