random question

[SC Fish]

i know that im proberably gioing to move after gcse or a level (every 7 months or 3 years time) 

and i know thats quite a long time. but im wondering , how am i going to move the tanks?

 

i know what to do with the 10 gallon. drain water, fish in buckets , lid on buckets , portable airstones. decorations in another tub etc

 

and more or less ill do the same with the 20 gallon, however, i have 2 issues , 1 being substrate. i have 2 substrates in the 20 , 1 is a dirt substrate and the other is black sand. and ive been told that black sand must stay on top of the dirt or the water clouds up, which ive seen has been happening when i move stuff in the tank. but when im moving houses , the substrates im sure will completley mix around even if i leave them alone in the tank. atleast im pretty sure. now i know i could just take out all the water and the substrate will likely not move much at all, however this leads onto my second issue, carpet plants, how would i prepare these? i was thinking to leave them in the tank with some water covering atleast half of it, but that wont work if the substrate will mix over because it wont be worth risking very dirty water. so what would i do??

[nabokovfan87]

"dirt substrate" meaning potting soil or something like an aquasoil? 

Either way, you're moving substrate so it's going to be churned and mixed.  I totally tried to use a strainer and get the sand to go through and then end with the fluval stratum balls in a seperate container, but it's not something that is easy to do and I would just avoid that altogether.  Either just accept that it's going to be mixed up... or.... you just get at much sand as you can without junk in it (usually that's the expensive media) and then dispose of the rest of it.  Seperate it for the bottom layer, but it's going to be mixed and that could cause anaerobic pocket issues long term.  It might not, but it could.

Substrate you move like anything else.  You can dry it, just use a towel and it takes a little while based on temp (3-7 days) and then store it in a tub, bucket, or bag with a lid.  Get it into a bucket, rinse it really well, then lay it out to dry for the length of time need be.  You would go and move it around every 12-24 hours as to give more parts of the sand/substrate a chance to dry.

You can also keep it wet and move it that way.

 

[lefty o]

buckets are your friend. with the 20, and worried about mixing up the substrate, id drain the water and move it as it. dont mess with the dirt. a 20 with substrate is still manageable to move.

[SC Fish]

On 11/12/2022 at 10:40 PM, lefty o said:

buckets are your friend. with the 20, and worried about mixing up the substrate, id drain the water and move it as it. dont mess with the dirt. a 20 with substrate is still manageable to move.

Its definitely pickable because ive moved it even half filled already many times, i move it alot, and thats alone! Im sure someone will help me when im actually moving but it can be moved. I have 2 buckets, obviously ill get more , they are 7 pounds for a 5g so not a big investment clearly 

[Adam Swarbrick]

If you’re careful I think you should be okay. Just drop the water level down as far as possible, the semi wet sand should hold as long as you aren’t swinging it around like mad. To save the carpeting plants I’d cover with wet kitchen roll and cover the top with cling film plants will stay moist for the transfer then all you have to do is gently refill.

[SC Fish]

On 11/12/2022 at 11:06 PM, Adam Swarbrick said:

If you’re careful I think you should be okay. Just drop the water level down as far as possible, the semi wet sand should hold as long as you aren’t swinging it around like mad. To save the carpeting plants I’d cover with wet kitchen roll and cover the top with cling film plants will stay moist for the transfer then all you have to do is gently refill.

understandable, in humid conditions they wiould likely be fine

[Flumpweesel]

I assume this is your family planning a move so I'm sure that they are going to help you take care of this.

(Fingers crossed you can stay local for 6th form) 

Happily it's very hard to move in the UK a distance that requires to much prep (benefit of a small island) I wouldn't worry too much until you know what's happening

 I definitely agree that removing fish and decor into separate buckets (I like those insulated picnic boxes) getting that water level as low as possible and the substrate shouldn't move to much it will shift more at they lift and carry if your not careful than the journey 

[SC Fish]

On 11/13/2022 at 9:48 AM, Flumpweesel said:

I assume this is your family planning a move so I'm sure that they are going to help you take care of this.

(Fingers crossed you can stay local for 6th form) 

Happily it's very hard to move in the UK a distance that requires to much prep (benefit of a small island) I wouldn't worry too much until you know what's happening

 I definitely agree that removing fish and decor into separate buckets (I like those insulated picnic boxes) getting that water level as low as possible and the substrate shouldn't move to much it will shift more at they lift and carry if your not careful than the journey 

yeah i talked to my mum yesterday, she said we will prober ably stay here for sixth form and definitely move for uni. but its good now that i understand already what to do!

even though im probably going to change alot in the tanks