Best Way To Move Aquariums?

I found a bed bug in my bed and now we have to leave with all our pets so my house can be heat treated. I have two 10 gallon tanks one planted and both have bettas in them. What is the quickest/least stressful way of moving tanks cause I’ll have to do it twice within a few days. Help!!!

 

Empty the entire tank, move the decor and substrate from the tank, and move.

Keep the bettas in 5 gallon buckets with their heaters, filters, and some decor.

 

Empty the entire tank, move the decor and substrate from the tank, and move.

Keep the bettas in 5 gallon buckets with their heaters, filters, and some decor.

My planted tank can’t be emptied. It’s potting soil with a gravel cap so if I disturb it the entire tank will be ruined

 

I was able to move my 10 gallon tank with substrate in it, without anything problems.
Try to drain all the water.

 

I found a bed bug in my bed and now we have to leave with all our pets so my house can be heat treated. I have two 10 gallon tanks one planted and both have bettas in them. What is the quickest/least stressful way of moving tanks cause I’ll have to do it twice within a few days. Help!!!

Are they doing the heat treatment or pesticides. If they are doing heat treatment to your home then anything living has to be out, if doing sprays you can get by with covering your tank with a damp towel ,, be sure to cover filter also. I had to deal with this problem a month ago had to break down 2 tanks completely . Good thing is in my 20 gal I had an infestation of river snail and so I left some water and gravel in it and the snail got cooked. Sorry your having this problem.

 

You might be better off just taking it down, or doing your best by moving it.
If you can find something that is level with the surface the tank is standing on (like a cart or something with wheels) I would try to slide the (water emptied) tank onto the other the cart, and wheel it away.

 

My 2 cents. If it’s heat treatment, can’t you just leave the tanks behind? Or would that wreck the seals/kill the plants.

 

My 2 cents. If it’s heat treatment, can’t you just leave the tanks behind? Or would that wreck the seals/kill the plants.

It will kill plants but tank will be fine.

 

It will kill plants but tank will be fine.

Ok.

 

As long as it isn't over 15lbs of substrate support the tank on a flat surface (I have carried many a ten gallon with gravel in it, about 9-10lbs without issue). Most ten gallon tanks can hold a considerable amount of weight on the glass without breaking, but to be safe support and have as little weight as possible.

 

My 2 cents. If it’s heat treatment, can’t you just leave the tanks behind? Or would that wreck the seals/kill the plants.

The exterminator told me it could ruin the seals so I need to remove them completely

UPDATE

I have decided to go with the 5 gallon bucket method and leave my planted tank filled with water in my shed.

They seem to be adjusting well to the buckets. Thanks for all your suggestions this has probably been one of the worst weeks of my life and losing one of my water babies would just be icing on the cake.

 

We’re moving a 29-gallon tank and stand out of my son’s room to the living room. Current stock: Unknown number of sterbai corys (they keep breeding - may have a few fry). Any recommendations re: trying to net out fish vs. taking water level way down, moving and replacing water? Any suggestions for a smooth transition? I am leaning towards leaving them in the tank, but welcome advice. Tank is planted with a HOB and a sponge filter, some small rocks, one piece of wood.

 

It's going to be very heavy even if you just lower the water. I would net them out and replace the water. Moving will be stressful for the fish either way but this way you don't risk hardscape falling on them.

 

We moved our 29 last summer from outside to inmy living room by taking about 90% of the water out. You can do the same especially seeing yours is on a stand just get 2 strong people to grab each end of the stand and walk it out to its new area. As long as no stairs are involved it should be easy.

 

Got an 18-year-old son, so it’s him and me - and my husband asking if I want him to help while we’re moving it.

 

Depending on have far a move it is. The sloshing around of any water will disturb the substrate and release some of the muck/bad stuff. Key is to keep the aquarium as level as possible and no twisting.
During the last move of my 29g.
First I removed approx. 20 gals of water into buckets, then removed the hardscape, hardware and fish into the buckets. Then removed more water, left about 1/2" of water above the substrate with the plants. Still quite heavy.
Then vacuumed out the dirty water. Then slowly added back 10gals of the original water and placed everything back in. Continued filling and added water conditioner, let filter run. After a couple of hours added the fish.
Just keep an eye out for possible spikes of ammonia/nitrites and treat accordingly.
Worked out well, no losses.

Good Luck!

 

Thanks! I am uncertain of being able to catch the fish, and also don’t know how many there are. I am concerned about possibly causing more stress to them by catching them than by leaving them in.
Possible idea: remove hardscape except for sand now. Keep in bucket until move day, thereby removing as much weight as possible prior to move.

 

Like i said if u drain down 90% the tank and stand with everything in it i bet will weigh about 50 pounds. Keep it level as jmaldo said and everything will be fine. Depending on the flooring you have you may be able to lift both ends then put some sliders or pieces of carpet under the legs and slide it across the floor.

 

Just my two cents, but ideal scenario:

Buy a second tank. Put it somewhere close to but not in the space you’re ultimately planning on. Transfer hardscape, filter, etc. Transfer 60-70% of the water. Net and transfer fish. Turn the lights off in that room, and forget about it.

Same water, places to hide, and darkness should go a long way in mitigating for the stress of being moved.

You can then move the original tank at your convenience and reverse the process.

 

We’re moving a 29-gallon tank and stand out of my son’s room to the living room. Current stock: Unknown number of sterbai corys (they keep breeding - may have a few fry). Any recommendations re: trying to net out fish vs. taking water level way down, moving and replacing water? Any suggestions for a smooth transition? I am leaning towards leaving them in the tank, but welcome advice. Tank is planted with a HOB and a sponge filter, some small rocks, one piece of wood.

A few months back I had to relocate my 36 galllon cichlid tank. So what I did was empty out most of the tank's water and all the decorations into a container, but left the fish in there with enough water for them. Then 2 people lifted it and carried it across the room to its new spot. While it wasn't the ~400lbs weight of the full tank, it was still quite heavy (~100lbs-ish). So, emptying out the tank with the fish still in it is possible, but will require 2 people who are strong enough to lift something fairly heavy.

 

I moved a 75 gallon by emptying most of the water and putting hardscape into a bucket of water while we moved it.

No losses went pretty smooth.

 

I had to move a 60 gal when I got I new carpet,what I did was take out some of the big rocks and some gravel to make it as light as I could and drain like 80% of the water and very carefully with the help of another person pick up the tank from the metal stand and very slowly move it to the other room while still leaving the fish in the tank. I felt taking the fish out would stress them out more.then I put most of the water I drained back into the tank then when I got the new carpet I did the same thing.anytime you move a tank that still has water in it you can risk twisting the seals so try to have a little water as possible while still leaving enough for the fish to swim properly. 29 gal isn't that big so you should be ok moving it with another person very slowly from the stand.imo I would leave the fish in the tank,I left all my fish in the tank and they where fine.

 

Lower the water as far as you possibly can, get someone to help if they're available.

 

Did you end up moving the tank yet? and what way did u decide to do it?

 

I appreciate all the help. We are moving slowly and planning it all out; a couple of things will have to be rearranged first. Current plan is to take the water way down and move tank and stand together, but on a dolly rather than lifting. Also have an extra sponge filter in another tank that will go in temporarily after it’s moved to help deal with the inevitable gunk from the substrate. What do people think about running some activated charcoal in the HOB for a bit post move? I am slightly concerned about the reputation of sterbais for releasing toxin if stressed enough.