# Moving my fish tank to another location...



## saddison (Jan 9, 2009)

Any advice? I have never moved an already established tank.. just upgraded.
Are there any special rules or guidelines?


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## Marty (Jan 1, 2009)

What size tank is it?What kind of fish you have let us know what all you have and what kind of setup it is..


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## saddison (Jan 9, 2009)

it is a 30 gallon freshwater tank.
There are 3 angelfish, two bala sharks, two skirted tetras, 1 gourami and a pleco.
THere is freshwater salt in the aquarium.. but nothing other then that.
for right now, using fake plants, but would like to rearrange the tank to include some live plants (for extra "health" benefits)

would it be too much of a stress to change the location of the tank and also the plants of the tank at once?


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## kardon (Jan 4, 2009)

Are you moving to the next room or the next town?

Either way, your aquarium is going to be _heavy_ and you want to be very careful as your moving it. Even when only half full, the thing will weigh in about 135 lbs. If you've carried a bucket of water, you know that if you're moving and you stop, the water keeps moving. Thank you Mr. Inertia. The same will happen in your tank, but multiplied several times. Also, a lack of support at any corner, or even tipping too far in a direction can severely weaken the silicon joints and cause a leak.

If you're moving from one room to another, the simplest thing is to drain the tank at least halfway (...might as well be top water, two birds and all  ), and get a buddy (or two) to grab an end. Carefully.

If you're moving towns, you would probably do best with a cooler and DC air pump. Put the fish in the cooler and drain your tank pretty low...

Good luck... Remember, your Angelfish are a delicate breed, and your Balas are twitchy already. Keep things steady...


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## saddison (Jan 9, 2009)

thank you for your reply.
i am moving to a location downstairs.. so going down a flight of stairs and across the room... 
should i still keep my fish in a cooler? since the bala sharks due tend to jump.....
and also, can i wash out the rocks, to get rid of the built up junk?

how can i make it easier for my balas? they are very uneasy with being in anything other then their tank...
they get completely uncomfortable and very very grouchy... how can I calm them down during the process? Should I keep all fish in one container, or in smaller containers?


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## kardon (Jan 4, 2009)

Balas are temperamental no matter what. If you keep the lid on, it should prevent any jumping. 

If you want to use a cooler, make sure you use the tank water. The cooler would probably be easier on the fish in the long run, that flight of stairs might get bumpy.

You can clean some of the bottom while you're at it, but obviously not for the cooler water. You don't want to use the top-most water either, so middle tank water for the cooler.

And yeah, drain it pretty far down once they're out. A bit of _Stress Coat_ reportedly will ease some of the fishes stress (thus the name?), but really just be as slow and steady as you can.

If you have smaller containers instead of a cooler, break the clan into groups. If you have a venti sized cooler though, just use that. I doubt aggression and territory will be top priority for the short amount of time in the brig.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

A cooler also helps with the fact you can keep the lid closed and it being dark inside, the balas or angels won't stress as much.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Living in S. Florida I had to move my tanks for tenting of the house. It is best to break the tank completely down with out washing or cleaning anything. Get yourself some buckets with lids to house the fish and to move the gravel, plants everything. In the buckets that have living things in them, icluding your gravel you will want to add an air pump. You can get battery powered pump or get an inverter for the cig lighter in the car and used ele. air pumps. you want to keep everything cool so don't place these buckets in the car until your are ready to leave, if it very cold outside you will want to rap the in blankets to keep them from gettting to cold also. Whne you get to the new location rebuild the tank it that is the new home. The tank will look nasty for a few days leave it like that so the bio-colony will have a good head start and restablishing it self and you will not have to recycle the tank, you will go thur a mimi cycle that will take only a few days not weeks. If it just a temp move like when you have to tent a house, just if the empty tank with the saved tank water add the heater and filter so it bio-colony will live and add the the fish as if they were new. Keep the gravel wet and airrated so the bio -colony doesn't die.


NEVER TRY AND MOVE A HALF FULL TANK, 9TIMES OUT OF 10 IT WILL CRACK.


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