Any tips and tricks with packing an aquarium?

[Warren Peace]

Hi all,

We are moving from Washington to Georgia. We have a 10 gallon tank, and we haven't moved with an aquarium before so I would be most thankful if you could give some insight on how to move/pack a tank. Thank you in advance!

[Guppysnail]

Shrink wrap the exterior use bubble wrap then cut up cardboard boxes and shrink wrap that around. That’s how I have done it many times. (Assuming you are asking about an empty tank). Fish I always put in 5 gal buckets battery air pump sponge filter from tank. Hard scape plants 5 gal as well with tank water..  I drill holes in my lids so water does not slop airline fits through hole. Hope that helps

Edited August 18, 2021 by Guppysnail

[TioTeo]

I would also be interested in recommendations here. I am planning a move from Arizona to Missouri in November. I have a 20 gal, and 3 - 5.5 gal, along with 2 - 15 gal indoor ponds. 

My proposed plan was:

1. To downsize as much as possible, giving away extra fish to friends in the area.

2. After this, I was planning on attempting to combine fish and plants into the 5.5 gal aquariums with portable USB batteries and USB air pumps (no filters). I am considering making a back seat wooden rack to help with securing the tanks during travel, and will likely reduce the water as much as possible to limit jostling around of the fish.

3. I will likely not feed the fish during the trip to limit waste build up.

Some outstanding questions/considerations are:

• Do I need to worry about heat, as long as I bring in the tanks overnight any place I stay. Is the car heater enough for the fish I am moving (Bettas, cardinal tetras, danios, rice fish, neo cardina shrimp)? - I likely think so.
• Should I plan for any emergency conditions for changing water during the trip?
• Is there anything I am overlooking?

Thanks,

[Warren Peace]

Thank you! Using the 5 gallon buckets is genius! I might use that trick later on. @GuppysnailDo you think the stress of travel would be too much for my neons? 

 

[Guppysnail]

I housed neons in a bucket for 4 days they did fine. Fish survive shipping and being thrown about by uncaring package handlers in trucks and planes. With your TLC they will be fine I am sure. I did on one move from Las Vegas to Pennsylvania take extra buckets of conditioned water temp gun and my test kit because it was an extended trip so I did partial water changes because I had to feed. I would feed at night in hotel room VERY LIGHTLY and only once during the trip then do PWC before I left. I did not want to add stress of different water on top of trip. My fish all survived just fine. Coop nano pump would make it so you can car charge during the trip. I went with a case of D batteries 🤣

[Warren Peace]

Thank you for the tips! That gave me some reassurance. Washington to Georgia is a pretty long drive though. I'll think things through. The tip for packing the tank really helped. I didn't want it to get cracked in transit 😅 

[ARMYVET]

One last thing about the tank....DONT DROP IT!!!  Dont ask me how I know that!🤬

[Guppysnail]

On 8/18/2021 at 3:07 PM, ARMYVET said:

One last thing about the tank....DONT DROP IT!!!  Dont ask me how I know that!🤬

I would have done a laugh face but I KNOW how NOT funny that is 

[Scott P.]

On 8/18/2021 at 1:38 PM, Warren Peace said:

Hi all,

We are moving from Washington to Georgia. We have a 10 gallon tank, and we haven't moved with an aquarium before so I would be most thankful if you could give some insight on how to move/pack a tank. Thank you in advance!

Warren what art of Georgia are you moving to?

Only reason I ask is I live in Central Ga. I hope you don't mind a little humidity. LOL

[Warren Peace]

We'll be movin somewhere near Marietta. I heard that humidity was pretty bad down there. Hopefully, we'll get used to it. 😂

[Scott P.]

On 8/18/2021 at 4:21 PM, Warren Peace said:

We'll be movin somewhere near Marietta. I heard that humidity was pretty bad down there. Hopefully, we'll get used to it. 😂

Marietta is pretty nice but a bit busy for me. I live about 100 miles south of there.

I've been here all my life so the humidity doesn't bother me. Now if you come from a low humidity area it can be hard to take. A friend of mine moved down from NY state about 20 years ago. He has never gotten used to it.

[TioTeo]

On 8/18/2021 at 3:26 PM, Scott P. said:

Marietta is pretty nice but a bit busy for me. I live about 100 miles south of there.

I've been here all my life so the humidity doesn't bother me. Now if you come from a low humidity area it can be hard to take. A friend of mine moved down from NY state about 20 years ago. He has never gotten used to it.

Luckily the fish won't care, unless it stays incredibly hot and you need to remove humidity to cool down the tanks. I have never been to Georgia so I cannot say I would have any feeling on the temperature and necessary precautions for cooling a fish tank in it.  

[Scott P.]

On 8/18/2021 at 8:05 PM, TioTeo said:

Luckily the fish won't care, unless it stays incredibly hot and you need to remove humidity to cool down the tanks. I have never been to Georgia so I cannot say I would have any feeling on the temperature and necessary precautions for cooling a fish tank in it.  

You won't have a problem keeping the fish cooled off. Every house in Georgia has ac.

[Warren Peace]

A little update. Sadly, we decided we have to give our fish away. 😢 We think that the stress of travel would be a little too much for them. We're going to give them away to a LFS. They said they'd be more than happy to bring them in. Hopefully, they'll end up in a good home!

