Stacie H.

Hi!* I am a relative beginner when it comes to fish...had my 36 gal tank since February.* It is a pie-piece shaped tank that sits on a stand in one corner of our living room.* It currently houses 5 red flame tetras, 5 black skirted tetras, and 3 rosy tetras.

We are having painters come next Friday, so we have to move the tank away from the wall for most of that day.* However, in order to move it, we're going to have to take some of the water out.* Otherwise, it'll just be too heavy to move.* So, my questions:

1)* Would it be okay to take out about half the water and leave it out, or do I need to empty and fill the tank twice?* I was thinking taking almost half out would let us slide the tank stand on the tile floor.

2)* If we do not refill the water, will it hurt the fish to have the pump off during that time?* I have a Marine Land Penuin filter, rated for 50 gal.

3)* Should I keep the water from the tank and just refill with it at the end of the day?

Any help will be appreciated.* Thanks!!

Stacie H.

Sorry for the major edit in my post...I accidentally posted earlier before I was ready to do so...

chipster55

How long do you have to keep tank moved. Are you just going to change permanent places where it will reside. If so I would take the water out that needs to come out to move it. Then move it..Then add water back and just treet it as a water change.Even if you have to move it back you can do the same thing..All should be good and cleaner..good luck

Stacie H.

I *think* just for the day. Long enough for the painters to come in, paint the living room, and leave. The tank/stand is currently about 6 inches away from the wall, so I'd like to be able to move it to the middle of the room that morning and put it back in the same spot that night. So, your suggestion would mean 2 substantial water changes in one day...or I can leave the tank running in the middle of the room for one night, and do another change when moving it back the next day? I guess either one will work...whichever would mean less stress for the fish.

david

hi stacie what i would do is move the tank the night before the painters come by doing as little a water change as possible to move the tank safely..(but whatever water you take out of the tank you need to put back in) new clean treated water.. then once the painting is all done the next day and your ready to put the tank back to its permanent spot..do another 25% t0 50% waterchange or however much it takes to move the tank SAFELY back to its permanent position..you cant over do waterchanges your fish will love the new cleaner water.as long as you treat it with a declorinator of some sort.. .so the short answer is yes the best thing to do is change the water the night before,leave running in the middle of the room until painting is done then do another waterchange when moving it back.. it wont harm your fish at all to have all the waterchanges..

hope the painters do a good job on the walls... lol ..your fishies will be ok..

chipster55

Also make sure you put a cover over tank during painting...I would use an old sheet or so something like that. And the fish will love the water changes

Butterfly

Chipsters idea of putting a sheet or something over the tank is a good idea, that makes sure nothing gets accidentaly dripped in the tank. Also if you have air bubblers of any kind going turn them off until the house airs out so you don't pull any fumes into the tank. The filter running will be fine as long as its covered, it circulates water not necessarily air.
Carol

Stacie H.

Thanks everyone!! I do plan to cover the tank with a sheet.

Guess we'll empty/move/refill the tank Thursday night and move it back on Saturday morning. That's going to be the best plan, as there's so much else that needs to be moved/cleaned too!

Isabella

If you want to move the tank safely, here is what you can do (my personal suggestion). First of all, I wouldn't move the tank back to where it was until the painted walls are dry. Now, I also had to move my 30 gallon tank a while ago. Here is what I did successfully, and thus what I'd also recommend to you.

First, I took a bucket and filled it to the top with the tank water. Next, I hung my filter on the bucket, so that the filter could run while I was transferring the tank. Meaning, that all the bacteria in the filter could be saved and I wouldn't get any mini-cycle after the transfer of my tank. Then, I netted my fish and put them in the same bucket with water and running filter.

I emptied my tank to the point where there was little water left on the bottom of the tank. The emptied water was saved in buckets. BUT ... you don't have to save the water if you don't want to, and if the new water you'll be adding will have similar parameters to that of your tank water. Here is what I mean: if you tap water pH and nitrate are very different from the pH and nitrate of your tank water, the fish may get a pH and/or nitrate shock when put in a totally new water that has very different parameters. But if your tap water is similar to or the same as your tank water, you can fill the tank with new water after the transfer. What you can also do (if tap and tank waters are very different) is to save only half of the tank water. Then, when the tank is transferred, put the tank water back in, and pour new water in - though not too quickly, in order to avoid any shocks to fish.

OK, so what I did next was I simply carried the tank to another room with the help of another person. We took the tank by its bottom (never lift the tank by its upper trims!). Then, when it was in place, I filled it* back with the saved water, put the filter back on, and put the fish back in. And it was done

If you'll be keeping the tank in the same room that will be painted, do put something over the tank, so that no paint gets into the water!