Moving A Fish Tank

[camshaft]

i am about to move about 20 miles. i have a 55g. i have no clue how to proceed with this. any help would be appreciated.

thanks!

 

[Torrean]

first do a very thorough gravel vac. Then take out all of your gravel and get several containers with lids. Try to put gravel from the bottom on the bottom of the bucket and gravel from the top on top of it, since this is where most of the bacteria live and you want to keep this gravel on top in your tank once it's set up again. Make sure the gravel is completely submerged in water. Then Put your fish in species bags, unless they are larger than say 3 inches or you have more than 3 of a species. If you do then divide them into individual bags or three to a bag respectively. If you have pleco or catfish you might want to consider a small cooler because some have spines that can pop bags. Put the bags in bags or boxes that are not clear to reduce stress. Oh 1/3 water to 2/3 air is the best ratio for each bag, and make sure to use water from the tank. You want to save as much water as you can to reduce PH stress, and other differences in water. Next turn off your filter remove the cartridges and submerge them in a container full of water. Then drain your tank completely. Get one or two people to help you move it to the vehicle it will be transported in. Transport everything in one trip if possible so you can set up more quickly. Put the gravel back in the tank and refill it. Acclimate the fish normally once the temp reaches the temp the tank was at before you drained it. You can speed this by adding hot or cold water and using a digital thermometor after about 15-20 minutes of the filter running. This is the most important part. You need to have the temp right or your fish will not be happy. Any way acclimate the fish and put them in the tank water and all. Then your done.

See what other people say because I'm sure I left out a very important step or two.

 

[fishing4exotics]

Hey camshaft, how goes it. You got a Local Fish Store ( LFS ) around? If you do can you manage to get some fish bags and styrofoam boxes? don't feed your fish for 3 days. So, they don't produce waste while you are transporting them. You can double bag your fish and keep them in the bag for a while. As mentioned already, keep 2/3 of the bag air and the rest water. If you can't get a hold of fish bags you might want to transport your fish in a cooler. Buy one of those pumps to keep live bait at the bait shop. Or one of those battery operated air pumps from your ( LFS ) or online. I would net out as much of the gravel as possible and put them in the styrofoam box, buckets, or cooler. Store the filter media in something wet. A bucket, cooler, or plastic bag.

Fish properly bagged without oxygen pumped in the bag will only last a while. Depending on how many fish and size of fish per bag. Check on the bags frequently. If you got your fish in a cooler with air pump they will do better. Put the gravel in the tank 1st. When you fill up your tank use a water conditioner. I use "Prime" by seachem. A capful is all you need for your tank. Install your filtration. Float your fish bags in the tank for about 15 minutes to match temp in the tank. Like you would if you bought them from the LFS. If the fish were in the cooler just add some aquarium water into the cooler till you get about 1/2 aquarium water and 1/2 old water in the cooler. Then toss the fish in the tank. The water with your fish may contain ammonia. I would toss it out and not put it in your tank.

 

[camshaft]

great thanks for the replies. i did a google search and found a few articles that said basically the same things you guys said. we'll see how it goes!

like i said its a very short move, only a 15 minute drive or so.