Moving to a house best options for the fish tanks

[Steve1985]

I am moving in a few months and going to be bringing my 4 fish tanks with me. What is the best way to go about moving them?

I have live plants in all 4 of them. They also have shrimp and other bottom feeders. 
 

I have a 75, 29, 5, 2 1/2 gallon tanks. Not really worried about the two small ones but I am worried about the big ones. 
 

would it be best to pull all the fish out and transport in a bucket or leave in the tank with minimal water and use an air pump. 

[Isaac M]

I have not moved a 75 before but I have moved a 55, 29 and 20 gallon long before. What I did was lower the water to where it was able to be carried easily with 2-4 people and had an air stone going. I did not move very far though. 

There are various factors that matter too like how long will the trip be, do you have a lot of fish, are the fish all peaceful, will you be able to set up the aquarium as soon as you get there, etc. 

[lefty o]

the 29 could be done several ways, drop the water way low and give it an air pump, or do it like the 75. for the 75 i'd drain it down, put the substrate in 1 or 2, 5 gallon buckets, and the fish in another bucket with an air pump. have moved my 120 like that a couple of times, and as long as everything stays damp, you'll keep most of the beneficial bacteria.

[Fish Folk]

35 minutes ago, Steve1985 said:

I am moving in a few months and going to be bringing my 4 fish tanks with me. What is the best way to go about moving them?

I have live plants in all 4 of them. They also have shrimp and other bottom feeders. 
 

I have a 75, 29, 5, 2 1/2 gallon tanks. Not really worried about the two small ones but I am worried about the big ones. 
 

would it be best to pull all the fish out and transport in a bucket or leave in the tank with minimal water and use an air pump. 

I’d like to hear from others. My process has been to move in as narrow a span of time as possible. So, it requires help and a reasonably sized vehicle.

You’ll want to have the exact spot ready. Plugs / surge breakers in wall. Proximity to a bathroom or sink thought through, etc. I’d drain 70% of the water. Then catch all live fish or shrimp possible, and bag carefully like you’re prepping them for shipping. Bag the plants next, like you’d bag to sell. Drain rest of water. Depending on how heavy the substrate is, you’ll definitely need help... might need to remove substrate to buckets. Keep all mulm  and sludge full of bio. Keep it wet.

Physically move tanks and stands, and set up in reverse order. Put treated new water in. To minimize cloudy water, insert water over top of bubble wrap sheet to keep substrate from getting stirred up. Get filters running. Get plants and Hardscape reset. Test water for temperature and parameters. Unless there’s a red flag, add fish. 

Edited May 26, 2021 by Fish Folk

[Steve1985]

That makes sense. The issue I am going to have is I would like to not have to disassemble the tanks. The 75 has a dirt bottom with a cap on top of the dirt. Disassembling it would Destroy that tanks substrate layers and would have to have all new substrate put in. More work then I would want to do. 

[Steve1985]

2 hours ago, Isaac M said:

I have not moved a 75 before but I have moved a 55, 29 and 20 gallon long before. What I did was lower the water to where it was able to be carried easily with 2-4 people and had an air stone going. I did not move very far though. 

There are various factors that matter too like how long will the trip be, do you have a lot of fish, are the fish all peaceful, will you be able to set up the aquarium as soon as you get there, etc. 

The trip would be 30 min- 1hr max from old setup to new setup. All community fish  

[lefty o]

you could try to move the 75 with its substrate, but you would have to be ultra careful in handling the tank. with the weight in it, it will be much more prone to cracking if it gets twisted etc while moving.

[Isaac M]

Yeah I agree with @lefty o, I would be ultra careful with moving it. I would try to have at least 4 people (if not 6) so the bottom frame can be supported in as many areas as possible as it is being handled. I would remove the fish if possible so I could lower the water as much as I can. I would try not to remove the substrate (given that you have soil) but that extra weight does increase the risk of the aquarium. 

The idea @Fish Folk proposed is great as well. Have everything ready at the other place to set it up as quickly as possible again. 

[Patrick_G]

My wife and I  helped a friend move her tanks. We did it the evening before moving day so the new house was empty and our friend had already set up power strips and a hose system for filling. We removed the hard scape and plants, then quickly removed the fish into buckets and drained the water. We had helpers and enough vehicles to move all the tanks in one go. Stands and tanks were quickly set up and the fish were back in the tanks in less than hour. 

[Brandy]

I will be doing this soon. For 10 tanks. by the end I will have a tutorial, lol.

Good luck. My plan is to bag or bucket all fish, drain and lift small tanks with sturdy plywood under them to provide support and a handhold. The 40 breeder I am sad to say, may get broken down. My Val is not going to be happy. 

I have tried to move tanks with low water. I strongly do not reccomend. The sloshing is more damaging than being out of water (but covered in damp paper towels) for plants, and fish can be injured on hardscape.

[FreshwaterFacet]

I will also be moving soon! I have moved established tanks to different parts of our house using the plywood method @Brandytalked about. 

My current plan for my tanks is to take the water level down to just above the substrate and carefully set it on the sturdy plywood and moving it that way. (Thank goodness we already have the plywood or it would be cheaper just to buy a whole new tank set up at the new place! Haha) I have buckets prepared to take the fish in with a USB air pump for an air stone as well. 
 

On this topic, would anyone here suggest bringing additional, current tank water to you new place? Or even some tank water and some fresh water from your old house? I’m just wondering if with the stress of the catching, the moving, etc. it would be better to have to the absolute closest to normal water parameters until they are settled back in. 
 

We will only be moving about 25 minutes away but we’d be switching from city to well water. 
Thanks! 

[Askinator]

Moving fish tanks can be a bit tricky but it sounds like you've been doing your research and have some solid plans in place. The method mentioned about using plywood and lowering the water level sounds like a good idea. It's also a great idea to have an air pump on hand in case the water level is too low to support your fish during the move. I also have to move to a new house soon, fortunately with the help of Mortgage Broker Bristol. I have only one tank and I plan to drain water to a level where it's easy to move and use an air pump to keep the fish alive during the journey. It's also a good idea to bring some of your old tank water with you to the new house to help ease the transition for your fish. And since you're moving just 25 minutes away and switching from city to well water, I would bring both some of your old tank water and some fresh water. Best of luck with the move, and I hope your fish make it to their new home safely!

Edited January 16 by Askinator