Moving A Tank

Marto666 · Apr 8, 2011

Moving a tank

I have purchased a second hand 250L tank and need some advice for moving it.

Currently it is being used and is ticking along nicely with 25+ fish. If I could move it like this everything would be fine, however it is obviously not possible.

I should be able to get hold of enough water containers to transport the water in order to eliminate the need for cycling – is it possible to do this or is cycling necessary?

Should I just start from scratch with the cycling?

How long can the fish be kept in a bucket for before it gets life threatening? The transfer is literately a 10 min journey, I would imagine they would be out of the tank no longer than an hour at the absolute maximum.

Are there any other issues I should be wary of?

Thanks

Tizer · Apr 8, 2011

Drain half the water off, scoop out the fish, best to put them into a bag, go to your local fish shop and ask for a few. Alternatively get a Polystyrene Box from them (the kind they get fish delivered in) and put all the fish in that if they are too big to bag up. (dont fill it up, a couple of inches in the bottom is enough)

Drain the rest of the water off, dont bother keeping any, whos to say its any good?

Scoop out the gravel/sand, lifting the tank will be a lot easier and you may decide you want a different substrate anyway.

Load up, get it home, clean it with tap water only then fill it up with tap water with warm water mixed in then DECHLORINATE IT, wait 10 mins then put the filter in and set it going.

Check the temperature, if you did well and got it to 24/25 degrees, put the fish in it. Cover it with a towel for the rest of the day, keep the fish in the dark, it will help alleviate stress.

Sit back, relax, then think about what you want to do next. Take it slow, dont rush anything.

Good luck

tenohfive · Apr 8, 2011

Don't worry about keeping the water, the nitrifying bacteria lives in the filter media - not the water. Just keep the filter media damp. The only issue with refilling from scratch at the other end is a) making sure you use dechlor and b) getting the water up to temp. The fish will be fine in buckets for a few hours but obviously the less time spent in there the better.

Marto666 · Apr 8, 2011

Thanks Tizer and tenohfive

I was under the impression that keeping the water would have helped but am pleasantly surprised that it’s not required.

What products are dechorinators? How much do you think is required for a 250L tank?

With regards to substrate, are there any advantages for having either sand or gravel? Or is it just purely for cosmetic purposes? (Currently sand in the tank).

Thanks again, you have both made this daunting prospect sound a bit easier!

Tizer · Apr 8, 2011

Pop into your local fish shop, they all sell dechlorinators, you need to do this else the chlorine in the tap water will kill the filter bacteria and you really will have to cycle the tank, with fish, which is a lot of work. They will probably try to sell you all sorts of crap, just say you need dechlorinator only, nothing more, nothing like Cycle (bottled bacteria) which is mostly pointless. You can buy 500ml bottles of dechlorinator and that will treat your tank 20 times over, so not much is needed. But remember your weekly water changes will require a little, so worth getting a big bottle.

I prefer a sand substrate, you can get play sand from Argos which looks quite nice. It does need a lot of cleaning though, so lots of action with a bucket and garden hose! Clean it till it runs clear, the more time you spend cleaning it, the quicker the cloudy water will disappear when you add it to the tank.

You could use the existing sand, it would have probably been cleaned once already, but i'd still be tempted to do it again so its nice and fresh.

You will find a lot of fish prefer sand to gravel, especially those who like to dig around for food. its also easier to clean in my opinion as all the waste stays on the surface. well, most of it.

When you put it in the tank, turn off the filter while you do it, leave it for 15 mins to settle then turn it on again. No need to remove the fish either, not worth the stress of catching them.

Marto666 · Apr 8, 2011

I like the look of the sand and I did notice that the current fish in the tank were scratching around in it. How do you actually clean the sand once its all set up? I thought it would be more difficult to do than gravel. Do you keep it in the tank while doing?

I didn’t realise you could use play sand from Argos, I will be sure to have some on hand ready.

So initially I should have the tank empty when I get it back, then add the water (declorinating it), then the fish and then the subtrate?

Should the tank always be kept at 24/25 degrees?

Thanks Tizer

BigbruiserAl · Apr 8, 2011

Just grab a bottle of seacham prime, it does somthing like 2000l per bottle, You will need each water change

Tizer · Apr 8, 2011

Ideally you would add the substrate before the fish, but to be honest it wouldnt really matter a huge amount. See how it all goes, just remember you will have cloudy water for a few hours until it settles. Washing the old and/or new sand can take anything up to an hour or more, it really is dirty when you buy it.

24/25 is an ideal "safe" temperature but you need to do your research on the fish you have and find out the best average temperature to use. Ask the current owner what he has it set to, easiest way to find out really.

Marto666 · Apr 8, 2011

Cheers Tizer

Think I’m all set for the big move. I did read somewhere else that you should try to keep as much tank water was as possible but I have full faith in your method and am confident it will go well.

Thanks very much taking the time to help me out, its very much appreciated.