moving my fish tank?

Question

Hi i am moving soon and i was bring my 55 gallon fish tank did anyone ever move before i am moving 15 minutes away and i member before when i moved here and brought my fish they all died when i had to changed water and everything any tips thanks

Answer 1

I've had a few moves with my collection of tanks (fresh and saltwater). The biggest problem I had was that the water chemistry was different in the two places I lived.

A way you could solve this is to first find out if the water is from a different supplier than where you live now. If it's the same, so much the better.

When you move take out the fish and as much of the water as you can to move the tank, but make sure the substrate stays wet - this will keep your beneficial bacteria (biological filter) alive. You can bring water too, if you want, but you'll be better off moving it in 5 gallon buckets with lids - you can put filter media in one to keep this wet as well. If the water's from the same supplier, it shouldn't be necessary, but if it's different, this will be less of an immediate change for your fish. If the water sources are different, I'd take at least half of what they were in - you may want to do a water change a day or so before moving them so the water's good quality.

I always moved my fish in an old picnic cooler I bought at a second-hand shop and cleaned out well. Depending on the thickness of the cooler, you can put the filter on it just as you would a tank and use this as a temporary tank while you set up the regular tank.

Add the fish to the tank with any of their old water first. Mix up some new water (along with dechlorinator) that's about the same temperature as the old and add it to the tank slowly to lessen and changes in temperature or chemistry. I've found it's a good idea to let the tap run a few minutes if no one's used the water in ayour new place for a while - it will flush the pipes of rust and other junk and keep it from getting into the tank.

Answer 2

when you move like that, keep the same water from the old tank to the new tank.
you know how you have to let it cycle completely before you put any fish in it. yeah well if you move them and give them new water like that, its like the tank hasnt been cycled at all. i'm gunna take a wild guess here and say its a salt tank, in which case the live rock should actually help considerably with this. otherwise, you could actually add the bacteria that speeds up the cycle. i cant remember what its called right now, but there is some for fresh and for salt water tanks.
good luck!

Answer 3

I moved my 50gal and fish here (20 minutes away) 4 years ago. I put the fish in a large plastic storage container and took 4 5 gallon buckets full of the fish water and drained the rest. I only lost one fish. The best tip is to save as much of the water as you can and leave the filter dirty so you don't cause the ammonia and nitrate levels to skyrocket when you re-introduce the fish.

Answer 4

Yup bag them in the same water save dirty water from the old tank. Keep your fish in the same temperature. It won't hurt to add old water clean it later. You do a half or 1/3 dump when u clean? It's similar but fish die mostly of shock brought on by radical temp changes. Unless u have a cat who trolls in the tank like mine did in my 50 & my 5 gal he ate them no bones in site.
Watch how you clean the tank into the new place. Never use a sponge that has been around soap. :) good luck
depending on what u have in there they are still all pretty fragile.
My Dad had a 300 custom built on a wall he killed all the tropicals we dove for. We threatened to call the animal rights people. They die. But there are lots more out there. If yours die too early bring bodies& water samples to the pet store to get new ones Aloha

Answer 5

the most important thing to do in moving your tank is to keep the ecological balance the same as possible. to be able to do this, you need to retain about a few inch high of aquarium water to preserve the friendly bacteria that helps maintain the balance of the tank. use the old aquarium water to store your fish and try to keep as much water from the old aquarium in storing your fish for transport. you will be using the same water when you put back your fish to your tank.

after moving and putting back your fish in the tank, you probably would have far less water in the tank than you should have. here's the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do, only add up to twenty percent (20%) of the aquarium water (e.g. if you have a total of 10 gallons left of the old water, only add 2 gallons on the first day). if you have a problem solving how many gallons you have in your tank here's a little formula you can use. i have already forgotten the actual formula but it goes something like this. measure your aquarium's dimension. multiply the dimensions (e.g. length=3 feet, width=1.5 feet, height=0.42, 5 inches) 3x1.5x0.42=1.89. multiply the result by *6.25, this will give you a result of 11.81. therefore, you have an approximately 11.81 gals of aquarium water. multiply 11.81 by 20%, this will give a result of 2.36, this is the approximate amount of water you will add to your tank for the first day ( my suggestion is to add only the whole number of the computation e.g. 2.36=2 gals)

adding more water to the aquarium is the trickiest part. i had moved my goldfish to a bigger tank and added 20% of the water once a week. it took me 1 month to fill my aquarium, lols. i had read though, that you can change around 10% of aquarium water everyday IF your fish is stressed. using this theory, you can add around 10% of the aquarium water everyday until you have your tank full again.

be patient in filling up your aquarium water. when i transferred my goldfish, i had 0% fatality. just make sure that your tank is well aerated and the water is properly filtered.

just be patient enough to watch your fishes swim in shallow water than be sorry : ). just observe your fish everyday for signs of stress until you have your tank full again. if your fish starts developing white spots, it could be that your pouring in too much water everyday. if this happens, try adding fewer water the next time.

good luck!


*approximate only, error is around +/- .05

Answer 6

For a tank as large as that (anything over 10 gal, really) you want to remove everything from the tank when you move it. That's because the gravel and water is heavy and can put stress on the glass when it's being moved around, which means the tank can break! This means you'll have to put the fish in something else. Rubbermaid tubs work great for this. I'd recommend tubs that are dark (e.g. not transparent) because light and movement will stress the fish when they're already scared.

Answer 7

The best way to move (larger tanks) it is to take all the decorations and any rocks etc. out. You can leave the fish with as much water in the tank as possiable to move it. I found honestly this is the best way if you don't have another tank up and running.

You can bucket out your fish with your tank water allowing less water in the main tank to be moved. One way or the other, the substraight should remain covered in water. Once moved get it up and running asap. If the substraight stays wet the bacteria should be able to hold your fish once filled again.

Do not drain the entire.

Answer 8

save a great amount of the water they live in now. don't let the temp. or airaition fluctiuate. Let the fish stay in 5 gal. buckets while you quickly set up the tank in the new location. Remember, temp. and air, don't let it change. De-chlorinate the new water that will be added.

Answer 9

try "ick out" (can be found in almost any pet store),put the recemended amout in water and wait for a about a half hour before putting fish back in. My sister breeds fish and i used to help her.

Answer 10

take the fish out, move them in a separate container (with water from the aquarium)........leave about half of the water in the tank if possible...and move it.....then fill the tank back up.......let it sit for like 2 days....make sure you put the liquid stuff(cant remember name of it...but stuff that gets rid of disease etc..).....and then put the fish back in...