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Post by cusson1988 on Jan 29, 2019 20:51:46 GMT -5
Hey I was just wondering if anyone has advise/ experience in moving fish and tanks. I'm moving from amherstburg to belle river and was hoping someone can give me some direction and guidance as I have multiple fish tanks( around 400 gallons)
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Jan 29, 2019 21:46:50 GMT -5
What type of fish do you have and what size tanks ? There’s different approaches to moving different types and sizes of fish .
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Post by gabor129 on Jan 30, 2019 18:10:17 GMT -5
If you can set up tanks at new location first! Make the move a lot easier. However I am with Les, what kind of fish and what size tanks?
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Post by cusson1988 on Jan 30, 2019 18:24:56 GMT -5
I have 10 thanks but only 2 are of concern. I have a 120 gallon filled with glo fish and odd balls elephant nose knife fish baby whales glass catfish and a bunch of killifish, and then there's my big 180 gallon filled with rainbow fish a bunch of eels 4 or 5 big crayfish and some cichlids
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Moving
Jan 31, 2019 7:45:34 GMT -5
Post by Andre on Jan 31, 2019 7:45:34 GMT -5
Are you going to try and move this over one day?
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Post by cusson1988 on Jan 31, 2019 7:56:18 GMT -5
That's hopefully the idea people move into the house the same day I get the keys for the new house I might try and bridge my mortgage so I might be able to move in 2 days before I have to be out of my house
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Post by Xander on Jan 31, 2019 8:49:41 GMT -5
If you have the luxury, I would make moving day for the fish separate from moving day for the family. Whether that's doable or not, I would always focus completely on the tanks being the very FIRST thing torn down, moved, and set up, or else the very LAST thing torn down, moved, and set up. This way they don't get forgotten or sidelined by all the hundreds of other things that need to happen on moving day, just piling up on their stress.
I would use fish bags for as much of the small guys as possible, and 5 gallon buckets or totes (covered with either a lid or a plastic bag would be fine) for your larger guys. Totes and buckets will work just as well and hold many of your little guys, I just prefer them in bags because lett water can splash out on the ride. Don't fill the buckets or totes more than 1/3 of the way up with water, to avoid said splashing.
Do not feed your fish for at least a day before their move, preferably even 2 or 3 days.
Have a dedicated bucket of aquarium water to transfer all your cycled media in so that it does not dry out. Consider keeping your plants, decorations, and substrate wet as well, if you want to save as much bacteria as you possibly can. The substrate will be heavy enough as it is though, and keeping it under water could make the move that much more tedious.
You've got a lot more tanks to consider than I've ever helped move before, so I suggest writing down a very solid plan of attack before ever starting. It could look something like this:
> Empty all tanks 2/3s of the way > Remove all decorations and plants into their containers > Catch all fish and place them into their containers > Tear down the heaters, filters, etc > Remove all substrates into their containers > Finish draining tanks > Tear down aquariums and stands > Pack up and drive to the new place > Set up aquariums and stands > Add substrate > Fill tanks 1/4 or 1/3 of the way > Set up the heaters, filters, etc > Add decorations and plants > Fill tanks most of the way (consider the volume it will take to float all your fish bags! Perhaps float them while you're adding the rest of the water) > Float fish to acclimate them to water temps (transfer the tank's water into your buckets and totes bit by bit to temperature-match the larger guys) > Release fish
I would transfer the fish and bacteria in a well-heated vehicle to expose them to as little cold as possible. Just as long as they aren't getting cold, the fish can stay in their transfer containers for a very long time (not just hours but days, if you've given them enough oxygen) because you've fasted them and they won't be fouling their water as quickly as normal. The bacteria will not last as long though, being starved of their food source (ammonia).
You have a bit of a drive, but you don't need to do everything in a single trip. Do one trip for the fish, and then one trip for the equipment, if you have to.
I'm sure it takes a village to move both a 180 and a 120 gallon aquarium. The more friends and family you can get on staff, the better of a time everyone will have. Dedicate teams to certain aquariums, lol. Have a pizza place on call, or else make a trip to the beer store.
I would normally suggest bringing as much of the current home's water as you can possibly bring since your new home is likely to have completely different parameters, but I think you're dealing with too much water volume to make that suggestion plausible.
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