Moving Brackish Tank And Looking For Advice........

[mattlee]

i am getting a big brackish set up in 2 weeks that is already running and very mature. what i want to know is how you guys would go about setting the tank up at my house.
im on a time limit as i will have a fully mature filter and 6 big fish coming with me(2x fully grown archer fish and 4x big colombian cat sharks). i can bring back some of the water from the tank, possibly about 200 ltrs, but i am going to use new water to fill the rest. the tank is a 6.5x2x2 so there will be an extra 550 ltrs ish to make up the journey from the tanks current place to mine is about 30 minutes max.
my plan is to put the fish in poly boxes to transport them and keep the filter full of water during the move. i am going to get a 220L water butt to bring back some of the water thats in the tank at the minute. what i thought was to get the tank in position at my house then put the water from the 220L butt in the tank, im hoping that this will be enough to give the fish room to swim even if its not very deep at the time. at this point i will re connect the filter and get it up and running and all being well the bacteria will be ok. i will then have to use the 220L water butt to make new water of equal salinty of that in the tank already, which is at 16. im not going to have long to make up the new water so whats my best way to do this? could i make up enough to keep the fish and filter happy then leave some over night and add the next day to top it up?
does this plan sound ok yo you guys? if ive missed anything out then please tell me or if i need to do things differently again let me know as i want to get it right and keep the fish and filter in good health.

 

[nmonks]

Here's my advice: don't panic. None of these fish is particularly delicate. Take your time. So long as the fish are sensibly divided out among a bunch of boxes, coolers, 5-gallon buckets or whatever, you've got oceans of time. Likewise, so long as the filter media is taken out of the canisters or any air-tight containers and placed inside a bucket just-covered with water so that it can get some air, the bacteria will be fine.

Once you're home, take your time setting up the tank, putting the media in the filter, and then acclimating the fish to the new tank.

There's no need to carry water from the old tank to the new tank beyond what's necessary for transporting the fish. Just make sure the salinity of the new tank is close to that of the old one so the bacteria aren't shocked.

Cheers, Neale

 

[mattlee]

thanks neale. will it be ok to fill the tank and then add salt to mix it in the tank or should i do it in the water butt and add to the tank, or doesnt it matter?

 

[nmonks]

It's usually best to stir the salt into the water about 20 minutes before you plan to use it because it takes at least that long to fully dissolve. But brackish water fish aren't that fussed, and provided you leave the filter running for 30 minutes or so, that should stir in any salt you add directly to the tank. So if you want to do it that way, go ahead. Once the specific gravity is close to where you want it, and there aren't any obvious grains of salt lying on the sand, you can add the fish.

By their nature, brackish water fish tolerate changes. Don't worry about them too much.

Cheers, Neale

thanks neale. will it be ok to fill the tank and then add salt to mix it in the tank or should i do it in the water butt and add to the tank, or doesnt it matter?

 

[mattlee]

thanks again Neale

 

[nmonks]

No problems. Look forward to seeing a photo of these fish when they've been moved!

Cheers, Neale

thanks again Neale

 

[mattlee]

No problems. Look forward to seeing a photo of these fish when they've been moved!

Cheers, Neale

thanks again Neale

they have been seen on this forum before and i think you may have had some involvement with guidance towards it and helping the current owners

ill post plenty of pics when its all set up, hopefully all being well it is going to happen on the weekend 4th/5th september