Koi Fish Information Centre

Hi Greg, I do aquarium service in Tx. We move aquariums all the time, even three and four hundred gallon reef tanks,with 99% survival rate. This is how we do it. Go get you a couple of good 30 gallon trash cans, don’t go too cheep (flimsy)on them and don’t get ones with wheels(they can cave in). Wash the trash cans out with just water,nothing else,and towel dry with paper towels.If you have 4 wheel dolly,set the bucket on the dolly,then you can roll it to the next room. Remove top,lights,heater, air pumps and filter(s),unless UGF,dont remove ugf or gravel. If HOB filter dont clean it, if it;s a bio-wheel, take wheels off and put in a zip-lock with a little water,mostly air. Remove all decorations and set aside in a bucket, if you have live plants, remove them and set in basin or bucket and cover with water from the aquarium. Be sure to check all nooks and cranny for fish before removing deco, some decorations have places that fish can get stuck in. Syphon out 20 gallons or so into one of the trash cans, only fill 2/3 or 3/4 of the trash can. If you don’t have a dolly to use you can also set it on a rug,and then pull the rug to move it. If your going down stairs with it,you can put the trash can down there and just syphon the water down to it with a well seasoned garden hose. New hoses are toxic at first, so if using a new hose you must let water run through it for at least 1 hour. If you want, you can clean your artificial decorations at this time in a solution of 1 cup bleach to 3 gallons of water. Just fill a bucket water the bleach water a let them soak in it for an hour. Then remove them and rinse them well in tap water. Now spray them with declorinator. Now catch all the fish and put them in the first bucket of water. They will be easy to catch with all the deco out of the tank. Now do a 15-20 gallon water change with your gravel vac. Now you can remove the rest of the water to the second trash can. Leave enough water in the tank to cover the gravel. You’ll need to people to move the tank. When you have it in place, add the second trash can of water back in the tank. Use a glass plate to pour the water on,so it don’t stir up your gravel making the water dirty. You can also use a powerhead or sump pump if you have one to get the water from the trashcan to the tank, or just scoop it with a pitcher. Catch the fish out of the first trash can and put them back into the tank. Then add that water the fish was in back to the tank. Add your declorinator for 15-20 gallons ,then slowly add the 15-20 gallons you removed during gravel vacuuming, from the tap or what ever source you use. Add your deco, and re-install filter,air pump, heater,lights, and plug everything back in. Feed sparingly for the next 2 weeks. Hope this helps ! Sissy Sathre DBA Aquariums By Sissy www.aquariumsbysissy.com

Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society