How to move a 35 gallon to new house?

[taylorkd]

Hi all

We have a 35 gallon with 4 gouramis, 4 cardinals and a (big) pleco.

We're moving about 20 minutes away, tank has sand instead of gravel.

Suggestions on what to do would be appreciated, I know we'll have to drain most of the tank in order to lift it...but how to move the fish, set up, and what to do with the filter?

Thanks!

[Nerine]

personally I'd drain the entire tank just leave the substrate damp and the filter media wet...the fish are easy to move, just get a bucket that's large enough to hold them all or get them each their own bucket...I put my catfish all in seperate buckets and the gourami's all went together just because the  catfish tend to thrash around a bit when angry...and how big is big for the pleco? if he's a foot or so he should have his own bucket. Rona & home depot have excellent fish buckets

Set the tank up just the way you had it before, or redecorate...filter, do nothing...don't clean it right away and don't clean it before hand.

You will find out what works best for you! don't forget your water dechlorinator

[Seanc]

i put all of the fish in a big bucket. i filled it with the water from the tank. i then emptied the tank of all water.

put the bucket in the back of the car, and drove to the new house.  then took the tank set it up. filled it with most of the water from the bucket, then put the fish in, dumped the last but of the water in the bucket down the drain(it was dirty) and filled it the rest of the way with de-clhorinated water that was the same temp as the tank, and then i was done.

[Seanc]

and how big is big for the pleco? if he's a foot or so he should have his own bucket. Rona & home depot have excellent fish buckets

If its a foot it should be moved to a different tank.

[FishPassion]

There is an identical post in saltwater discussions, your move would only be easier than a salt setup see tips on changing tanks and contents. As for your filter I would just move it as well and just treat your tank as tho you were doing a major water change by keeping at least 50-65% of the water and bringing it to your new home. That would be my suggestion and probably what I would do.

[Nerine]

ya never know I've seen people have huge plecos in small tanks!!! I see it all the time at the fish store "well he doesn't move much"

pleco should still have his own bucket though, they move around a lot during transportation

[rickster]

I recommend saving most of the water Evan if you have to just transport water.the fish will be pretty stressed and the least amount of new water added would be better .But hey thats just my opinion .

[az]

if it was me, I'd get few big bags from BA and triple bag them all with just enough water and lots of air, take qtr-half tank of water like fishp said and keep the cartridge wet, once there, I'd add new water, full blast all the filters for atleats 3-4hrs, same time, i would also float the bags inside the tank and switch off the lights.

when its time, I will let the pleco in first.

good luck!

[taylorkd]

Thanks guys.

I'll get some buckets, one for the other fish, one  for the pleco.

He's not a foot, he's 4-5", someone told me that was biggish.

Saving the water (or most of it) is an excellent idea, I HATE new tank syndrome.

Thanks again

[lucky777]

This might me the lazy way, but last time I moved I simply went to Home Depot, bought a few rubbermaid 35 Gallon Garbage cans with wheels, filled it with all the water and fish.  Wheeled it out of the old apartment and into the new one.  Dumped all my original water  back into tank and added th fish.  Plus I had a really nice garbage can afterwards 

Also a very easy way to move fish around while refinishing hard wood floors.  Wheel them to one room and then to the next as you go along.  Simply add the fileter and heater and they can live fine until your finished working/moving.

For media I put in it ziploc bags with some water to keep it wet.

[Nerine]

love that idea lucky

[nickie]

   For moving fish....I kinda like the the rectangular vynl storage boxes walmart sells .....Various sizes available and the fish are able to swim back and forth ....arriving at your new place,..you can always place the heater in it while your setting up the tank or bring in the rest of the  stuff....                                  John

[tetroid]

I just did this with a 31 gallon tank, and basically did what lucky777 recommends. I bought an 18 gallon rubbermaid container with big handles and a lid, and a cheapo hang-on-the-back filter from Walmart. Two days before moving day, I drained most of the water from my tank into the container, then tossed in my plants, along with some sand and a piece of wood for the bristlenose. Then I took the dirty filter floss and BioMax stuff from my canister filter, put it into the media basket of the hang-on-the-back filter, and turned it on. I moved the fish and my heater into the container, then covered it (mostly) with the lid, and got down to packing.

On moving day, I kept things running until everything had been moved out, then detached the hang-on-the-the back filter and heater, drained half the water from the rubbermaid container, and moved everything to the truck. Once we arrived at the new house, I hooked everything up, filled the container up, and got down to unpacking.

The advantage of putting a filter on the container is that you keep your bacterial colonies alive and buy some time to get things under control before you set up your main aquarium. I've been having some trouble finding an appropriate spot for the aquarium, as we're in an old house with sloping floors, so the fish have been in the rubbermaid container for a week already. They can't be too happy about it, but no problems. I hope to move them into the main aquarium in the next couple of days.