Advice on Moving 58G Aquarium

[polypheus]

Hello!

I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.

My plan for moving is to:
1. Drain tank so that only about 1/10 of water is left.
2. Remove all driftwood from tank
3. Disconnect canister filter
4. Leave Gravel and 3 fish in tank
5. Carry Tank (w/ Gravel and 3 fish and 6G of water in it) to truck
6. Carry Stand to truck
7. Transport Tank and Stand to new home via truck.
8. Reconstruct Aquarium at new home (position stand and tank,
re-attach filter, add water, water conditioner, etc)

Needless to say the tank will be quite heavy but I am hoping 3-4
strong people could carry the tank in this state.

Is this a good plan? Or is it a bad idea to leave the gravel and water
in the tank due to weight and stress issues?

Thanks!

(Reply to newsgroup please, email invalid)

[Morten]

"polypheus" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello!
>
> I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
> fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
> and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.
>
> My plan for moving is to:
> 1. Drain tank so that only about 1/10 of water is left.
> 2. Remove all driftwood from tank
> 3. Disconnect canister filter
> 4. Leave Gravel and 3 fish in tank
> 5. Carry Tank (w/ Gravel and 3 fish and 6G of water in it) to truck
> 6. Carry Stand to truck
> 7. Transport Tank and Stand to new home via truck.
> 8. Reconstruct Aquarium at new home (position stand and tank,
> re-attach filter, add water, water conditioner, etc)
>
> Needless to say the tank will be quite heavy but I am hoping 3-4
> strong people could carry the tank in this state.
>
> Is this a good plan? Or is it a bad idea to leave the gravel and water
> in the tank due to weight and stress issues?

Personally I would empty the tank of the water because having a large amount
of moving mass inside a tank when driving would put an enormous ammount of
stress on the joints if you were to brake hard or sharp turns on motion.

You can leave the gravel because it's fairly solid and won't shift quite as
badly as water when driving.

Put the fish in a large plastic bag (freezing bag is fine) with some of the
water from the tank and put in a dark bag / container with some stress coat
/ water conditioner. This will reduce the stress of moving the fish.

For the short time it will take to drive 15 miles and loading / unloading
the tank it shouldn't be necessary to oxigenate the water, but if it takes
much more than 30 - 40 min I would put in a battery powered airstone...

To minimize stress further you could take some of the tank water and put it
in a barrel / drum and use it to start the tank again when asembled.

Be carefull with the canister and don't let it stand for to long (more than
an hour) otherwise some of the bacteria might begin to die off because of
lack of oxygen...



If you cant reasemble the tank straight away, put the fish in a bucket with
an airstone and connect the filter to bucket and you can spend as much time
you like redicerating the tank when it's in it's final position...



I think that's it :-)


/Morten



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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[CanadianCray]

Sounds good to me!

> Personally I would empty the tank of the water because having a large
amount
> of moving mass inside a tank when driving would put an enormous ammount of
> stress on the joints if you were to brake hard or sharp turns on motion.
>
> You can leave the gravel because it's fairly solid and won't shift quite
as
> badly as water when driving.
>
> Put the fish in a large plastic bag (freezing bag is fine) with some of
the
> water from the tank and put in a dark bag / container with some stress
coat
> / water conditioner. This will reduce the stress of moving the fish.
>
> For the short time it will take to drive 15 miles and loading / unloading
> the tank it shouldn't be necessary to oxigenate the water, but if it takes
> much more than 30 - 40 min I would put in a battery powered airstone...
>
> To minimize stress further you could take some of the tank water and put
it
> in a barrel / drum and use it to start the tank again when asembled.
>
> Be carefull with the canister and don't let it stand for to long (more
than
> an hour) otherwise some of the bacteria might begin to die off because of
> lack of oxygen...
>
>
>
> If you cant reasemble the tank straight away, put the fish in a bucket
with
> an airstone and connect the filter to bucket and you can spend as much
time
> you like redicerating the tank when it's in it's final position...
>
>
>
> I think that's it :-)
>
>
> /Morten
>
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.611 / Virus Database: 391 - Release Date: 03/03/2004
>
>

[Paul]

