Moving home with a big tank

[bogusmove]

Can anyone advise how on earth one goes about moving an 80G tank? I'm moving from one side of London to the other, and it is looming like mission impossible! I have not too many fish, if you discount the immature swordtails i'm trying to give away but even the journey is about an hour and I wonder if they would survive in a bag that long let alone the time it might take additionally to implement whatever plan I come up with.

*Panic!*

Anyone got any experiences to share?

Thanks!

 

[cjmartin_72]

what I did when I moved my 55gal was put my fish in a 10 gal bucket with a lid and holes, I used the water they were already in so as not to stress them in getting used to new water. When I moved the tank (covered in blankets and pillows so as not to break it) and refilled it, I waited 24 hours to put the fish in so that the water would have time to settle to the temp of the room.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

Go the the store and buy one of those Styrofoam coolers, and store your fish in a garbage bag inside of the cooler on the way there. The bag will be dark and will calm the fish down, and the cooler will help the water retain it's heat. fill the bag only 1/4 to 1/2 full with water from your tank, and leave plenty of air in the top of the bag.
Make sure to also have a separate bag with your aquarium water in it. Keep your filter pads in it until you are ready to set up the tank again. If possible, it would be very good to have an aerator in the fish bag and the filter bag.
As for moving the tank, I would think you would need to have some friend come over and help you carry it to the car. I imagine an 80 gallon glass tank would weigh a lot even empty, and be imposable to hold up alone.

 

[bogusmove]

Moving fish

Thanks all.

put my fish in a 10 gal bucket

There is such a thing as a 10g bucket! Goodness! Not one you carry around by a handle obviously.. i'll have to investigate that...

Styrofoam coolers

Styrofoam coolers. Right. Not seen them but I'll shop and see what I can see! Are there guidelines about transport water volume per inch of fish, transport time and stuff?

Make sure to also have a separate bag with your aquarium water in it. Keep your filter pads in it

Of course i'll be lucky if I can take 1/4 of the water with me.... I can take the pump with me with water in it... how long do you think will the bacteria survive? I might be several hours at least before I could connect it up again.

you would need to have some friend come over and help you carry it to the car

Ahh thats the one thing im not panicing about, I have back problems and stuff, so i'll have a removal company come and move the tank for me, theres just no way I can even consider doing that myself... I think it must weigh about 100Kg+ without water. I cant see them helping much with the fish though!

Thanks!!!

 

[rvm]

Dunno about much else, but when I bought my Eartheater, the LFS were worried about his dorsal fin breaking the bag, so they put him in one of the boxes that they get fish delivered in. Basically a cardboard box with a polystyrene inner. I would suggest going to your LFS and asking for a couple of these. They will be a massive help in transpoting the fish.
Also, I'm sure CFC will tell you the full story, but I read a post he made about transpoting filter media a while ago, and he said something along the lines of putting it in a bag of tank water and add a dab of ammonia as something for the bacteria to feed on as there won't be any added naturally from the fish. That way when you get the tank to the other end, the beneficial bacteria shouldn't have died off and save you from having to cycle your tank over again!!

 

[gadazobe]

If you're on really good terms with your lfs, they might keep your fish until you've moved the tank and set it up again. My lfs offers a service like this to their regular customers and I've used it when setting up a new tank.

 

[bbq1234]

How do you breed sword tails... how do you sex them???
im looking into breeding some fish.. i have 4 danios but nothing happens

 

[bogusmove]

Thanks for your help all.

How do you breed sword tails

Put a male and female in a tank in my experience!!! There are some other forums devoted to fish breeding though, try the Fish Breeding Advice forum.

 

[JenniferWarms]

Moving fish

Thanks all.



There is such a thing as a 10g bucket! Goodness! Not one you carry around by a handle obviously.. i'll have to investigate that...



Styrofoam coolers. Right. Not seen them but I'll shop and see what I can see! Are there guidelines about transport water volume per inch of fish, transport time and stuff?



Of course i'll be lucky if I can take 1/4 of the water with me.... I can take the pump with me with water in it... how long do you think will the bacteria survive? I might be several hours at least before I could connect it up again.



Ahh thats the one thing im not panicing about, I have back problems and stuff, so i'll have a removal company come and move the tank for me, theres just no way I can even consider doing that myself... I think it must weigh about 100Kg+ without water. I cant see them helping much with the fish though!

Thanks!!!

If you're considering moving interstate in Australia, it's important to use an experienced mover. The process of moving home is stressful enough without having to worry about the safety of your possessions. A professional mover will have the expertise and resources to ensure that your move goes smoothly.

 

[AbbeysDad]

How to Move with an Aquarium