Newgirl to the fish world

[tjmonet74]

We started with a plastic tank, which was a well-intended gift from my mother to my 4 yr old son. Filled it with 5 goldfish, 2 of which have since died.

After numerous visits to the local pet stores to discuss fish maintenance. I found a used 30g tank on Kijiji and decided we'd go a little more high-tech than the kiddie tank.

So now: I've got this tank cycled it houses 3 guppies (1 of which I think is now pregnant) and 2 platies, common pleco and a random snail. We've had a few casualties along the way, but that happened when we purchased new fish that came home with "Ich" much to my dismay. It's been treated and all seem happy and healthy.

Unfortunately we are moving this weekend and I am now concerned I will lose my lovely cycled tank and all it's inhabitants. If only someone could just move it all for me without any loss of life...*sigh*

But I have discussed a strategy with my local fish expert and she seems to think I can pull it off. New buckets are ready for transportation of as much H2O as possible. Keeping the filter sponge "thingy" wet and the gravel etc with all that yummy good stuff intact. All the while, trying not to break this awkward to carry tank. Sounds easy, right?!

Well if you hear sobs from the "other" side of the River, you know it's been a mass casualty...will keep you posted!    

3 days to go...countdown begins! Wish me luck    

[Dakotamay]

You're off to a good start planning.
Yes, keep the substrate wet and try not too disturb it as in shake it around too much as you're carrying it to disturb it too much. Doing that will release the toxins stored in the substrate into the water and wills surely cause the tank to cycle again.
Take all the water if you can. It's 30gals shouldn't be too hard to do. Get a couple good sized rubber maid that are sturdy.
If it's cooler when you move the tank. Put a couple heaters in each container of water if possible. Keep the tank as warm as possible as well. Meaning the water and substrate remaining in the tank.
If you are attentive and careful in the move. You can pull this off.
Good luck. Do let us know. I'm sure that once the others get on here and see your post they'll have good pointers too.

[Feivel]

 agree with dakota, couple rubbermaids half full, they tske 20gal full but 10 halfway. Trust me on that one:-) wouldnt worry so much bout the heat part ... Ive got a fw tank at my moms, no heater and the basement is at 16deg in summer. No losses.

Cherrs

Oh and there shouldnt be that much nitrate (or toxins)in a freshly cycled tank. Do a 10% eater change 2days later and make a weekly routnine with aintenace with jr. My daughter loves to help me with my saltwater tank

Cheers

[Hookup]

Welcome to OVAS....  Hope the move goes well.

[touchofsky]

Also, when you get to your new place, if your filter is the "hang on the back" type, you can hook it up to the Rubbermaid tub, and get it going right away.  That will keep your beneficial bacteria going.  Just put the Rubbermaid tub next to a power outlet, put your filter on the tub, and add your media, and plug in.  If you find that the Rubbermaid tub bows out when you fill it up, you can use a bungee cord to hold it together across the top. 

Good luck!

[exv152]

Welcome to ovas!  When we moved last spring I had possession of two homes for a week-long period, and it made moving my three fish tanks a breeze. I bought a new 125g and set it up at the new house to cycle, with some small fish and two used canister filters (no gravel, no décor, only bare bottom tank). Then we moved all my fish gradually over the span of 2-3 days. I didn't move any water in buckets, with the exception of what came with the fish. Out of approximately 50-60 fish, we didn't lose a single one. As long as the ph in the two tanks is close, the temperature is not extreme, and you preserve the bacteria in the filters, you should be good. Good luck with the move.

[Feivel]

Side note, put substrate first, let  it settle a bit then add your fish couple hours later.

[Saltcreep]

Hi,

I'll add my Welcome also. Also agree with the others about the move. I once moved a tank about that size clear across the city. Kept most of the water in buckets, but the tank was moved with about 4" of water in it, all the fish and fully planted and aquascaped. It was over thirty years ago, but I don't recall any casualties. The key things in that move were a couple of strong helpers to help move the tank, a smooth, flat surface to support the tank (we had a station wagon at the time), and some very careful driving to minimize the sloshing around.

Not sure I would recommend this to anybody, but it worked flawlessly for me - right down to the last drop and fish.

Good luck!

[tjmonet74]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and well wishes. Tomorrow morning is D-Day, so I will take all your suggestions and make a go of it. As we're only a 5 minute drive to the new place, I'm hoping it will be a fairly quick process.

All your suggestions sounded good, but you lost me at "substrate"...I know, newbie! Is that the sponge in the filter? What do you mean by put the substrate in first, then the fish a few hours later? Can the fish live in the buckets for that long???

Now I'm just embarrassed...but I guess the only way to learn is to ask questions, right?     hehe.

Ok, I'll report back over the weekend. Now I'm off to google "substrate" lol

[exv152]

substrate is the gravel/sand at the bottom of the tank. one other thing I would not recommend is moving a tank with anything in it, it can weaken the silicon joints considerably and lead to them separating in the future. tanks aren't designed to withstand all that water pressure while being moved.

[tjmonet74]

Thank you!!! I thought about it afterwards and figured it probably meant rocks/gravel...so embarrassed.

I plan on taking everything out and moving it separately. Easier to move and less chance of it breaking or weakening the tank.

One last question: is it a bad idea to rinse out the gravel? it hasn't been done other than the occasional vaccum which I think doesn't really clean out all the nasty stuff. Or because of the potential stress, is it better to leave everything as is, until everyone is stable??