Moving Aquariums

eddtango

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May 20, 2005
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I'm moving to a new house in 2 weeks. I plan to setup the 90 gal tank simultanously. Is it ok to use tap water and condition it with Aquasafe for chlorine removal? I know some people use old aquarium water and put them in containers then put them in the new tank. What about the plants? Will the fish be affected by the new water conditoned w/ Aquasafe?
 

Jimbob

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Nov 10, 2006
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eddtango;11920 said:
What about the plants? Will the fish be affected by the new water conditoned w/ Aquasafe?

If you're talking about a near 100% replacement with the new tap water conditioned with AquaSafe, then yes, it is likely that the fish and the plants would both be affected. This is primarily due to the fact that it is highly unlikely you would get all of the parameters of your existing water to match up nicely with the newly treated tap water... especially pH.

If it's possible to salvage 50% of your water, then add 50% of fresh tapwater, that would be better as it would be very similar to a 50% water change. Tractor Supply Company sells some very nice food-grade water containers with lids that sit flat in the bed of a truck, van, etc. You can get a 50G container for ~$100 Tractor Supply Company - 50 GAL PCO TANK

The added advantage to one of these is that you can use it in the future to age tap water in and modify the parameters of the water (pH, temperature, etc.) to match that of the water in your tank, thus always having some "ready-to-go" water on-hand for emergencies.

-Jimbob
 

VaughnH

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Some of us do 75-80% water changes for various reasons, treating the tank with Prime or equivalent as we add the tap water. No problems. I doubt that you will see any problems with a 100% water change as long as you use a dechlorinator such as Prime and don't do a major change in water temperature at the same time. I did just this when I moved my tank inhabitants from a 29 to a 45 gallon tank.
 

nursie

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I guess one question would be is the water that you will be using from the same water source as you are getting your water now?
If it is...I'd agree with VaughnH, If it is totally different, I'd agree with Jimbob.
 

eddtango

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Moving Aquariums

Its got to be from the same water source, I'm just moving 3 blocks from where I live right now. I'll use Seachem Prime for good results as recommended. Thanks.
 

Professor Myers

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Aug 24, 2006
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25% Grey water is more than adequate...

More importantly since you will be making such a large environmental change maintain as much as possible of the biological filtration for the time being. Do not seize upon the opportunity to clean anything unless it is absolutely neccessary.

Move it, Let it settel back in, and then woryy about maintenace. You're making so many actions in the tank that if anything did go wrong you'd be hard pressed to isolate the cause, and it's WAY TOO tempting to rehash the system ! I've moved hundreds (if not thousands ?) of tanks all the way across the U.S. even with minimal losses. HTH. Prof M
 

eddtango

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May 20, 2005
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Moving aquariums

I'll be using my Eheim 2215 and its still running up until moving day.
 

Tom Barr

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I have moved planted tanks from 500 miles to across the room.
I use the same method each time.

Drain all but 2" of water, remove all equipment, get another person or two etc if you need, cover the plants with wet towel.
Wrap tank in plastic shipping wrap they use on pallets if traveling far.

This works extremely well and with no downtime afterwards, refill the tank and things are fine. Add fish after all equipment is on line and the temp is good.

Acclimate slowly........

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

shane

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So if I understand this correctly, it is okay to keep the substrate and plants in the tank for a move? Simply keep 2" of water in the tank and cover the plants?

There is little danger of the tank breaking as long as even support is given to the tank? I was thinking of putting the tank on a piece of plywood with (2) 2"by4" studs underneath the plywood (use them like handles to move the tank). I am just trying to make a decision to keep the plants/substrate/driftwood in the tank or take it all out. I need to have the fish back in the tank on the same day I move the tank.