House Moving!

[freerunner416]

Right firstly any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

I am moving house at the beginning of march (cold weather!!). The house i am moving into is only about a 15-20minute drive up the road. I have 2 20Gallon tanks that i will be having to move!!

How I do this I don't know!!

My first idea is that I empty it on the morning put the fish into boxes that have a lid and mainly the tank water but with some added hot water (not boiling obviously) to help maintain the water temp. Take them and the tanks up to the house. Get the tank half filled with fresh water and get the heater in for a short while to warm the water slightly. Then add the water in the tub into the tank to get the fish in.

I know this isnt perfect so is there any other way that i can do this to stress the fish less?? The media in the filter will all still be there so the tank won't need to be cycled will it???

Any help would be great and any suggestions on good places for water proof containers would be great too!!

Cheers

 

[Erised]

There's a topic in the TFF FAQs about moving house, it can be found here:
So you are moving house, how to move your fish and tanks safely

It will be worth reading through that, it should answer all the questions you have. The only question that won't be answered is where to find water proof containers, and afraid I don't have an answer for that either. Someone else *should* come along soon enough to help you out with that though =)

 

[freerunner416]

Thats great thank you Erised!!

Does anybody have any thoughts on bags versus a box? I feel a box keep more of the tank water so will keep it warmer longer. Is that right??

 

[Glod]

It's probably best to bag the fish up individually (if large) or in small groups. Put the bags of fish into a container and fill any spaces with bags or water. You can buy heat packs for about £1 which last all day from a walking shop (pocket warmers). Get one (or more if the box is big) and tape it to the lid of the box before you close it up. To be honest tho unless the weather is particularly bad the temperature shouldn't be a major problem.

Try pound shops and such for large plastic storage containers, they would be ideal and you can pick a size to suit. When you get to the other end, set up the tanks and get them running asap. Then float the bags to equalise etc as you normally would.

Remember to keep your filter media bagged in tank water so the bacteria die off is minimised. A small battery powered air pump could be used to keep the water circulating the media and minimise the die off.

 

[bmcelfresh]

We had to move three tanks a few years ago. We filled coolers with their tank water and got on the road. Once at the new place we set up the tanks and let them sit for several hours using only 1/2 new water and the water the fish were transported in. If the fish are going to sit more than a couple of hours we put an airstone hooked up to the air pump in the cooler. We never lost a fish except for a jumping giant danio, which was missed and found days later

 

[freerunner416]

Thanks for the info bmcelfresh and Glod . I'm still not sure about the bagging situation. i Just feel that will take forever and atleast if i decided to leave them in the box i can drip airstones in (i have two air pumps and air curtains). The bags will make this a little harder.

I will definately look in to get heat packs just to be on the safe side. Just ordered!!! Night shift and the internet are a brilliant thing!!

I will trawl the £1 shoppies to find some goodies!!! I will speak to my LFS to see about a poly box and bags. Just think the plastic boxes would be easier!! Wouldnt just ram the fish in. Would maybe get four boxes and split the two tanks. Anyway i only see the fish being out of the tank for 2hours max!!! Any longer and i will be stopping doing everything else until they are back in there homes!!!

Don't even know where i am putting the tanks yet!!

PS good tip about the filter media!!

 

[moeldner]

My suggestion is would be to do the tanks last. When we moved, i moved everything else first, and the tank went i the last load with the last of the small stuff.

It meant we had the rest of the furniture where we wanted it before moving the tank in - it also meant I could strip it down, move it and set it up again without the distractions of the other furntiure having to be moved around it.

We bagged the fish, they were in there for no more than 1.5-2 hours, and had no losses. (though this was in Autumn weather in aus - around 15-18 degrees C outside.

 

[freerunner416]

COOL!! Good idea.

Its minus 1 here today! hopefully it will be slightly warmer in march.

I think i am just going to put the tanks up in the dining/kitchen so they are out of harms way!! some of the people helping have been known to be clumsy!! Then i will move the tanks over the next few days when everything else is set in place. Really dont have a clue where we are putting the tanks yet!! One will be the living room but the other is still up for grabs!!

The sooner they invent teleporting or rmote controls that can make things really really light or make them hover the better!!!!

 

[highfire]

This all sounds like extremely hard and stressful work.
I wish you well with your move, freerunner416.
Please report back and let us know how it went. Good luck!

 

[freerunner416]

Thanks Highfire!!!

Hopefully we wont lose any fish or stress them too much!! i have a month to plan it and am going to go and speak to pet shop and see what they say!! I just want the fish at the new house quickly and safely so that i can mess about with them later!!

The wife is already stressed to the max!! It can only get worse!1

any more suggestions are welcome

 

[Bloo]

I just moved house a week ago. 10 minute drive away. Stuck all my fish from my 100 gallon tank in a 20 gallon container for 8 hours. None of the fish were larger than 5" though. Plonked in a heater to keep them warm at least while I moved and re-set the tank. Plugged fliters back in. Popped fish back in and Bob's your uncle All fish healthy and happy and water stats rock solid.

Edit: yes, tank was the last thing to be loaded.

 

[freerunner416]

That is a gorgous cat!!! i have two (pins and needles)!!

that is a positive moving story which i am glad about!! I guess you would suggest the tubs instead of boxes then bloo? I hope my wife bought one that she has seen today but i have a feeling she forgot!!

Thanks for the story gives me a little more confidence!!

 

[beesnees]

when i moved house my fish were the last thing moved and the first thing un-packed, i baged my fish up then put them all in a polestyrene box (my have spelt wront but who cares lol) not the best speller doh!!, this worked very well for me didn't loose a single fish

 

[CFC]

I wrote the pinned moving topic just after moving my 18 tanks and over 100 fish (some of which are 2 feet long) about a year ago.

Our move was a complete success with no losses, though we did manage to put a hairline crack in the base of a 200 gallon tank some how. Bagging fish is much safer than just dumping them in a container, they tend to get thrown about a bit during transit when moved in containers which stresses them out a lot, bag them and then place the bags into polyboxes, thats the way they get brought into the country and is by far the best way for fish to travel.

 

[Bloo]

That is a gorgous cat!!! i have two (pins and needles)!!

that is a positive moving story which i am glad about!! I guess you would suggest the tubs instead of boxes then bloo? I hope my wife bought one that she has seen today but i have a feeling she forgot!!

Thanks for the story gives me a little more confidence!!

Thanks (though the poor boy is in kitty heaven now )

All the best with your move. It really shouldn't be as stressful as you imagine. Yes, bags & polystyrene boxes are definitely the way to go - but I was uncertain that I could maintain the heat they needed over the period of time I knew it would take 9because I didn't have the polyboxes) - and also just had absolutely no time for that.
Just bring the water level down as much as possible before trying to catch the fish (and remove all decor) - much easier that way