Morten wrote in message >...
>
>"polypheus" > wrote in message
om...
>> Hello!
>>
>> I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
>> fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
>> and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.
>>
>> My plan for moving is to:
>> 1. Drain tank so that only about 1/10 of water is left.
>> 2. Remove all driftwood from tank
>> 3. Disconnect canister filter
>> 4. Leave Gravel and 3 fish in tank
>> 5. Carry Tank (w/ Gravel and 3 fish and 6G of water in it) to truck
>> 6. Carry Stand to truck
>> 7. Transport Tank and Stand to new home via truck.
>> 8. Reconstruct Aquarium at new home (position stand and tank,
>> re-attach filter, add water, water conditioner, etc)
>>
>> Needless to say the tank will be quite heavy but I am hoping 3-4
>> strong people could carry the tank in this state.
>>
>> Is this a good plan? Or is it a bad idea to leave the gravel and water
>> in the tank due to weight and stress issues?
>
>Personally I would empty the tank of the water because having a large
amount
>of moving mass inside a tank when driving would put an enormous ammount of
>stress on the joints if you were to brake hard or sharp turns on motion.
>
>You can leave the gravel because it's fairly solid and won't shift quite as
>badly as water when driving.
>
>Put the fish in a large plastic bag (freezing bag is fine) with some of the
>water from the tank and put in a dark bag / container with some stress coat
>/ water conditioner. This will reduce the stress of moving the fish.
>
>For the short time it will take to drive 15 miles and loading / unloading
>the tank it shouldn't be necessary to oxigenate the water, but if it takes
>much more than 30 - 40 min I would put in a battery powered airstone...
>
>To minimize stress further you could take some of the tank water and put it
>in a barrel / drum and use it to start the tank again when asembled.
>
>Be carefull with the canister and don't let it stand for to long (more than
>an hour) otherwise some of the bacteria might begin to die off because of
>lack of oxygen...
>
>
>
>If you cant reasemble the tank straight away, put the fish in a bucket with
>an airstone and connect the filter to bucket and you can spend as much time
>you like redicerating the tank when it's in it's final position...
>
>
>
>I think that's it :-)
>


yes, all good advise I think, except for the airstone. I go to fish auctions
where fish sit in bags for upto 20 hours without any air, so you could go a
good few hours with the fish in a bag.

definately take all the water out of the tank.. those fish would get swished
around and smashed against the glass. it would be like putting them in a
washing machine. if you don't believe me, fill up a bucket with water and
try to transport it around the block in your car and see how much water you
have left.

[CanadianCray]

Most of the time when fish are left in the bag for more than 3-4 hours you
they have pure oxygen in the bag.

"Paul" > wrote in message
...
>
> Morten wrote in message >...
> >
> >"polypheus" > wrote in message
> om...
> >> Hello!
> >>
> >> I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
> >> fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
> >> and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.
> >>
> >> My plan for moving is to:
> >> 1. Drain tank so that only about 1/10 of water is left.
> >> 2. Remove all driftwood from tank
> >> 3. Disconnect canister filter
> >> 4. Leave Gravel and 3 fish in tank
> >> 5. Carry Tank (w/ Gravel and 3 fish and 6G of water in it) to truck
> >> 6. Carry Stand to truck
> >> 7. Transport Tank and Stand to new home via truck.
> >> 8. Reconstruct Aquarium at new home (position stand and tank,
> >> re-attach filter, add water, water conditioner, etc)
> >>
> >> Needless to say the tank will be quite heavy but I am hoping 3-4
> >> strong people could carry the tank in this state.
> >>
> >> Is this a good plan? Or is it a bad idea to leave the gravel and water
> >> in the tank due to weight and stress issues?
> >
> >Personally I would empty the tank of the water because having a large
> amount
> >of moving mass inside a tank when driving would put an enormous ammount
of
> >stress on the joints if you were to brake hard or sharp turns on motion.
> >
> >You can leave the gravel because it's fairly solid and won't shift quite
as
> >badly as water when driving.
> >
> >Put the fish in a large plastic bag (freezing bag is fine) with some of
the
> >water from the tank and put in a dark bag / container with some stress
coat
> >/ water conditioner. This will reduce the stress of moving the fish.
> >
> >For the short time it will take to drive 15 miles and loading / unloading
> >the tank it shouldn't be necessary to oxigenate the water, but if it
takes
> >much more than 30 - 40 min I would put in a battery powered airstone...
> >
> >To minimize stress further you could take some of the tank water and put
it
> >in a barrel / drum and use it to start the tank again when asembled.
> >
> >Be carefull with the canister and don't let it stand for to long (more
than
> >an hour) otherwise some of the bacteria might begin to die off because of
> >lack of oxygen...
> >
> >
> >
> >If you cant reasemble the tank straight away, put the fish in a bucket
with
> >an airstone and connect the filter to bucket and you can spend as much
time
> >you like redicerating the tank when it's in it's final position...
> >
> >
> >
> >I think that's it :-)
> >
>
>
> yes, all good advise I think, except for the airstone. I go to fish
auctions
> where fish sit in bags for upto 20 hours without any air, so you could go
a
> good few hours with the fish in a bag.
>
> definately take all the water out of the tank.. those fish would get
swished
> around and smashed against the glass. it would be like putting them in a
> washing machine. if you don't believe me, fill up a bucket with water and
> try to transport it around the block in your car and see how much water
you
> have left.
>
>
>

