robin Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 sooo, we are moving to a farm about 4 hours from here. i have downsized and reduced my running tanks to 2 overstocked (and overfiltered) tanks for a month or two. we will be juggling a newborn(supposed to get induced on monday morn woo hoo), 4 other kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, rabbit, hamster, newts and fish on this move, so i am looking for all the help i can get on keeping everyone alive and preferably well in this transition. my biggest concern is the fish....go figure....lol i have shut down my canister filters, have two ac 70's on each tank running, now how do I keep the bio media live and well, and fish live and well for the drive and set up time on the other end? do i bag the fish (lots of fish) or get the rubbermaid tub i have heard about......do i drain the tanks completely, or move them 1/4 full and leave the stressed, cramped fish inside? both tanks are about 20-30 gal. am i being selfish on trying to keep the fish and see if they will live on my well water, should i sell them off before i move? what a nightmare. how long would they last in a tote? i will have no power for aeration.....i will just incorporate a big water change in with the move. all comments and tips are welcome....help me out here guys, i am sure most of you have done a move before.......i just have so much else to move i need this to be as easy as possible for me and the fish!! :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesmo Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) I would just get a rubber maid or 2 over bags. Put all the fish in and keep it aerated until the minute you go to leave. Have the fish in the tub with no decorations while you move the tub so the fish dont hit anything/get crushed while sloshing around. Make very sure to get the temp equalized between the fish in the tub and the tank before you put the fish back into the tank because after 4 hours it will have dropped significantly. I personally have a cheap walmart power inverter for my car that I use for running an air bubbler on trips with fish. you could run a small heater also if you get a decent one. I would take all of the water out of the tanks before moving them because any water in a tank while moving it is just likely to damage the tank. Good luck with the move. We just moved 9 tanks last weekend but only to about 6-7 blocks away lol Edited June 10, 2011 by Neesmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 When I moved about 150 fish a couple months ago, I used a few 10 gal pails. The pails were filled about 1/3 w tank water and about 50 fish per pail. They were in the pails for about 4 hrs. In your case, they may be in there double that time (unless you have empty tanks and can have then set up already at your new place). So get a few more totes or pails, lightly stock them for the trip (5-10 ea). Fast your fish for at least 2 days before the move, and a WC the day before will ensure the water you're movin them on is nice and clean. IMO, a bubbler is a waste of money if you're driving. The water will be sloshing around quite a bit which will aeratre the water quite well. If they were going to be still for a while, then a bubbler would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 For your filters, if the biomedia isn't too gross, you can just put it in the pails with the fish. If it is pretty gunky, then just leave a little water in the filters to keep the media from drying out completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted June 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 perfect. thanks guys! now.....anyone in leduc area who has 5 or 10 gallon pails that are fish friendly to sell?? looks like i'll need more than my one 5 gal. now where in the van do i put buckets of fish.........lol thanks again, robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurensdad Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 home depot there white ones with lids work well i did Nanaimo bc to gp in thous with fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitaminz Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I have moved fish several times with rubber maid totes from Walmart. They also come in handy if you have a sump that blows a seal...lol Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) when i moved my two 55 gallon tanks in fall of 2009, i put all the plants and fish from one tank in one rubbermaid (about 15 to 20 gallon size), and filled it 1/3 old tank water and the rest new dechlorinated water. only filled the tub about half full though. tanks were drained pretty much completely, except for substrate/large decor. ended up having some green shrimp survive the ride in an open truck bed with less than a half inch of water sloshing around, in only plus 10-ish weather, lol! the bigger fish (oscar, angel, paratilapia polleni, african cichlid) from my other 55 all got their own 2 gallon bucket with lid. i didn't want to take any chances on anyone spazzing out or fights en route with them. they sat in their buckets until i got the tanks filled back up, then plopped them in before i set to putting filters/lights back on. their individual buckets water was pretty much 100% new water. i'd say all my fish were in the rubbermaid or small buckets for at least a few hours, if not longer, as i was trying to get my tanks set back up and wrangle my kiddo, and make my new apartment live-able for the first night, all at once! lol. everyone fared fine, no casualties, no problems. as for location in the vehicle, i put the rubbermaid at my feet, front passenger seat. the 2 