Moving House

[TESS]

I am moving house soon and i have 180 litre and 40 litre tanks.
I am so worried about my fish dying in bags while they wait for their tank, and i am worried that when i empty the tanks that the gravel will break throught the bottom when i lift them.
Does any body know of any specalist aquarists who do house removal services, as this would be a huge weight of my mind.
Thankyou

 

[Tolak]

Check some smaller privatley owned lfs, they may provide this service. Moving a tank & setting it back up isn't that hard, just tedious. Fish do fine in bags for many hours, I've bought & sold fish that have been bagged for 12+ hours at auctions, no problem, as long as it's done correctly.

Do you plan on doing it yourself if you can't find someone to do it for you?

Tolak

 

[Lateral Line]

Most tanks should be supported around the edge, not on the bottom, it is most unlikely that your tank will come apart simply by virtue of the weight of the gravel, when they are used to holding the weight of the water as well. Hold the tank firmly at the corners, do not try to hold the base.

Do not feed your fish for a few days before you bag them. If they have not been fed, they will not be producing toxic waste in the bag, the water will stay liveable for a lot longer, (days actually). Use large bags, with enough water for the fish to comfortably be covered, but with the majority of the bag filled with air - it is lack of O2 that kills, not lack of space to swim. Tape the corners of the bags over so there are no small corners for fish to get trapped in.

Bag as late as possible. Put the bags in a polystyrene box, (a "fish box", your lfs will have some of these, ask for one or more). Keep the lid on. This will keep the temperature up, and also keep it dark, so the fish are less active and using less O2.

If you are going to be out for more then say 12 hours, open the box in a warm room, open the bags, puff the old air out and fill with new, then re-seal it all up.

Try to take some of the tank water with you. This is particulaly important if the tapwater chemistry at the destination is very different from where you came from, you can start with a shallow filled tank of old water, then add the new water over days to avoid chemical shocks.

After moving, keep the lights out for a few days and avoid doing anything with the tank, quiet and as stress free as possible. Let the fish recover.

On buying trips, I've carried fish around bagged/boxed for days before now without major incident using the techniques I describe here.

If your filters are switched off for a long time, (6+ hours), then you will start to loose some of your bacteria. Start feeding again very lightly and watch your parameters. Adjust your water changes as appropriate.

Good luck.

 

[TESS]

WOOPS sorry pressed the wrong button before .
Thankyou both for your help, it looks like i will be doing this by myself along with my boyfreind.
Many thanks you provided alot of useful info.

 

[GirlinWayside]

good luck with your move

 

[mikelouth]

I agree with lateral line.
I have purchased fish in Nottingham and took them to my home near Inverness a 9 hour journey at very best.
I have also moved from Lincoln to Cardiff, and Cardiff to here with tanks and had no major problems its not a bigger task as you may expect.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[SRC]

I'm not sure how much money you are willing to spend to do this...

But you could try the following...

However many fish you have...according to size..place each in a tupperware container (or anything comparable that actually has a snap on lid (that forms a seal)..that will not come off..those made for shoes that cost $.77 at Walmart WILL NOT work ..the lids come off way to easy. I think Ziplock has some that are quite affordable though..comes in a 4pack and also avliable in several different sizes).

You can then get one of the large storage bins from Walmart (they have some on sale right now, 22 gallon size for $4 if you don't have any free) and stack them inside the storage tub.

I would remove the gravel from the tanks..as it can and will break through the bottom of your tanks when you try to transport them with it in them..I've had it happen...and it SUCKS lol..since #1. it's heavy to begin with and #2.. it's wet.
That too can be placed in one of the storage tubs..with tank water....if you are worried about your beneficial bacteria dying..you can buy a battery operated air pump (or get one of the jacks that has a electrical plug outlet...that plugs into your cars cigarette lighter if you don't want to buy a pump you probably won't ever use again) and run an air line inside it...that should keep the bacteria from dying from lack of oxygen. I would place my filter pads inside this as well.
Also, make sure to keep putting the water you change from teh containers in there..so it has something to live on too.

If you cannot immediantly set your tanks back up..you can also buy airline and a few T connectors and make a system to supply your fish with air. I did this when I had to change out my gravel in my community tank (until the tank was cycled again..since I replaced all my gravel).

A regular size air pump will work on approx. 3 boxes. I had 6 containers so I had to use 2 air pumps (they are the small air pumps..not larger ones though..the cheapies).
I drilled a hole just big enough for the air line to fit in the lid of each container (I would do this after you transport the fish..not before..or the water could splash out).

I also put some of the plants from the tank in each container, to make the fish feel more comfortable and less stressed, so they would atleast be able to associate with something around them and not feel so alienated. Also keeps gives them a place to get away from each other, if they need to, so they aren't just in each others face the whole time.

If you fish need certain temps...you might want to get a heating pad and sit part of each container on it..so they don't get too cold too.

This is how I had mine....

I had mine in the .77 cent shoes boxes..but I wan't moving either.

Each container held 1.75 gallons of water, which I had to change daily.

1 container....4 rasboras

1 container...4 pristella tetras

1 container...2 cories, and 1 neon

1 container...1 UDC

1 container....snails

1 container... for holding each group during water changes

I drilled the holes in the lids using a Dremmel and the circular metal bit. But a regular drill bit/drill would work just as well. Might coudl even use a cordless scrwewdriver.

 

[mr.dark-saint]

East Anglia made famous/infamous by Lovejoy Antiques Jonathan Gash. Now if it were me and I were to move in one shot trip this is the way I'd do it.

First off after the house is cleared I'd take the tank down (it'll makes the most sense). Get a plastic drink cooler (without a spigot if you can) large enough to put the fish and fill it with much water from the tank as possible (Styro can be punctured). Or if you're "in good" with your LFS see if they can save you their fish boxes and some big bags. They'll be (or should be) Styro with a cardboard box. See if the LFS has KOI bags they'll be thicker plastic stock and good size. Pack the fish with AmQuel or some Zeolite (some ammonia absorbing chip) if it's going to be a long drive "AND DO NOT OVER FILL WITH LIVE STOCK". Duct tape the seal around the Cooler or box for obvious reason.

Now some people have hooked up a battery opperated air pump and it worked just fine. As for me I passed on this when I drove some Koi to Seattle, Washington (15 hour drive) in a plastic cooler (they were fine). I'll pause here to point out the driving conditions like traffic jams and how to time for them accordingly. If you don't know leave while most folks are at work or a sleep so you can hit those roads that maybe congested.

Now bucket all the gravel "wet" or some Koi bags (might want to double bag) if the LFS was kind enough to let you have/buy some. Don't need to pack the decorations wet but you can if you have the bags. Now reason for taking it wet is to reduce bacteria loss (yes I know it'll be heavy but it's worth it).

Stow the lot in the car/truck (or in your case a Lorry) and you're off.

When you arrive to your new place set up the tank first (now you know why the tank got broken down last) since it'll be out first. 3/4 full of declored water at temp. and start off the task of filter and gravel filling after you find "the Spot".