Planning a Long Move. Questions.

[Odd Duck]

On 10/5/2021 at 12:56 AM, CalmedByFish said:

Oooh genius. So this is like @Patrick_G's idea of baffling, but the sides of the sponge would go into 2 opposite corners, so I wouldn't have to glue anything. Right?

I only have a few handfuls of soft floating plants. Of these fish, whose bodies would be in most need of cushioning? Endler males, females, fry. Platy males, females, fry.

Yes, exactly.  Baffling the sloshing sounds like a great idea to me, but easier to use semi-rigid filter foam from ACO or wherever you can get it, than a rigid plastic.  I looked at @Patrick_G picture and the foam pieces popped into my head as easier and potentially safer than rigid plastic.  Plus the benefit of some filtration.  Plus I’ve gotten shrimp shipped with bits of foam (it’s really for them to pick at and eat biofilm but it does both).

As far as who needs the plants most, I would say fry are the most fragile?  But I guess I would ask myself which fish I value the most and start with them.  You should have some time to get a few more plants acclimated.  Water wisteria grows fast, as does water sprite, pearlweed, and guppy grass.  All of those could be excellent at cushioning a bit.  Anacharis/Elodea would be another often shipped with shrimp but it floats higher where the others tend to be wider and float a little lower.

[Guppysnail]

On 10/4/2021 at 7:13 PM, CalmedByFish said:

I've decided to use rectangular containers so I can use them as little tanks after arrival. Taking that shape into account, can you clue me in? Even 1 idea would be enough for me to get my thoughts moving.

Shredded newspapers or bunched cloth to “cushion the corners and impact of sloshing. That’s what I do when transporting my guppies in a rectangle cooler with fish in bags. 

[CalmedByFish]

I landed on the below link for everything but the angel, and got the angel his own 5 gallon bucket. (I bet nothing will actually be full of water, since they'd be too heavy.) This is a good framework for working out the rest of the details.

Anybody have suggestions for my many pothos vines? I'm currently just thinking of putting them, moist, into a couple plastic trash bags, then into a cardboard box. The leaves would be in moisture for about a week, but I've seen people keep them alive submerged for a month, so maybe it's fine. If you're sure the trash bag idea is bad, let me know.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA5F3O

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@CalmedByFishive used those sterilites in my garage fish area for qt. It’s a good form to work with for your purposes not to high but high enough. Not sure how well the top will seal - didn’t have that gasket which is a nice touch.

I know money is always tight but one thing i think could be very helpful for you to run the USB pumps would be something like this -  Limited-time deal: AIMTOM 155Wh Portable Power Station, Solar Rechargeable Lithium Battery Backup Power Supply with 110V/100W (Peak 150W) AC Inverter Outlet, USB Ports, DC Output for Outdoors Camping Travel Emergency https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLCQKNS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_dl_SWF7W2XA1D9TRPTTCNSK?psc=1 

while you’re traveling you’d charge it via the car charger and then at night it would run your pumps independently- no worries about aeration as it would be going the whole time. we have one my wife found on prime day it’s great. 
Best of luck we’re all pull for you! 
 

 

[Patrick_G]

I agree with @Beardedbillygoat1975. I have a unit similar to that one for power outages.

[Torrey]

On 10/4/2021 at 3:38 PM, CalmedByFish said:

@Torrey That is seriously impressive! What an accomplishment! Thanks for the loads of ideas.

By the way, I do have fry. But my thinking is that they can be in fry-only containers, so I can give them a couple snacks and little water changes, while most of the others stay in the car. 

It just occurs to me: No matter how well I plan this, I'll probably have to edit the plan en route. 

Whenever there are other live things involved, especially children, this is the norm.

[Torrey]

On 10/4/2021 at 11:56 PM, CalmedByFish said:

Oooh genius. So this is like @Patrick_G's idea of baffling, but the sides of the sponge would go into 2 opposite corners, so I wouldn't have to glue anything. Right?

I only have a few handfuls of soft floating plants. Of these fish, whose bodies would be in most need of cushioning? Endler males, females, fry. Platy males, females, fry.

I am discovering that endlers are better than decent parents. I can't remember how many you said you had, but in terms of life being easier, plants would supply food to endlers, including fry, and would absorb the waste as well. 

That would just leave the platy to separate.

