moving house

[feelathome]

I have a 60l tropical fish tank. We hope to move house in a couple of months.

How in the world do I go about moving the fish safely?

The most important thing is to do it quickly so that all the filter bacteria don't die. As soon as the filter is switched off then they will start to die so don't switch it off until the last minute.

Probably the best way to do it would be to get a storage box with a lid (the really useful ones from staples are good for temporary tanks) and move the fish and as much water from the tank as you can get into there.

If you have a short journey, like 2 hours or less then it'll be fairly easy, just keep the filter damp and put it all back together in your new place as fast as you can. Filter bacteria can die off completely in about 12 hours but the sooner you can get the filter switched back on, the better.

If you've got a longer journey then I would invest in a couple of battery powered air pumps, one for the fish and one for the filter. Put the filter sponge in a small jug or something with a lid and stick the air stone underneath it. That will create enough of a flow to keep the bacteria going for a while.

Keep a close eye on the ammonia and nitrIte levels for about a week once the tank is set up again, just in case.

Hope that helps a bit, just ask if you need any more help. :)

Thanks

We are only moving about 2 miles, but I was worried about the water cooling down. Will the fish be ok if it takes us a few hours to unload the van and decide where to put them?
Do I move the gravel, or buy new stuff?

If it's only 2 miles then I wouldn't worry too much unless you live somewhere really really cold.

I'd just drain the water out of the tank and move it as it is, as long as the gravel is clean then it'll be fine. If at any point you can smell rotten eggs then don't put the fish back in. If gravel is left undisturbed for too long then it can form patches of anaerobic bacteria that gives off a gas that can be deadly to fish. If you vacuum it regularly though it should be fine.

I've done it - one bucket for the gravel covered in water, one bucket of tank water with the media+plants in, and one bucket lined with a plastic bag with fish in, plastic bin with another 30L in - that ended up with about 1/2 the water of my 125L tank.

Tank was last thing onto the van and the first off (1 hour drive), buckets in our car. Plugged tank in with the gravel and media in and the bin of water, then added more water. Left lights off, put plants in, and when the water was as warm as the bucket, put the bag in the water like you do with new fish, and then let them swim out.

With a 60L tank you could probably take almost all the water with you.

thanks, you make it sound really easy, perhaps i was worrying about nothing

Not easy, but fairly straightforward. But a 60L tank is much easier than a big one - if you took 2/3 the water out into other containers (start asking friends to collect 2L water bottles for you now!), then two strong people might even be able to carry the tank complete with fish which would be better still.

I first got my 125L tank complete with fish from someone emigrating and was told to expect 1/2 the fish to die (3 hour drive, I was clueless), and was pleasantly surprised when only a few platies did. With the planned move one platy changed sex but that was it.

Is moving the tank with fish still in a good idea? I thought it was a big no no.

If its OK, id love to so that, it would save so much hassle.

It depends what you've got in the tank- if there are things like rocks or bits of wood or anything that might squash them or injure them then I would take them out first. I'd also give the gravel a good clean to make sure there's none of that gas I was on about.