parkap Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Hi All, I'm moving house soon and so am busily trying to figure out the most difficult part of the move - the fish tank (6x2x2). So far I'm planning the following: - 2-3 weeks before move: place box / corner filters with filter material in them in the sump of the tank so they can build up their own bacteria. - 7 days before move: do 30% water change. - 5-6 days before the move: syphon tank water into a number of 2 foot tanks, catch all fish and place in the 2ft's. Move the corner filters out of the tank sump and into all the 2 ft's. - 2-4 days before move: Strip the tank of all plants, rocks, gravel, wood, etc, etc. Clean the tank out fully. Take filter material out of sump and place in a sealable bucket. - Day before: cut all the pipes and pull apart all hardware. After the move, once everything is set up, etc, can the old filter material just be used again and so not need to re-cycle the tank? Any other tips on moving would be very much appreciated. Regards, p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 If you keep the biological media damp (not submerged) then there is no reason why you should have to cycle your tank. If you put your fish into 2' tanks before the move make sure that they are okay aggression wise. Set these box filters up 3-4 weeks before move. If it was me; Set your two foot tanks up (you have to put the fish somewhere), strip the tank on moving day (put fish into 2' tanks) - put water (from tank) and box filters into 2' tanks. Move the tank and set it up in new location, filled with water. Once tank temp is stable, filters fully going (might tank a day or two, move fish (including temporarily the box filters for a couple of weeks). If you have set the tank up with everything as it was (including gravel, rocks etc.) your tank should still be stable. Keep things that have large surface area damp (do not clean in tap water) where the bulk of the bacteria are living (gravel, biomedia, mechanical media - washed in tank water). If they stay damp and do not suffocate (i.e. if underwater), they will be ready to go as soon as the tank is set up again. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkap Posted May 30, 2006 Author Share Posted May 30, 2006 Thanks Craig. Unfortunately there's no way of waiting till the moving day to strip the tank. There's just too much to do, including the removalists coming in the morning to load everything. Thanks for the reply. Appreciate the info. p. If you keep the biological media damp (not submerged) then there is no reason why you should have to cycle your tank. If you put your fish into 2' tanks before the move make sure that they are okay aggression wise. Set these box filters up 3-4 weeks before move. If it was me; Set your two foot tanks up (you have to put the fish somewhere), strip the tank on moving day (put fish into 2' tanks) - put water (from tank) and box filters into 2' tanks. Move the tank and set it up in new location, filled with water. Once tank temp is stable, filters fully going (might tank a day or two, move fish (including temporarily the box filters for a couple of weeks). If you have set the tank up with everything as it was (including gravel, rocks etc.) your tank should still be stable. Keep things that have large surface area damp (do not clean in tap water) where the bulk of the bacteria are living (gravel, biomedia, mechanical media - washed in tank water). If they stay damp and do not suffocate (i.e. if underwater), they will be ready to go as soon as the tank is set up again. Craig ← Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 To be honest I wouldn't do any of that mucking around you propose. I'd move what you can damp or submerged in buckets with lids or those large storage containers. Maybe slot in time the night before if you can (say, 3am in the morning? ) The main one is to keep the filter media in tact, but try to keep your rocks and gravel wet also. As Craig mentioned, don't use tap water obviously, but if you keep it all wet for a short time in buckets the bacteria colony die off is greatly reduced and kicks on again once you get your tank up and running. I've done a move a few times using a few buckets with lids and never ever had a drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishsupplies.com.au Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 If it was me (yup im new here, but not new to the hobby) and the sump can be taken out of the tank, I would setup your corner filters 4 weeks before, and move your fish to the two footers, Then just run a pump in the sump (probably smaller than your current one) and just pump it from the end of your sump back to the start, and leave it setup with a heater in the shed while you empty and move the tank. Its impossible to move a tank with gravel in it, so put it in a big bucket and just poor a jug of tank water out of the two footers over it every day, and top them up, Keep an eye on your water conditions in the 2 footers aswell, and only feed the fish a minimal ammount of food and none at all 2-3days prior to doing all this. I have done this a few times and never had any losses, moving is stressful enough without trying to move tanks on the same day. Preperation is the key, and stock your 2 footers low. HTH, Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyclops Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 Hi Grum. Nice to see you here. (dyclops/mjscookie) Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkap Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Thanks everyone, some great tips. p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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