# Moving houses and aquariums .. Help ?



## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

Hey guys , I need some suggestions as of how to do this ..

Well I am moving to a new house the end of august. At the same time I plan on upgrading my 120 into a 225 that I already have , just needs setting up . I also ordered an arowana that will be arriving ~ the same time . The seller has told me it will probably arrive on the 31 or a day before . I also have some predators I have to move . Luckily the move is only a couple doors down the road, but I am still confused as of how I should get about doing this . I have thought of getting a Rubbermaid and just setting up a temporary tank while I transport the fish .. What do you guys suggest ? I've never done this before with such large & expensive fish ..


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

How long do you have from old place to new? Same day or a few days?


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## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

Same day LOL hopefully I can get in a couple days earlier to setup my tank, I have to move out of my place by august 31 I think noon..


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## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

My plan was to get two large Rubbermaid , setup the one large at the new house ASAP , use the other to transport , setup the 225, empty the 120 to move , keep my fish in the Rubbermaid for the night w/ heater and canister .. Transfer in the morning ..


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## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

Kind unorganized, also have an expensive arowana at the risk here .. A little worried as of what I can do ..


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

My personal opinion is you should NOT be adding any additional fish. The move alone will be very stressful on your existing fish and adding at least 50% new water and a new tank will put a lot of pressure on your filtration system.

I would set up the new tank ASAP at your new location. Start moving as much water as possible. I would do 50% of the existing water and then move half the filtration. Once you have things going at both locations you can start moving your fish in a Rubbermaid container and add the transportation water to the new set up along with the fish. By the end of the move all of the old water and fish should be moved over and then top up your new tank with new de-chlorinated water. Monitor your water parameters for the next couple of weeks and if you don't get a mini cycle you can add your new fish.

Good luck with your move.
--
Paul


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

+1 to the wise words of the mod


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

I agree with Y2KGT but fish are not as fragile as you might think. I have fish in an unfiltered, unheated tank for more than forty eight hours. If the fish is healthy you will have no problems moving fish for a short distance. Also a 50% water change should not effect water conditions, as I will do 50% water changes when I want fish to spawn. Good luck with the move.


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## Dis (Apr 16, 2010)

I do nearly 90% water changes twice a week. When I moved I used large rubber maids and put in new water from the new house. Setup the tank with new water, use prime, and let your established filters run for a few minutes. Also make sure temperatures are similar. Acclimate the new fish with an air line drip into the Rubbermaid before adding the fish. Good luck


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## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

Thanks a lot for the replies everyone. This has certainly helped me feel more comfortable and confident in this move. Will update the forum with my new tank when it is setup  Hopefully everything goes according to plan and no fish gets lost on the way to their new home. Thumbs up ! 



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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

If you can setup the new tank before, then you just need to try to move some water over. Moving water shouldn't be that important in this case because it is the same area and I assume the same source of water so no worries of major changes of ph, gh, kh and so on.

Because the water is the same source I assume, you can just put the fish in containers on moving day and just put them in the new tank and move the filters over. I did a move from city water to a new location with well water, very different water and had no problems. But I moved a fair bit of water with me due to the different water.

you don't have to worry about long transportation and stuff so this is quite a simple move. Basically the same as if you changed tanks in the same house.


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## Hamish (Apr 18, 2014)

*Moving*

I think I would delay the arrival of the arrowana, Just remember it's gonna take time for your water to heat up in the 220, I'm moving a Salt set-up at the same time and I've moved tanks in the past. I'm sure it'll be ok but it certainly is stressful,


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## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

yeah the thing is I cant delay the fish delivery and don't think I can get into the new house any days before to setup the tank . That is the main problem. I have to do this all within a couple of hours or days in a temporary tank. on that note.. any suggestions as to what kind of container to use for a temporary tank ? does anyone In gta have a couple I could borrow or buy for cheap ?





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## KeyLime (May 4, 2014)

I'd be more inclined to use mostly old water even if the tank is only half filled. Then age the new dechlorinated tap water even if it takes a buying a couple of new garbage cans and aerate it well before filling up. You don't need to have the tank full to the top from the get-go, you could take a few days.


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## SoloW (May 25, 2014)

I read somewhere that tank water only has harmful pollutants in it and that 100% new water from the tap is actually better because it starts with minimum nitrates .. not too sure how true this is but I remember reading about that. Also, do you guys think it would be safe for same day tank switch if I added some bottled bio bacteria into the tank while using old filters ,. (question mark is not working atm) . My only concern is temperature, ph, bioshock to the filter, and possibly stressing out all the fish with addition of a new arowana. Anyways, the day will come.. I will update with the new tank setup when Im finished but for now, thanks a lot for all the replies. - Solow





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## KeyLime (May 4, 2014)

SoloW said:


> I read somewhere that tank water only has harmful pollutants in it and that 100% new water from the tap is actually better because it starts with minimum nitrates .


Water straight from the tap has a lot of dissolved gas in it because it is pumped under pressure. Movement/aeration and heating of it allows these gases to escape. Notice all the bubbles on the glass once tap water is added and begins to warm up. Sensitive fish get killed by it.

It would be a good idea to get in many water changes before the big day so that the old tank water is clean. Also a good idea to buy some garbage cans and have lots of aged aerated dechlorinated water on hand even before the move.

When getting new fish, it's best to quarantine it in a separate tank. The water in that tank can be 100% new, so long as it's dechlorinated heated and aerated - say for 24 hrs. That's good water then, assuming the tap water is good, which it usually is.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Very interesting post Keylime 
Thanks for your knowledgable comments


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

If you could fill the new tank up at the new location, use dechorinator and have it running for 24 hours before moving fish, then that would be optimal. Gasses are gone, temp is just right and no nitrates. But with a planted tank, you don't want 0 nitrates.


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