Moving The Aquarium - Advice Needed

[FlyingFish78]

Being new to the art of fishkeeping I placed my new aquarium in a sub-optimum position and have since filled it with ornaments, plants, fish and water.
 
Basically I placed it too near to the wall on the right hand side and the rear of the tank. There's a number of disadvantages to this, not least because if a fish jumps out to the right of the tank, the gap is too small to rescue the fish manually. Not only that but it makes it difficult to access the rear of the tank should I need to change the background or access the wall plug in a hurry.
 
What I want to do is move the tank slightly to the left and forward so that there's a larger gap to the right of the tank and the rear.
 
Firstly I'd like to ask how big the gap should be?
 
Secondly, I'd like comments or advice about the plan I have for moving it. The plan is as follows:
 
1. Drain about 16 litres of water into a large bucket and place the fish in there. Place a small plant in the bucket to keep the fish entertained whilst the move takes place.
 
2. Drain off the rest of the water and dispose of it. I have nowhere to store the water so it'll have to go.
 
3. Remove all plants and decor, leaving only the gravel.
 
4. Move both tank and cabinet to desired position. Yes it will be heavy but it's a Fluval 240 litre with a canister filter and the pipes are now connected from the tank to the cabinet. Do this carefully, perhaps by shuffling the cabinet along the carpet.
 
5. Replace decor and plants.
 
6. Fill tank with dechlorinated water; leaving about 16 litres spare.
 
7. Carefully net the fish back into the aquarium and pour bucket of aquarium water back into tank.
 
Can any problems be foreseen with the plan? If so, please let me know as I intend to do this later today with the help of my missus.
 
Many thanks,
 
FlyingFish78

 

[ReddSamurai]

sounds like a good plan to me the only issue i see is acclimatising the fish to the new water in the tank but i may see that as an issue because its different to how id introduce fish to a tank.

 

[FlyingFish78]

sounds like a good plan to me the only issue i see is acclimatising the fish to the new water in the tank but i may see that as an issue because its different to how id introduce fish to a tank.

 
Maybe I should pour some of the new water into the fish bucket and leave it for 10 minutes before putting the fish into the tank?

 

[RSVBiffer]

Personally I would drip or slowly add the new water from the tank to the bucket to acclimate the fish. I also wouldn't try and lift the tank with the gravel still in.

 

[FlyingFish78]

Personally I would drip or slowly add the new water from the tank to the bucket to acclimate the fish. I also wouldn't try and lift the tank with the gravel still in.

 
I've completed the move; with the gravel in. It was almost to heavy to move but two of us managed to edge it across the floor.
 
I didn't drip the water into the fish bucket by I drained 1/2 of it off and 1/2 filled it with the new tank water and left it like that for ten minutes before pouring the bucket into the tank. The fish are doing absolutely fine. You could tell they were spooked by the process though because the Golden Barbs lost their colour and turned pink! They soon regained the original colour though and now all the fish seem happy.
 
Annoyingly, though, I found a small snail when I was draining the water off

 
The only thing I forgot was to place some small pieces of cardboard under the front of the cabinet because it's not completely level; only slightly though. I may attempt to resolve this at some stage by using a car jack to lift the cabinet off the floor enough so I can slide the cardboard strips underneath.
 
Anyway, job done

 
The entire aquarium is 6 inches away from the wall on the rear and to the right. Should a fish ever jump out it'll be easily retrieved.