Looking for tank-moving tips!

[Holyvision]

Hello there AC,

In August, I will be required to move from my current apartment into another building, as they are going to renovate the one I'm in at the moment. This move will require me to relocate to a building two-sections down, easily in carrying distance for w/e I have.

However, I need to move a moderately/heavily-planted freshwater tank, stocked with red minor tetras, otos and cats. It currently runs on an XP1 canister filter, CO2 system, etc etc etc, all the normal bells and whistles.

I have never moved a tank this large and as such need some advise as you see fit. Note this will be in August in Texas, so I'll probably be able to cook an egg on the sidewalk. In addition, the tank will need to go many hours before being re-connected to it's filtration system, as I have no idea what the layout of this new apartment is, and I will need to put my other furniture in places before I determine where my tank will go.

So I come to you long-time-experts to bask in your wisdom! Should I try to save any water besides what the substrate will soak in? How would you move the stock? Etc etc.

Thanks a million in advance!
--Holy :help:

[Kyle]

Well I just moved myself, and moved a 34g saltwater tank. I would look at the place your moving too first. Then I would move your furniture first leaving your tank plugged in as long as possible and move it last. You never said what size tank it is? But I would but some 5g buckets (like $3 at home depot) and empty your water in there leaving a few inch in the bottom of the tank. Thats how I did mine

[Holyvision]

My bad lol, the tank is a 30 gallon. That's a good idea with the 5g buckets. I wish I could see the room before move-in day but they won't let me cause it hasn't been cleaned yet... at least that's their excuse. I think I have about a 6 hour window to move completely out of one apartment an into another! Yuck!

Will a glass tank be able to support the weight of the substrate as well as water covering it or should I remove substrate as well. I use Flourite so it isn't light.. Somewhere around 2" of bottom-covering.

Thanks again,
--Holy

[MonkeyPox]

If you don't have the equipment, you may want to connect with your lfs. Most do tank moves.

[Kyle]

Its just a 30g if you cant move that, then just have a friend help you. All you really need is a siphon and some buckets which you should have for water changes anyways

[bushwhacker]

small tank just get a rubber maid tub put the fish in it drain and move the tank dont try to save the water thats a waste of time your just puttin dirty water in a clean tank

[DrNic]

The biggest tip is to stay organized and plan out exactly what you're going to do ahead of time so the fish don't get stressed.

When I moved into my current place I had to move 5 tanks. Here's a summary of what I did in order:

Bag up the fish
Pack up the equipment
Save ~%50 of the water in buckets
Bag up the plants
Move the tanks, fish and equipment
Setup the tank and equipment
Add saved water and fill from tap
Add plants
Drip acclimate fish

[Holyvision]

Thanks a lot for all the useful tips, I already feel a bit less stressed about the move! :22:

--Holy

[korith]

Remember to keep the filter media wet too!

[rangur1]

i moved several 55 gal tanks over the years solo. i would first go to apt you are moving into. pick location [there really can't be more than 3 possible locations, given your furniture req'ts, right?]

pack 4 buckets 1 fish,2 plants,3&4 gravel/filter media. drain rest of tank
move tank and stand. setup tank fill halfway treat water, add gravel,plants,old water in buckets fill rest of way ,add filter,prime it,add fish.
test water then and next couple days in a row to be on safe side. good luck

[Jaster]

I just moved 2 10 gallons yesterday. I placed the fish and filter media in a rubbermaid container of tank water, filled a 5 gallon bucket with tank water and drained the rest. I didn't bother removing substrate or anything. Once I got the tanks where they needed to be I filled the tanks with the tank water and the water from the rubbermaid container and refilled from the tap for the rest just like I would have for a water change.
Also I kep the lid on the containers and tried to make things as dark as I could. Even after I got everything set back up I left the lights out for the day. The fish didn't like the move too much and were a bit stressed for a while. By last night they seemed to have relaxed and are back to normal this morning.

Good luck with your move!

[Holyvision]

Forgive this late bump, I appreciate all input thus far! I just wanted to follow up on the plants, the move is next Saturday!

Will uprooting these plants shock them at all? Would you recommend any more-than-usual trimming or etc to promote re-stimulation when replanting? They have been planted well over a year and have visible root systems all along the edges of the glass where they have grown outward -- at this time I was planning to take a bucket with pre-cycled-used water from the tank and float the plants in until the tank is ready again, but others probably have more experience in this than I, so I wanted to make sure my plan was a-ok. It's better to ask then be wrong, no?

At this time the plan is as follows, I will keep about 50% of the tank water via 5gallon buckets, and replace the other half after the move as a large water change. Fish will be in one bucket with a battery-operated airator and some calming water treatment (aloe or etc), plants floating in another, and filter media in the last. I will keep just enough water in the aquarium to sufficiently cover the substrate during the move to prevent biological die-off, and will use a bio-grow enhancer to replace any loss after the move.

So to sum up the massacre of a quick question:

- Will uprooting long-time-rooted plants cause a large amount of shock?
- Will a glass aquarium be able to be carried with substrate and about 1" of water still in it without the bottom falling out? I would prefer not to move the gravel too much as it's Flourite, and I don't want it to cloud up the water and kill the fish when I re-setup.

After this, all I need to to is pack up the non-aquatic goods and I'm ready to go! Thanks for your input and patience!

[bushwhacker]

your plants should be fine, and i'll say this again saving the tank water is a waste of time. 2 people should be able to carry a 30 gallon tank with just enough water to cover the substrate... for that matter your plants can stay in the tank, as long as you get it filled as soon as you get it moved