[Guppysnail]

Your pothos. I sell and ship rooted pothos clippings. Wrap the roots in newspaper that is soggy wet. Not too soggy or it falls apart but not too dry.  Wrap the roots in this newspaper then in Saran Wrap I place the roots with these two things in a baggie with a rubber band below the leaves and leave the leaves exposed. You can then place in a box with crumpled newspaper.  Longest delay I had shipping was 16 days. I kept in contact with my buyer. They arrived fine and perked up in just days with some sun. 
unfortunately  my company moved me a few states away for a year at one point and I moved 14 potted pothos plants. They were in my car overnight for one night. The temp dropped to 34-36 degrees with them in my car boxed and they died. It was like putting raw veggies in a freezer. So not to add stress to you but good insulation and possibly a hand warmer with lots of insulation between the hot pack and the plant may be needed. Best of luck. 

[CalmedByFish]

As far as you know, should plastic containers be safe? I know they may have some kind of residue, so I'll rinse well first. But does the plastic itself leech anything sketchy into the water? I'm specifically wondering about these:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA5F3O?tag=tank01-20

[Torrey]

On 10/7/2021 at 3:33 PM, CalmedByFish said:

As far as you know, should plastic containers be safe? I know they may have some kind of residue, so I'll rinse well first. But does the plastic itself leech anything sketchy into the water? I'm specifically wondering about these:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA5F3O?tag=tank01-20

My experience has been no blatantly obvious harm has been able to show a clear correlation between plastic transport for up to a month, and poor fish health. 

[Odd Duck]

On 10/5/2021 at 2:37 PM, CalmedByFish said:

I landed on the below link for everything but the angel, and got the angel his own 5 gallon bucket. (I bet nothing will actually be full of water, since they'd be too heavy.) This is a good framework for working out the rest of the details.

Anybody have suggestions for my many pothos vines? I'm currently just thinking of putting them, moist, into a couple plastic trash bags, then into a cardboard box. The leaves would be in moisture for about a week, but I've seen people keep them alive submerged for a month, so maybe it's fine. If you're sure the trash bag idea is bad, let me know.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA5F3O

I think those boxes are a good, solid choice.  Wash with Dawn soap to clear any manufacturing residue, then rinse very well.  The Dawn rinses clean.

The Pothos I would treat as @Guppysnail said, wrap roots in heavily dampened paper of some sort whether newspaper or paper towels, then apply plastic wrap over the paper, and layer in crumpled newspaper.  I would probably layer the paper and plants all inside a plastic trash bag but I wouldn’t seal the bag, just lightly close it or fold the top.  It’s there mostly to prevent any water seeping out and getting your other stuff wet, plus to hold in some moisture, but too wet could potentially damage the plants.

Have you had any luck deciding about the foam (or other type) dividers to suppress sloshing?

[Flumpweesel]

On 10/5/2021 at 11:14 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@CalmedByFishive used those sterilites in my garage fish area for qt. It’s a good form to work with for your purposes not to high but high enough. Not sure how well the top will seal - didn’t have that gasket which is a nice touch.

I know money is always tight but one thing i think could be very helpful for you to run the USB pumps would be something like this -  Limited-time deal: AIMTOM 155Wh Portable Power Station, Solar Rechargeable Lithium Battery Backup Power Supply with 110V/100W (Peak 150W) AC Inverter Outlet, USB Ports, DC Output for Outdoors Camping Travel Emergency https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLCQKNS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_dl_SWF7W2XA1D9TRPTTCNSK?psc=1 

while you’re traveling you’d charge it via the car charger and then at night it would run your pumps independently- no worries about aeration as it would be going the whole time. we have one my wife found on prime day it’s great. 
Best of luck we’re all pull for you! 
 

 

I had just thought that this was the answer and could give the option of not having to bring the fish into the hotel every night so you could keep the air running more, also means you can focus on the packing securely if you wont be breaking it up as much.  You may have to have a pile of power packs to swap about but I bet if you ask around loads of your friends have spares they can donate and the pound shop ones here are ok so maybe check out the reviews of your equivalent. 

I had a fish tank on top of a washing machine for awhile  they all used to hang out in the middle during the spin cycle so they can handle a fair amount of turbulence 

 

[Hobbit]

My outdoor tubs leached chlorine for a while, but they were a different sort of plastic and for part of the day they were in the sun. Just keep an eye on the chlorine test on the coop’s test strips, and if you need to, add dechlorinator. But I highly doubt it will be an issue for the tubs you’re looking at.