Moving One Tank/planning Another

[Rlon35]

I'd appreciate any advice you guys and gals have for me.

First off, I am planning on moving relatively soon, about 30 miles from where I presently live. I have a 55 gallon planted aquarium with driftwood and rocks. Simply put, how the heck do I do this? I was thinking of donating the tank to a home/charity, but if the task isn't too daunting, I'd love to keep it. This tank has been running for about 6 years, and it is near perfect now, with the exception of my herbivorous fish/plant problem. Does any know the steps (or can someone direct me to a link) I would need to follow in order to make sure the tank, plants, and fish make it to the new destination unharmed?

Now, the more exciting, less daunting questions . I am planning on setting up a 150 gallon planted tank with an open top and quality lighting that hangs from the ceiling. I am interested in keeping the following species: Discus, Cardinals, Panda Corys, Zebra Plecos, Keyhol Cichlid, Festivum (?), Pearl Gouramis, Blue Rams, etc. Can all of these fish handle WARMER slightly acidic/soft water (peat filtration)? also, are any of them jumpers? As to the plant question, I want warm water plants and know I can keep Anubias, Swords, etc., but I also want plats that are going to grow partially out of the tank, under the lights. Which plants will thrive and grow to the top and beyond this tank?

I'll likely have to invest in an RO system, powerful filtration, a CO2 system etc.

 

[Colin_T]

It’s easy to move fish and a tank. Get some 45litre plastic rubbish bins and half fill them with tank water. Put the fish in the buckets with an airstone bubbling away. Try to keep at least half of the tank water. Drain the tank completely and remove the gravel to another bucket. Put the plants in a separate bucket or plastic bag. Seal the bag up and keep it out of the sun to prevent the plants cooking.

Once the tank is empty put it all in the car and take it to the new place. Put a thick blanket or some foam under the tank while it is in the car.
If you get a “Power Inverter” available from electronic or automotive stores, then you can run a normal airpump or powerfilter from your cars cigarette lighter. This will allow you to keep the bucket with fish well aerated. Alternatively use a battery powered air pump to aerate the water.

When you get to the new place set the tank up and refill it with the old tank water from the buckets. Add some new dechlorinated water to top it up. Run the tap at the new place for a couple of minutes to flush out any residue from the pipework before collecting water for the tank. If the taps haven’t been turned on for a while you often get a build up of copper from the pipes. Then if you add this copper contaminated water to the tank the fish can die. Running the tap for a few minutes will flush out any copper and provide you with cleaner safer water.

Do a couple of gravel cleans during the week leading up to moving the tank. Clean gravel is much nicer to work with.
Clean the filter about a week before the move. A clean filter will have less rotting material in it and the bacteria will have more room and oxygen. If you can keep the filter materials in a bucket of tank water during the move they should be fine.
Don’t feed the fish on the night before the move or on the day when you move. If the fish have empty stomachs the water will stay cleaner while they are travelling.

Once you have set up the tank at the new place don’t feed the fish for at least a day. Then only feed them a little bit each day for the next few weeks. The less food going into the tank the less likelyhood of water quality issues. Monitor the water quality during this time and do a water change to dilute any ammonia or nitrite readings that might occur.

Move the house furniture first and do the tanks last. Try to allow a full day for the process. Small tanks take about an hour to take down and another hour to set back up. Bigger tanks take longer.
If all goes well the fish should be fine and you should not lose any.

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Corydoras aren't too keen on really high temperatures, 28C being about maximum before they lose their barbels. None of those fish are renowned jumpers, however if they get spooked or panic they can all jump.

Most people who have tanks with plants growing out the top usually have the plants in baskets hanging from the top edge of the tank. The plants are kept in pots with their roots in the water and the leaves above it. Some Echinodoras sp will grow to 3 or 4 feet tall as will Papyrus and umbrella grass but the last two need shallow water for their roots and don't tolerate being under several feet of water.