Tips for moving a fish tank

[BristleWormHater]

Hey everyone!
I'm moving to a new place sometime in January, so I thought now would be a great time to get some tips (before I mess anything up lol). The new place is only 2 minutes away which should make this EASIER and I have a 25 gallon tank, so hopefully this won't be too bad. Anyways, how should I do this?

 

[Dom]

Yes, a short trip to the new location certainly makes it easier.

5 gallon Home Depot buckets are a huge help with tank moves. I would suggest getting about 8 of them and moving everything in those.

Get new substrate.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Yes, a short trip to the new location certainly makes it easier.

5 gallon Home Depot buckets are a huge help with tank moves. I would suggest getting about 8 of them and moving everything in those.

Get new substrate.

Thanks, do I need air pumps in the buckets or would those be unnecessary for the short trip?

 

[BristleWormHater]

How do I move these guys?

 

[Dom]

Thanks, do I need air pumps in the buckets or would those be unnecessary for the short trip?

Not for such a short trip.

But, you must move them as soon as they are in their buckets without delay. If you need to keep things in buckets for any reason, then yes, an air stone will supply O2 and flow.

 

[Schulks]

How do I move these guys?

I just moved a 22gallon and it has 2 feather dusters. They were under the sand bed but I had all the water out for about 3 hours and my house was about 67F. They both survived.

 

[tbrown]

I try to save as much water in buckets as I can (Rubbermaid totes work great but they're heavy).

Take one container and put your fish in it. Take a second container for inverts. Take a third container for coral. Put the rock in another or set it on the sand bed so it won't topple but that's going to make the tank heavier.

Once all the fish, inverts, corals, and rocks are moved, drain the water down to just above the sand bed (or rocks if they're still in the tank). The less water you have in the tank, the less sloshing you'll have and increase the chances of less mess.

At the new place, get the tank setup and then add water back (invert container can go back in at this point), set the rock up, and let the tank settle any cloudiness.

I'd add as much water back in as possible but hold out enough water to keep the fish and corals good for a couple of hours. Add a bubbler to the fish and coral containers and a heater if necessary. Add some flow to the tank and top off with new Saltwater (think of it as an opportunity to do a water change).

Once the cloudiness is gone, you should be ready to add your fish and corals back in.

 

[tbrown]

Keep an eye on the fish and make sure none of them start showing signs of stress. Moving can be a pretty traumatic experience.

 

[jabberwock]

Posted in the wrong spot...

Sorry I just saw this. You are probably already done...

At any rate, lots of buckets with lids. Don't fill them all the way up (slosh). A battery operated bubbler for each bucket (get them from the sporting goods or bait store). Make sure the receiving locations is 100% ready. Don't plan to do anything else the day of. You don;t have to take out the sand or ALL of the water. Get an extra pair of hands to move the actual tank. I work for beer, and am reasonably close to you.

Slow is fast and fast is smooth.

 

[jabberwock]

Not for such a short trip.

But, you must move them as soon as they are in their buckets without delay. If you need to keep things in buckets for any reason, then yes, an air stone will supply O2 and flow.

In my mind, bubblers are good cheap insurance.

 

[jabberwock]

I try to save as much water in buckets as I can (Rubbermaid totes work great but they're heavy).

Take one container and put your fish in it. Take a second container for inverts. Take a third container for coral. Put the rock in another or set it on the sand bed so it won't topple but that's going to make the tank heavier.

Once all the fish, inverts, corals, and rocks are moved, drain the water down to just above the sand bed (or rocks if they're still in the tank). The less water you have in the tank, the less sloshing you'll have and increase the chances of less mess.

At the new place, get the tank setup and then add water back (invert container can go back in at this point), set the rock up, and let the tank settle any cloudiness.

I'd add as much water back in as possible but hold out enough water to keep the fish and corals good for a couple of hours. Add a bubbler to the fish and coral containers and a heater if necessary. Add some flow to the tank and top off with new Saltwater (think of it as an opportunity to do a water change).

Once the cloudiness is gone, you should be ready to add your fish and corals back in.

Lots of good tips here, fish in a bucket with no where to hide = STRESS. Give them some where to hunker down. A few more stable rocks, or some brand new PVC joints will give them some cover.