Moving

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Jay2theT, Nov 17, 2011.

  1. Jay2theT

    Jay2theT

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    Hi all,

    I hoping that someone can give good advice....

    We may be moving house. Not far just a cuple of Kms, but I have a Juwel 180ltr tank all set up and the idea of moving this is pertifying me.

    Are there companies which specialised in moving setup tanks? I know that they will probably take water out etc, but I worry about doing this myself and harming the fish, damaging the tank etc.

    Advice most welcome
     
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  3. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    If possible, I would take the tank to a family member or friend well before you move.
    That way you won't be stressed on the day of the move, and you can go and collect it when you are more settled.

    Drain as much of the water as you can into a container. Catch the fish and bag them.
    Remove remaining water and take out plants, rocks, wood, gravel etc.

    (Do not carry tank with anything in it. It could crack!)

    Take tank to new location. Replace gravel etc. Fill up with saved water and fill balance with dechlorinated water.
    Plug in heater, filters etc. When desired temp is reached, float fish in bags, and introduce as normal.
    Try feed a little less for the first few days while the tank settles in

    That is more or less what I would do.
     
  4. mydummyname

    mydummyname Balala shark

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    i moved house a 6 weeks ago...

    set up 2 temporary tanks at family member's houses, moved my fish to those to tanks, moved into my own house, set up the tanks 2 weeks later and moved my fish back into their own tanks.

    fish losses over the course of the 2 moves:

    14 tiger barbs,
    2 albino corries,
    16 silver tip tetras
    1 baby ancistrus
    3 rosy barbs.

    i think the stress of moving between 2 homes in such a short space of time was just too much.. moving house is a very very difficult and stressfull thing to do, some fish make it, some fish dont.. my bala sharks and clown loaches were all fine tho.. even then, i had to deal with outbreaks of ich and still dealing with it. even my plants suffered.

    all things considered, i would say, if you can afford it, get a professional company to move your tanks and fish..

    its not nice to see your fish die :(
     
  5. OP
    Jay2theT

    Jay2theT

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    hmmm thanks, so there are professioanl companies that do this then? it may cost me, but to be honest I would rather pay and have peace of mind that stuff it up myself + I don't have another go-between house where I can temporarily move thme to
     
  6. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    @mydummyname.
    Sorry to hear that you had losses.

    If there is a company that can come and do the move on the day, that would be first prize.
    But if there isn't, I still think a 2 stage move is better than doing it on the day.
    I know of someone on a specialist Malawi Forum who lost a 5ft tank full of fish when he tried to move the fish and house on the same day. He was rushing because he was under pressure to be out of the house, he wasn't giving it his full attention because there was too much going on around him, and it ended in disaster.
     
  7. Sean J

    Sean J

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    I moved house 3 years ago. I moved a 250L 4ft tank. Not a single loss. I kept the fish in a Black 80L bucket. In a darker spot. Reduces the stress if they are not brightly lit. Get a small filter to filter the 80L tub. If you need one, I might have one to lend you if you want?

    Then you move the tank, set it up with as much of the origional water as possible. (I have some 25L water containers too if you want to borrow them) Keep the original filter material in a bucket with an airstone for movement and water circulation. Once the tank has been set up again, use a load of Seachem Stability or MicrobeLift Special Blend, and leave it to run for a few days and then put the fish back in.

    It is a hectic procedure, but it has to be done. Just use double the dose of the Seachem or microbelift. It's not dangerous at all...

    Also, don't feed the bucket of fish heavily!! You could cause ammonia spikes. Or feed heavily and do daily water changes.
     
  8. Vis

    Vis Gerhard

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    Moving house and tanks the same day is asking for trouble.
    I lost loads of fish just 2 weeks back because of this.

    My biggest mistake was trying to keep my filter media alive. Well I did not and when I turned the filters on in the tank they were pretty much pumping ammonia.

    My advice would be te clean your filters completely and get Microbelift special blend to get your tank started again.

    Moving your filter and fish to a temp tank within a few minutes would be ideal.

    Best of luck. Next time I move house I might rather sell the fish and buy new ones when my tanks are ready again.

    Maybe there is a member with a spare tank that can babysit while your tank gets ready at your new place?

    Gerhard
     
  9. OP
    Jay2theT

    Jay2theT

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    Thanks for all the advice people.....much appreciated.
     
  10. azurekoi

    azurekoi Loaches & Gobies

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    Another little "trick of the trade" is to purge your fish before the move... Stop feeding at least 3 days before the day of the move... If fishies aren't digesting food,they will not be releasing massive amounts of ammonia during the move... the catching process causes them to stress,ups respiration and thereby as a metabollic respnse,also the production of ammonia...

    Dont worry - 3 days without food wont harm them in the least... G'luck with the move!
     
  11. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    Yup, makes sense too.
    Since they will be in a bag or small bucket for an extended period of time, it will reduce the amount of waste in the water.
     

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