Moving 2 hours across state. Need ideas on how to move tank.

simple... empty out the entire tank. put the gravel in buckets or tubs. same as the fish. for filter media.put it in the tank water and run a battery powered air pump. Tank would be much lighter without gravel. unless your on steroids. This shouldnt be hard unless your car is tiny

Agreed. Just break down the tank. Put the fish in 5 gallon buckets (if they fit). Make sure it is the last thing you do before you leave to minimize time. Also don't feed the fish the day before to minimize waste production. I moved my fish 4.5 hours no problems, no l loses.

Hello; I agree with previous suggestions as to move the tank empty.
Is there any way to set up a tank at the new location before moving the 50 gallon. I did this when i moved a few years back. It meant the fish had to spend less time in moving containers.

Good luck

jscherbert said:

Thanks a bunch. This is their first big move since being bought, and I wasn't sure if I should keep water in the tank to avoid a massive water change and add possible stress.

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Hello; The value of the water is minimal. The beneficial bacteria (bb) will be in the substrate, the filter media, plants and such. I like to keep some free floating plants (hornwort or such) in my tanks. I suspect there is bb on the surfaces of live plants. Throw the filter media in a bucket of water is a nother way to have some bb for the new setup. A battery powered bubbler in the plant and fish buckets can go a long way to keeping them going while the move and setup takes place.

+1 on the previous suggestions, especially setting up another temporary tank (make sure it's cycled!) first, that way you have a stable environment for the fish while you set up your other tank. Plus, if you have a mini cycle, the fish don't have to be stressed out by it. If that's not an option, then yeah, just put the substrate and decor in buckets with tank water. Put the fish in separate bags/buckets with tank water. If in bags, transport them in a box or preferably a cooler so it's dark, and use either a battery-powered air pump(s) or use an AC adapter and use a normal air pump you have lying around and keep the surface agitation in all the buckets/bags, even the one with the decor/substrate (for the bb).