[Rick]

"CanadianCray" > wrote in message
.. .
> Most of the time when fish are left in the bag for more than 3-4 hours you
> they have pure oxygen in the bag.
>


pure oxygen, I don't think so. I bag and transport fish all the time to
auctions. They will do fine depending on size of course in a fish bag with
air space above the water. This weekend I will be driving to an auction that
is 7 hours away. I will bag the fish in the morning and later that night or
say 14-15 hours later I will open the bags, remove some water, add fresh
water and reseal the bag. They will then be sitting all day the next day at
the auction and will be fine. I can add bag buddies if I want. I don't feed
the fish for 2 days prior to travel which eliminates the waste and ammonia
build up problem in the bag. For a 15 mile trip I would simply put a mixture
of tank water and fresh decholrinated water in a bucket and put the fish in
the bucket with a lid, empty the tank and move it. If the last thing you do
is tear down the tank and the first thing you do is set it back up then no
problem with your filter media going bad however if you cannot reestablish
the filter within an hour or two at the max. then I would suggest putting
the media in tank water where you may want to use an air stone. Just my .02

Rick

[CanadianCray]

Yeah for a short trip like 15miles thats not a problem but that many hours
in a bag like that, no thanks. Think of yourself trapped in an air tight
10X10 room in about 8 hours your done. Would want to be those fish.... thats
major stress.

"Rick" > wrote in message
...
>
> "CanadianCray" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > Most of the time when fish are left in the bag for more than 3-4 hours
you
> > they have pure oxygen in the bag.
> >
>
>
> pure oxygen, I don't think so. I bag and transport fish all the time to
> auctions. They will do fine depending on size of course in a fish bag with
> air space above the water. This weekend I will be driving to an auction
that
> is 7 hours away. I will bag the fish in the morning and later that night
or
> say 14-15 hours later I will open the bags, remove some water, add fresh
> water and reseal the bag. They will then be sitting all day the next day
at
> the auction and will be fine. I can add bag buddies if I want. I don't
feed
> the fish for 2 days prior to travel which eliminates the waste and ammonia
> build up problem in the bag. For a 15 mile trip I would simply put a
mixture
> of tank water and fresh decholrinated water in a bucket and put the fish
in
> the bucket with a lid, empty the tank and move it. If the last thing you
do
> is tear down the tank and the first thing you do is set it back up then no
> problem with your filter media going bad however if you cannot reestablish
> the filter within an hour or two at the max. then I would suggest putting
> the media in tank water where you may want to use an air stone. Just my
..02
>
> Rick
>
>

[Rick]

"CanadianCray" > wrote in message
.. .
> Yeah for a short trip like 15miles thats not a problem but that many hours
> in a bag like that, no thanks. Think of yourself trapped in an air tight
> 10X10 room in about 8 hours your done. Would want to be those fish....
thats
> major stress.
>


with all due respect I would assume that you have not been around the hobby
all that long or have had experience in large Fish Shows. Thousands and
thousands of fish are shipped, stored and other wise transported safely
every day in bags. Once a month our local Aquarium Society has an auction
where fish that were probably bagged first thing in the morning are sold
about 8 hours later and likely put back into tank water an hour or more
after that. Attend a convention of any large association like the American
Cichlid association. Thousands of people bring fish to sell. Hotel rooms are
full of people who attend for the sole purpose of selling fish. Hundreds and
hundreds of bags of fish are on display on tables in various rooms. It is
the norm, not the exception. Stress...everything out of the normal stresses
fish. You can minimize it using bag buddies, doing the small water change
and resealing the bag which also provides air exchange.

