Moving House

[oxfordmark]

Hi

In the next couple of months we will be moving house. Only a 10 min drive away.

Does anyone have any tips on what we should do to the tank, fish and media during this?

 

[Sickbound]

How big is the tank?


I would get a lot of 5 gallon buckets. Try to save at least 50% of the water in the original tank.
Save all of your substrate and anything else that has the good bacteria in it. Make sure that it has a couple inches of water over it to keep it alive (the big Rubbermaid totes for storage work well for this with a lid).
Save your filter media and keep it wet like the substrate. Depending on what kind of filter you have a ziplock bag works well.
If you can get your hands on a battery powered source so you can keep an airstone in the buckets with the fish in it that would be ideal. But since you aren't too far away I don't think it would be a huge deal.
NEVER  MOVE YOUR TANK WITH LIQUID OR ROCKS OR ANYTHING IN IT. It could crack or break a seal on the aquarium.
When you refill your aquarium at your new place, don't use an outdoor hose unless you can control the temperature. Try your best to get the water to be the same temp as your fish were just in. 
Be sure to acclimate your fish to the new water, too.

 

[DrRob]

Yeah, it depends a whole load on the size of the tank.
 
I've moved a LOT of tanks in the past at once. We agreed with the seller permission to set some tanks up in their garage (the house was unoccupied) before the move, which was nice of them and made moving day a lot easier. We also used a selection of plastic storage boxes (this needs to be planned, otherwise the family put house moving things in them) moving up through water butts and cold water tanks that normally live in lofts.
 
Several of these remained in use for several years after that move, as I realised that I'd accidentally fed my MTS without anyone noticing, it's great what a sponge filter in a storage container can become.....

 

[oxfordmark]

How big is the tank?


I would get a lot of 5 gallon buckets. Try to save at least 50% of the water in the original tank.
Save all of your substrate and anything else that has the good bacteria in it. Make sure that it has a couple inches of water over it to keep it alive (the big Rubbermaid totes for storage work well for this with a lid).
Save your filter media and keep it wet like the substrate. Depending on what kind of filter you have a ziplock bag works well.
If you can get your hands on a battery powered source so you can keep an airstone in the buckets with the fish in it that would be ideal. But since you aren't too far away I don't think it would be a huge deal.
NEVER  MOVE YOUR TANK WITH LIQUID OR ROCKS OR ANYTHING IN IT. It could crack or break a seal on the aquarium.
When you refill your aquarium at your new place, don't use an outdoor hose unless you can control the temperature. Try your best to get the water to be the same temp as your fish were just in. 
Be sure to acclimate your fish to the new water, too.

Hey
 
Its a 13 gallon tank.
 
So is it best to:
 
Switch everything off and empty the tank. Is it safe to leave a layer of water in the tank with the gravel?
Take the fish out, into a bucket  i like the idea of an air stone!
Power down the Eheim and stop the valves then unplug
Can i just leave the Eheim with water in it?
Keep as much water as i can in a jerry can (i can probably borrow from the fish shop).

 

[DrRob]

Ideally get everything you can out, gravel is remarkably heavy and you want as little stress on the seams as possible, particularly if other people (like removal folks) may be moving it around.

 

[oxfordmark]

Ideally get everything you can out, gravel is remarkably heavy and you want as little stress on the seams as possible, particularly if other people (like removal folks) may be moving it around.

We are doing the move, so will be careful

 

[oxfordmark]

Thought i would send an update.
 
We managed to move the tank to the new house a day before the main move.
 
Lost about 6 fish, which isnt a surprise. We have had a lot of work going on and the tank was switched off for about 5 hours each day for 2 days.
 
It has been neglected. With so much work going on i havent been able to do weekly water changes. And the tank is in the back room which is a storage room.
 
The work is slowly coming to an end and we hope to get the tank to its prime location in the next few weeks
 
Thanks for your advice.

 

[DrRob]

Glad to hear that the move went well, sorry to hear that you lost anything.
 
Hope the dust settles quickly.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ah, shame you lost a few fish but not too bad considering.
 
Hope you enjoy your new home and get your tanks in where you want them in soon.