Moving my 210g, do I need to keep the old water?

[jcardona1]

damn this sux. im gonna hate moving this tank! i have 2 35g rubbermaid trash cans. i was planning on using these for the fish so i can transport a bit of water in these. thx for the advice.

next question, i dont have a battery operated pump. do you guys think the fish will be ok in these two trash cans for about 1.5~2 hrs w/o a pump? i have about 30 fish total (small 3~4" cichlids, some catfish, loaches and a 10" silver aro)...

 

[Mattyou]

Dont get all stressed out about this. Put the fish in buckets / trash cans whatever you have. Keep the bio wet. Move the tank, fill it up and treat it, get the filters running, pour a cup or so (if its a trash can, use a pitcher) of water into the fish container every 5-10 mins for 30-45 min till you pretty much double the volume of water they are in. Gets them used to the water params and temp. After 30-45 min, 1 hour MAX, add fish to new tank, chuck the old water. They should do fine, fish are pretty resilient.

 

[Mattyou]

damn this sux. im gonna hate moving this tank! i have 2 35g rubbermaid trash cans. i was planning on using these for the fish so i can transport a bit of water in these. thx for the advice.

next question, i dont have a battery operated pump. do you guys think the fish will be ok in these two trash cans for about 1.5~2 hrs w/o a pump? i have about 30 fish total (small 3~4" cichlids, some catfish, loaches and a 10" silver aro)...

They shold also be fine without an air pump. Bouncing around in a truck will agitate the surface of the water enough to keep the breathing. I wouldnt feed them for a day or 2 leading up to jump day though.

 

[jcardona1]

thanks for advice matt. yeah i think most of the fish will be fine, i just hope my clown loaches make it as theyre finally starting to grow!

 

[DB junkie]

Yeah..x2 on the starving........

2hours without a pump should be no problem.

If you don't feel comfy without water movement just go buy an inverter or borrow one and run a powerhead or 2 in there.. Inverters are cheap......- But then again so are 12volt pumps.....Both are a necessity in Iowa..LOL... Beings that you have to drive OUT of state to get any decent fiches......LOL

Another thought...... After you trash can all the fish just set the filters up on the cans...Buy yourself all the time you need to move the tank. That way you can get the tank all moved and set up before the fish even leave the house.

 

[jcardona1]

Yeah..x2 on the starving........

2hours without a pump should be no problem.

If you don't feel comfy without water movement just go buy an inverter or borrow one and run a powerhead or 2 in there.. Inverters are cheap......- But then again so are 12volt pumps.....Both are a necessity in Iowa..LOL... Beings that you have to drive OUT of state to get any decent fiches......LOL

Another thought...... After you trash can all the fish just set the filters up on the cans...Buy yourself all the time you need to move the tank. That way you can get the tank all moved and set up before the fish even leave the house.

yeah that would prob be the easiest and least stressful on the fish, but i wanna take everythign in one trip since itll be about 200 miles of driving. and with CA gas prices, im paying $4.40, itll prob be $4.60 by the time i move the tank!

 

[scubasteve06]

what I did was fill my tank with new water, then acclimate my fish from the old to the new. It's like a free water change!

Thats basically the idea I had in more general terms lol.

 

[tapeworm]

Use a 55g drum or two. No bow in the plastic, so no risk of it bursting or something or other happening. I've transported about 100g of water using this method and worked out fine no problem. Just keep all the old media in their respective place submerged. 45 min doesn't seem too long. Good luck!

 

[dmopar74]

dont let your can filter sit too long without running it, the bb will use up all the oxygen in the water and then start die'ing off, then when you restart the can it will be pumping ammonia into the tank from all the dead bb. safest bet is to place the media in with the fish to keep bacteria alive.

 

[yogi2312]

yeah that would prob be the easiest and least stressful on the fish, but i wanna take everythign in one trip since itll be about 200 miles of driving. and with CA gas prices, im paying $4.40, itll prob be $4.60 by the time i move the tank!

gees think thats bad.. over here in Aust its like $6-$7 bucks per gallon ... or $1.82 per litre