Rick

[Rick]

by the way , I assume the name may indicate that you are in Canada as am I.
If your anywhere near Winnipeg check out our website at www.asw.ca for
details on our huge "Got Fish" Expo. coming up April 10th. This weekend I
will be bagging about a dozen bags of various fish and traveling from
Winnipeg to Regina for their big Sunday auction.

Rick


"CanadianCray" > wrote in message
.. .
> Yeah for a short trip like 15miles thats not a problem but that many hours
> in a bag like that, no thanks. Think of yourself trapped in an air tight
> 10X10 room in about 8 hours your done. Would want to be those fish....
thats
> major stress.
>
> "Rick" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "CanadianCray" > wrote in message
> > .. .
> > > Most of the time when fish are left in the bag for more than 3-4 hours
> you
> > > they have pure oxygen in the bag.
> > >
> >
> >
> > pure oxygen, I don't think so. I bag and transport fish all the time to
> > auctions. They will do fine depending on size of course in a fish bag
with
> > air space above the water. This weekend I will be driving to an auction
> that
> > is 7 hours away. I will bag the fish in the morning and later that night
> or
> > say 14-15 hours later I will open the bags, remove some water, add fresh
> > water and reseal the bag. They will then be sitting all day the next day
> at
> > the auction and will be fine. I can add bag buddies if I want. I don't
> feed
> > the fish for 2 days prior to travel which eliminates the waste and
ammonia
> > build up problem in the bag. For a 15 mile trip I would simply put a
> mixture
> > of tank water and fresh decholrinated water in a bucket and put the
fish
> in
> > the bucket with a lid, empty the tank and move it. If the last thing you
> do
> > is tear down the tank and the first thing you do is set it back up then
no
> > problem with your filter media going bad however if you cannot
reestablish
> > the filter within an hour or two at the max. then I would suggest
putting
> > the media in tank water where you may want to use an air stone. Just my
> .02
> >
> > Rick
> >
> >
>
>

[Polarhound]

I helped a friend move 11 tanks in one afternoon.

We had a bunch of 5 gallon buckets for the smaller fish and all the
gravel, and 25 gallon tupperware containers with locking tops for the
water transfer and larger fish (lungfish, 12" buttikoferi, etc.)

Draining the water and moving the fish to the buckets/containers took
about 2 hours. Then all the gravel went into buckets, the canister
filters were disconnected BUT KEPT FULL OF WATER, tanks were brought
outside one at a time and washed out with a hose.

It took a total of 7 hours to break down, move, and set all the tanks
back up. That was 5 months ago, and all the fish are happy and healthy.

[Dick]

On 16 Mar 2004 13:13:08 -0800, (polypheus)
wrote:

>Hello!
>
>I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
>fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
>and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.
>
>My plan for moving is to:
>1. Drain tank so that only about 1/10 of water is left.
>2. Remove all driftwood from tank
>3. Disconnect canister filter
>4. Leave Gravel and 3 fish in tank
>5. Carry Tank (w/ Gravel and 3 fish and 6G of water in it) to truck
>6. Carry Stand to truck
>7. Transport Tank and Stand to new home via truck.
>8. Reconstruct Aquarium at new home (position stand and tank,
>re-attach filter, add water, water conditioner, etc)
>
>Needless to say the tank will be quite heavy but I am hoping 3-4
>strong people could carry the tank in this state.
>
>Is this a good plan? Or is it a bad idea to leave the gravel and water
>in the tank due to weight and stress issues?
>
>Thanks!
>
>(Reply to newsgroup please, email invalid)


I would leave some water in the tank, a few inches above the sand
doesn't amount to much pressure on the glass. If the fish can stand
movement in bags, then movement inside the tank is no problem.