gallon buckets went on the floor at the back seat. vehicle was a huge 'rig pig' style truck, with crew cab. we didn't run air conditioning or heat in the truck. filter media - for hob media, i tossed the sponges in a 5 gallon bucket, along with any biomax (in netting bags). my canisters i just ensured were full of water and hauled them to the new place that way, and fired them up as is at the new place. Edited June 10, 2011 by BettaFishMommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 I would use tank water in the buckets if it's clean and if it starts getting dirty (catching fish and stuff) have some treated and aged fresh water to top off the buckets with so they aren't sitting in much. Use mostly new water at the new place. Don't try to save a bunch of water. Acclimate the fish like normal. And if your fish are all dying from the well water, than you probably have issues too. I wouldn't stress about it. My dad has well water and it was awesome. My city water was brutal.Personally, I think buckets OR individual bags would work fine. Whatever is less stressful for you. You overly stressed = dead fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted June 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 k, thanks. off to get a couple of buckets. thanks for all the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted August 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Well, an update from Frog Lake. We didn't have internet for a month, so now I can finally catch up on my emails and forum. I have terrible news. I am better now, as this happenend a month ago, but I lost almost all of my fish in the move. Get this. The only survivors in my tank were ALL of my wild caught from fairdeal, and 2 congo tetras. In that tank there were 10 glass catfish, 9 congo tetras, many corydora, plecos, upside down catfish, etc, etc. None of those made the move, let alone the first night here. Basically, whoever lived the first day, are still well now. I did the rubbermaid tote idea, I just think the fish were too long in the tote. My daughters 2 huge goldfish and 2 plecos made the trip fine in their tote, so I was thinking something tainted the h2o in mine, but all the wild caught fish were fine!! They must be just so much more healthy and strongon than all the others. So, that tragedy was awful, but it gets worse. 2 weeks ago, 2 weeks in to our new home on the farm, my one of my Aquaclear 70's cracked where the motor attaches to the filter. It must have overheated during one of our many powerouts here during storms, when runnning dry. It dumped 1/4 the 45 gal tank onto the floor. We had to rip up the boards, kill mould, dodge divorce, and plea bargain for my daughter to be able to keep the her fish. The mr. never liked my tanks overunning the house in the first place, then I downsized to move, then a tank drained in our brand new house. Not cool. So......in the bargain my daughter ended up being able to keep her 2 fish. I have to re-home all mine. I have 5 tanks to go, 6 filters, heaters, and buttloads of stuff. I love my wildcaughts from fairdeal....and the nearest pet store won't give me a dime or a trade for hamster food :boxed: for the lovely fish. Crappy eh? I live so far from anywhere, it would be next to impossible to sell the stuff, I can't bring it back to edm when we visit because my poor little minivan is full of 5 kids and me........yeesh. I guess, except for 2 fat goldfish of my daughters, my fishy days are over. Old man says when they die, the tank goes. (little does he know how long they can live!! tee hee ) My hubby seems to not be willing to risk any other tank disasters. I divorced once already. Not doing it again over fish! I will greatly miss my hours of watching fish tv. My beautiful apistos, rams, etc. I was just getting good at keeping plants. Gees, I sound like I am in mourning. Farewell, my fishy forum friends. Thanks for the advice, plants, and awesome fish, especially from fairdeal and natures corner store. Thanks for the good reads and knowing lovely fishy people. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Well that sucks, sorry to hear about all your problems. I just dont trust those HOB filters... Canisters are the way to go for me I think. You could always create some sort of sump/overflow filtration system that would not overflow with any problems that occur. Built some for my Fluval Edge tanks and with a power failure or pump stoppage there is minimal water that siphons back down to the sump but wont overflow anything. Of course that means making them and spending a bit of cash on upgrading which probably wont fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted August 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Well that sucks, sorry to hear about all your problems. I just dont trust those HOB filters... Canisters are the way to go for me I think. You could always create some sort of sump/overflow filtration system that would not overflow with any problems that occur. Built some for my Fluval Edge tanks and with a power failure or pump stoppage there is minimal water that siphons back down to the sump but wont overflow anything. Of course that means making them and spending a bit of cash on upgrading which probably wont fly. yep.....good ideas, and i have an eheim sitting here that was going to be set up on my big tank.......now its a no go. ol man is maxed and even worrying about the kids throwing a toy and breaking a tank....not likely, but possible. guess i'll get my horses sooner than i thought....gotta have one of my passions out here on the farm!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.