Moving home vs tropical tank

[leemonk]

Hey,

I posted a while back with various problems and with what i found to be the ideal soloution which was following the Walstad setups which has beena huge success!

However I now find myself moving home next week and need advice on both how to actual move a tank but also balancing that advice with my current setup as A) I love the way it look and B) love the way it works. So ideally I'd move the whole tank fully loaded with water but I know this can not happen.

ANy advice?

Can I empty most of the water and keep enough for the fish and plants to remain in place, do I need to start over? If so, how do I transport the fish?

I own a Jewel 180 RIO with it's own cabinet.

Regards

Lee

 

[Henry]

Remove the fish and put in bags from your local fish shop. Drain the tank down to the substrate. Slide the tank onto a piece of wood large enough to cover the entire bottom of the tank; use this to carry the tank, as it will spread the weight the same way the cabinet would. While in transit, be sure to spray your plants every couple of minutes to keep them wet. At the other end, simply apply the reverse.

 

[leemonk]

thanks.

My concern is that between draining the water and getting to the new loction is likely to be round 8hrs+ as we have someone packing and the its a 4hr road trip along with an unpack.

How long can tropical fish remain bagged without heat?

 

[Henry]

Fish Heat Pack | eBay - Solves that problem. Just put the bags in a sealed box with the heat packs, insulated with newspaper or similar.

As long as you can keep spraying the plants, they should be fine for a fairly prolonged period of time. If you could keep the tank covered with cling film between spraying, even better, as this will help maintain a moist atmosphere.

 

[Crxgaz]

having a battery powerd air pump to oxygenate the water your transporting your fish in would be a good idea.

 

[Iain Sutherland]

fish will be fine bagged if they are breathable bags, 1/4 water 3/4 air. Otherwise putting them in a large container with some plants for security would work fine.
As above just drain the tank, cling film it and move. As its 8 hrs you may want to spray once or twice. I know mark evans moved his 120cm tank fully scaped to a show without issue along with ed etc for aquatics live, tanks a surprisingly strong especially a braced one like a rio.
best of luck.