I am most concerned about adding so much new water at the receiving
end. I think having your sand, fish and some water is a good start.
Perhaps by adding small amounts of fresh water over several days, the
water can maintain its biological balance. I assume you have thought
about temperature. You don't mention weather conditions or heating of
tank in transit.

I hope you do a follow up in the group.

This question has come up before invovling a much longer distance. I
thought in that case, N.Y. to Calif. it would be better to set up a
new tank in Calif. and ship the fish to the new tank after the tank
had been setup for awhile. Then all the other tank considerations are
not important. I was sorry I didn't see a follow up on that trip.

[Robert Flory]

"polypheus" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello!
>
> I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
> fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
> and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.

use lots of buckets.... empty the tank.... life is too short.

However, My wife came up with a better way .....

She bought me a new tank, we set it up in the new place, put all the fish in
buckets, filled the new tank with 50% water from the old tank, added all the
mulm vacuumed out of the old tank, dumped in all the old plants, put the
old filer on and added the fish. Instant cycle.
The angels laid eggs for the first time 7 days later ... liked the new
softer water.

Much easier than what I'd planned ....

It was a good thing too, the pair of angels nearly killed the other angels.
They had to be moved in to the old tank, with a few plants. Fresh water, new
filter and old gravel and lots of plants.... Never a sign of ammonia.

A bit of mulm and a bunch of cheap plants to soak up the ammonia and you
don't need to wait for a "cycle. Just don't over stock for a while ;-)

bob

[NetMax]

"polypheus" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello!
>
> I am planning to move an Oceanic 58G Aquarium. It is now mostly a
> fresh water planted aquarium with just three fish: two blue gouramis
> and one clown loach. I am moving it about 15 miles away.
>
> My plan for moving is to:
> 1. Drain tank so that only about 1/10 of water is left.

It's recommended to remove all the water. If any water is left, its
weight will increase the stress on the tank during transport, especially
by hand (twist).

> 2. Remove all driftwood from tank

Do this after the fish have been removed (potentiial toxins under the
driftwood base).

> 3. Disconnect canister filter

To do as late as possible, and then remove the filter media and put into
an open bucket of tank water.

> 4. Leave Gravel and 3 fish in tank

Gravel is very heavy and not desirable to leave in. Fish never travel in
a tank (slosh slosh). Ordinarily, tanks are not solid enough to
withstand twist stress when they have water/gravel in it. You might get
away with it, especially as it's an Oceanic (thick glass). I've seen
cradles made out of 2x4 and plywood to move tanks and keep them flat
during transport (no twist).

With only 3 fish, visit your LFS and ask for a styrofoam box. They
receive their deliveries in these boxes, and they often go into the
garbage.

> 5. Carry Tank (w/ Gravel and 3 fish and 6G of water in it) to truck
> 6. Carry Stand to truck
> 7. Transport Tank and Stand to new home via truck.
> 8. Reconstruct Aquarium at new home (position stand and tank,
> re-attach filter, add water, water conditioner, etc)
>
> Needless to say the tank will be quite heavy but I am hoping 3-4
> strong people could carry the tank in this state.
>
> Is this a good plan? Or is it a bad idea to leave the gravel and water
> in the tank due to weight and stress issues?

Better to start with 100% fresh water (except what is in the box with the
fish and in the pail with the filter media). De-chlor the water, mix it
up a bit, wait 10 minutes and off you go (assumes water parameters are
the same as where you came from). You can prepare for the trip by doing
extra water changes at home, to get your tank to be closer to fresh drawn
tap water.

The best idea (imho) is to set up a tank at the destination, then the
next day move the fish, and then the next day, tear down the old tank
(assumes you have a spare tank). In doing this, you first transfer your
fish from your main tank to a smaller tank at home (at your liesure) so
it's your main tank which gets permanently set up at the destination
first :o)

ps: Most of your good bacteria is the aerobic stuff in your filter, so
you're planning your precautions to move 2 things, your fish and their
bacteria. AFAIK, there is no significant amount of bacteria in your
water, and the bacteria in your gravel reproduces very fast, so it's not
too much of a worry (especially with only 3 fish ;~).

NetMax

> Thanks!
>
> (Reply to newsgroup please, email invalid)