How do i move my fish tank??

Question

I have a 30 litre tropical biorb, i am moving house soon and have no idea how to move it. It is so heavy and the pump needs to be going all the time as does the heater any ideas??

Answer 1

Have any buckets. I have always drained the orginal water into buckets and then added the fish to those buckets. Makes for a wonderful car ride, but at least when you set up they will have some of the water they are used to.

Answer 2

I assume that you just have fish and possibly live plants? If so, the best way is to put the fish and live plants into a bag like you would get at the pet store. Don't move the tank with water in it as it may leak when you set it back up. Try to carry it on a flat surface like a board or something to prevent it from flexing from side to side. Keep as much as the water as possible and reassemble ASAP. The fish will be ok in the bags for a few hours, just float the bags in the tank before transferring the fish to adjust the water temps.

If you are looking at a longer transit time then you could use a clean bucket get a battery operated air pump from the pet store and go that way. Doing it this way you could also put some of your gravel in the bottom of the bucket. Cover the bucket with something so that the fish can not jump out.

Good Luck

Answer 3

It is an enormous pain in the butt. The best way is to move the fish and some of the water to an insulated container, such as one made out of styrofoam. Cover it, but make sure there are holes in the lid.

Then, you can either drain all the water and remove the gravel to another container... or you can drain all of the water except for about a centimeter above the gravel. This way any beneficial bacteria living in the gravel will survive the process.

Or, if you're lazy, you can drain about 1/2 to 2/3 of the water and get some strong friends to just carry the whole aquarium, fish and all, to the vehicle you're transporting them in. Big danger of disaster there, of course.

Answer 4

Buy a 5 or 10 gallon bucket with a lid (hardware store), buy a battery operated air pump with a air stone (any bait shop or Walmart, etc.).
I helped my brother move his 45 gallon tank this way. Filled a 10 gallon bucket half way with the tank water, punched a hole in the lid to feed the air tube, put in all of his fish and plants kept it on the front passenger side floor.
They ALL survived the trip from Chicago to Daytona Beach (2 days +1 extra day to get the tanks PH and other levels safe).
Good Luck

Answer 5

A few hours without the pump and heater won't hurt. Just drain all but the last few inches of water so the fish have a little room to move around. About equal to those plastic bags they came home in. If you can, bring as much water as possible in one or more of those Sparkletts type bottles so you don't have to restart the cycling process again. Set it up again as soon as possible in its new location. Good luck!

Answer 6

Well, get a small rubbermaid or one of those boxes you ship fish in, put htem in there with a battery operated air pump attached to and undergravel filter, and like a heat pack

Then put all the decorations, rocks, plant, etc ina rubbermaid with some water when you get to the new house set up the tank with all the gravel and decorations and wateR(try saving most the water you have so you dont have sto cycle again) and put the fish in

Answer 7

i just moved quite a few tanks a few months ago. don't try moving a tank that size with *ANY* water left in it! its not worth the risk of breaking it..not to mention it would weigh too much. too dangerous, IM0.
heres how i moved my fish..i was only moving about 15 minute drive away from the first place.
netted all the fish, bagged them (with tank water) you can get big fish bags (i got mine free) from the local fish shop. make sure you only fill the bags up about halfway, and leave air in the top before you tie them.don't overcrowd the fish.
put all the bagged fish in a bucket. drain out all the water. remove any big rocks or decorations (you don't want a rock in there banging around when you are moving your tank) put them in a bucket...i
put all the filter media and any plants in a bucket, cover with tank water!! make sure of course you use a new bucket (keeps beneficial bacteria alive on the filter media-- as long as you don't leave it in there too long)
move them all to the new place..get the tank filled up with treated water, add the filter back in ASAP... dont forget to double check the temp before putting in the fish, and make sure you leave the heaters in for about 15 minutes before turning them on (the way you would with a new heater) ..float the bags of fish for awhile in the water, add a bit of tank water, leave them..add a bit more tank water...and acclimatize them slowly, the way you would when first adding new fish to your tank. also make sure you don't change any filter media right away either. hopefully all the bacteria survived the move, and your tank won't cycle again --none of mine did, but i lost a few applesnails for some reason:( ..fish were fine. i think the most important thing is to try to preserve the beneficial bacteria on the filter media, and of course, make sure your fish don't sit in bags too long.

good luck.

Answer 8

you must drain the tank to a level that it can be moved (the fish should be ok so long as you make it the first priority) how far you going??? that maybe a prob they will be ok for a certain time without the heater or pump , (how did you get them to your home in the first place?)

Answer 9

You can take apart your tank and put the fish is a plastic bag. They wont die as long as you are not leaving them in there for days.Make sure you have lots of water and air in it. Keep them warm with a blanket around the bag. When you bought your fish, how did you get them from the store to your home? same way huh? :)

Answer 10

I had a similar problem. Drain it so that there is only about an inch or so of water left then just be careful. It helps if you have a trolley like they have in ambulances, slide it on to one of those and off you go.