Edited August 23, 2021 by Warren Peace

[TioTeo]

On 8/23/2021 at 12:16 PM, Warren Peace said:

A little update. Sadly, we decided we have to give our fish away. We think that the stress of travel would be a little too much for them. We're going to give them away to a LFS. They said they'd be more than happy to bring them in. Hopefully, they'll end up in a good home!

Can I ask, being new to the hobby, how do local fish stores typically feel about getting fish donated? What are the typical responses most people get? [There are no LFS in Flagstaff, AZ, but there are plenty down in Phoenix I could drive down to donate them to.]

As mentioned above, I expect to downsize a little for a move in November/December, and I am trying to figure out if I should go with a LFS or try and give them away to brand new individuals in the hobby? Obviously, I expect that some of them are going to die off with new people caring for them, but is this much better than relying on a LFS to have to care and support them? Do we expect that and LFS is going to have more capable clientele to care for them?

The balance here is trying to move all of the fish and having to "worry" about incompatible fish storage during this trip. [Perhaps this is just me thinking out loud to prepare myself for the downsizing.]

Fish under consideration:

1) Blue Miyuki Medaka rice fish which I bred. I will definitely keep a number of them and transport them, as I want to continue to breed them. I will also be giving a setup pond to a family member. I will have a few others and it might be nice to donate to the community as they are more "rare" in the area.

2) 6 cardinal tetras, I would like to keep and will probably transport.

3) 10 Leopard Danios, I could probably part with these as they seem like they will be the most agitating to move with, given their constant swimming. Do you think a LFS would want them?

4) 4 - female betas, currently in a community/sorority tank. I like these, but will they have issues being confined with the cardinals for a dew days on end?

5) 1 - male beta, already in his own tank. I will likely give him to a new/young fish keeper, as he will be the hardest to travel with. I assume this will be the least likely, besides the female betas for a LFS to want to take.

Thoughts?

[Warren Peace]

In my area, a lot of LFS, and Mom & Pop stores were willing to take them in. I made sure to visit them beforehand to make sure they were in good hands, and that the fish stores knew their stuff. A majority of the LFS knew what they were doing, some not so much.  Like one of the fish stores, on the call, they were nice, and seemed like a good place. They asked if any of the fish were sick, so on and so forth. However, when we actually went there, it was filthy, and there were dead fish in the tanks, and looked like they haven't had maintenance ina while. I guess it really depends on the hobbyist and/or Fish store receiving the fish.

As for your specific fish, as long as their peaceful, healthy, etc. they will most likely will be willing to take them in. The bettas with the cardinals together is a little iffy. The bettas might get territorial with the cardinals. Also, the cardinals might get nippy. I guess it depends on the personality, and even so, you might encounter problems. 

I'm not sure about the fish stores in Phoenix, but mine were happy to take them in. I hope this helped in any way. 😀

 

[Wellxam]

This is what I recall from the first time I moved my tanks, I don't know how much of this was good thinking, and how much might be horrible advice, but nothing died in my move that I am aware of. I was only moving about a 2 hour drive away, so take that into account as well.

I had a 5gallon betta tank, which I basically just had someone help me carry  out to the car and drive in-tact, I may have removed some water, but I don't really remember, if I was smart I emptied 1/4-1/2 of the water.

the 20L I loaded the guppies into a bucket, with their aquarium water, and lowered the water level to about an inch or so above the substrate in the tank, mostly to keep the bacteria/biological filtration in-tact, but also because I was too lazy to net out all my neocardinia shrimp, so again, I got assistance loading tank into car, and the shrimp were sloshed around once or twice, but otherwise seemed unscathed.

As I was making a relatively short drive, I did not set up filtration/heat for the fishes, but I think best practice in either case would be to do so.

Also, if it is possible to move furniture into place before moving your tank, that would be ideal, however if you must move everything at once, have a plan (and pack things in a manner which allows) to get the fish settled in sooner than later, e.g. not packing tank and stand under EVERYTHING ELSE. You shouldn't be in a rush to do it, as that will cause mistakes, but remember after unpacking all day, you are more likely to either forget the fish, or be too tired to do things optimally, so the sooner they are handled, the better!

[Guppy Guy]

Whenever we moved, the moving company made a custom crate for my 30 gallon tank, and found a loose box for my 10 gallon. They put paper around the edges, and stuffed the inside with bubble wrap and paper. I gave my fish and 3 gallon tank to a local friend, and now he suffers from MTS almost as bad as I do.

If the tank is really big, you will have to make a second trip for it. Stick it in the back of the car/truck/trailer, and leave the gravel and a 1/2 inch of water in the tank so the bacteria in the gravel won’t die.(If that’s not possible, put it in a 5 gallon bucket with a little water. Use a lid, because if you turn hard and it falls over, it won’t be pretty(I have experience). 

If you want to take fish with you though, I support the 5 gallon bucket method. Most cars have usb charging ports nowadays, so an Aquarium co op USB nano air pump will work fine. I put my small sponge filter in the tank because it filters water, oxygenates the water, and keeps the bacteria alive.

As far as water changes go, I wouldn’t;’t worry about it unless the trip is over a day or 2. Defiantly bring the fish inside the hotel, as it will get hot or cold in your car(depending on where you live). Plus, you should keep the air pump going as oxygen is the first thing to go in an aquarium.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Guppy Guy