[AquaticLife] best way to move?
Generally, the tank is the last thing you “pack” and the first thing you move into your new home, however, you do need to be prepared, so you can do this efficiently. I say generally, but I made a move similar to yours and the tanks were among the first things to be moved because we had the time staying at our old residence for a month after the new one was ready, so I moved over one or two tanks a day until all 20 had been moved (other stuff was moved as well. (Worked pretty well as we only had to borrow a friend’s truck for a few trips to haul the stuff that would not fit into our cars.)
If it is possible, test the tap water at your new residence to see how similar it is to your current tap water. This will help you determine if you need to move all your tank water or only some of it. The closer the water parameters are the less water you need to move, but I would want to keep at least 30% of it so your fish would seem to have a massive water change rather than going into all new water.. Depending on the amount of water, a couple or more of the Rubbermaid brand trash cans can be used for the water. Just siphon the water into them. You’ll probably want to limit the amount of water placed in each one so that you can move it without fear of being bed ridden (or couch ridden depending on where the TV is ) for a day or two.
You do not mention what you have for fish, their size, or their number. Here is where the large cooler you have will come in handy. You will need to bag the fish, using just enough water to cover the fish when the bag is laid on its side. Pack them in the cooler. Once you have the fish bagged, remove the rest of the water. If you have plants, you can leave a small bit of water in the tank, a bit more than to keep the substrate wet, and cover with old newspapers (black and white pages only) to help keep them moist during the move. Remove your filter, heater, etc. If you have rock in the tank, I’d also pull that out, so if there is any shifting during the move, you do not need to worry about the tock cracking the glass. Same goes with driftwood.
With help, move the tank to the vehicle, keeping it as level as you can–remember, you still have some water in there, as well as the substrate. If you can, place the tank in the vehicle on some foam or Styrofoam to minimize any irregularities in the floor of the vehicle and to help keep the tank stable while the vehicle is moving.
When you get it to your new home, move the tank to its new quarters, refill, and make sure everything is operational. Put the fish back in. Complete the rest of your move.
\Steve//
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
