Moving House Tips

[Mr Melt]

Allright lads; haven't posted on this forum in quite some time now!

Well as a student its time for me to move out of my current house and into a new one. Problem is that I happen to have a Juwel Rio 180 tank and an Interpet 50L tank in my room.

I'm not sure how I should proceed by moving the fish/tanks without either breaking the tank or killing the fish, so does anyone have any tips or ideas?

PS - I cannot afford a moving company; they're charging £240 on average (and I'm not that well off).

PPS - I've also got 2 styrofoam boxes (courtesy of a LFS) which I think I'll use to transport the fish to their new homes =)

 

[phishyphil]

Any chance you could drain your tanks off (keeping some of the water) and place the fish in the styrofoam box with a heater, filter ect, then transport your tank to the new place, set it up, get it running and then when the temperatures are fine, swing back around to your old house and pick up the kids and drop them back off at the pool

Obviousl this can only be done if you have access to both houses and your making multiple trips. failing this, you will need to place the fish into the syrofoam boxes with heat packs to keep the fish at the right temperatures, set up the new tank and your new place and add the fish.

Either way mate, it's going to be a ball ache

Good luck

 

[pablothebetta]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

 

[phishyphil]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

Okay for the 50 litre, try that for the 180

 

[pablothebetta]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

Good point, the 180 might be a tight fit in the back of the car though

 

[phishyphil]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

Good point, the 180 might be a tight fit in the back of the car though

Transit van lol

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

Good point, the 180 might be a tight fit in the back of the car though

Where-ever the 180l fits into.... (it has to be moved).... do the same..... (btw..... Melt... I do remember you .... welcome back and hope you stay)

 

[Mr Melt]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

Good point, the 180 might be a tight fit in the back of the car though

Where-ever the 180l fits into.... (it has to be moved).... do the same..... (btw..... Melt... I do remember you .... welcome back and hope you stay)

Thanks for the feedback lads.

One problem; this requires bringing the big tank downstairs (past a narrow staircase that only 2 men could probably carry).

I was considering using a single mattress and "sliding" it down the stairs; if someone grabs the front of the mattress and guides it down it should bring the tank safely to the bottom. Would that work?

 

[phishyphil]

Could you put the fish into those boxes with the media (to keep it 'fed'), drain the tanks and then move them?

Nah!!.... 50l tank.... drain the water to about 4"depth..... remove the rocks and ornaments..... put the tank on the back seat of your car (fish & all) and drive off to the new destination.... put the tank where you would like to have it(replace rocks & ornaments) and refill.....

I will guarantee.... no losses....

Good point, the 180 might be a tight fit in the back of the car though

Where-ever the 180l fits into.... (it has to be moved).... do the same..... (btw..... Melt... I do remember you .... welcome back and hope you stay)

Thanks for the feedback lads.

One problem; this requires bringing the big tank downstairs (past a narrow staircase that only 2 men could probably carry).

I was considering using a single mattress and "sliding" it down the stairs; if someone grabs the front of the mattress and guides it down it should bring the tank safely to the bottom. Would that work?

erm, wouldn't recomend the mattress mate. If it was to get caught and fold over, then your asking for travel and the tank could slip. Whay not get 2 x strips of wood that cover around 3-4 steps, one at either side of the bottom of the tank, and slide it down that way? More stable and you could secure the tank to the wood with harness or securely tied rope

can be used as handles then when you get to the bottom mate

 

[Mr Melt]

Tomorrows the moving day; by God I am dreading this ¬_¬

My plan (based upon advice from yourselves and others) is to drain the 50 litre to a certain depth (about 4-5 inches) and just transport it like that.

Regarding the big one; the plan is to bag the fish in big bags (therefore preserving lots of the tank water) and put them in a styrofoam heatsaving box. Then when that is completed I will bag the plants/sand/ornaments etc and drain the water to about 3 inches, then transport it like that. Give it about about 2 hours to fix the temperature up then just add the fish again.

Is that a feasible enough plan?

 

[Tolak]

Empty the larger tank completely, water, substrate, everything. If you don't people such as me pick up tanks like that on the cheap after they start to leak, crack a support frame, or otherwise become a nuisance. You can probably get away with doing it on the smaller one, I take 10 gallon tanks half full of water & dump them into a bucket at swap meets all the time, but they are nearly disposable when I can pick them up used for $2.

The 180 would cost considerably more to replace, and will weigh a lot more than you think with the substrate & a bit of water. Tanks are designed to be stable in a static position, from what I've found the larger the tank the more flex when being moved other than empty.

 

[psp83]

Regarding the big one; the plan is to bag the fish in big bags (therefore preserving lots of the tank water) and put them in a styrofoam heatsaving box. Then when that is completed I will bag the plants/sand/ornaments etc and drain the water to about 3 inches, then transport it like that. Give it about about 2 hours to fix the temperature up then just add the fish again.

Have you got a storage container?

Put some tank water in it, put the fish in & a heater.

Empty the tank, put the gravel/sand etc in bags or buckets, put the tank & fish (storage container) in the car/van.

Plug the heater back in when at your new house and setup the tank.

 

[Mr Melt]

Rightyo - so drain the tank completely then move it.

Question; how do people here completely drain their tanks? Is it not a complete chore, constantly scooping up water with a glass or whatever?

 

[psp83]

Rightyo - so drain the tank completely then move it.

Question; how do people here completely drain their tanks? Is it not a complete chore, constantly scooping up water with a glass or whatever?

I put a hose in the tank, place a stone on it and put the other end out the window.

Once its down to the gravel, take the gravel out and then use the VAX/Carpet cleaner to get the left over water out.

Or use absorbent cloth, something like this :

I've used the above cloth before and it works great.