Moving 75 Gallon Tank

So I'm moving an hour away next weekend and I'm having a dilemma on how to move my 75 gallon fish tank.

I am thinking I should buy 2 battery operated air pumps (I have the tubing, air stones, splitters, etc) and 6 5 gallon buckets to transfer the fish in.

I have never, and don't plan to ever again, had to move a tank before so I'm not sure if this is the best way. I can't afford to buy ANOTHER tank so it can be set up already so I have to work with what I've got.

Would the 6 5 gallon buckets work to fit 10 fish in each with the air stones circulating? I'm hoping they wouldn't be in the bucket for longer than 3-4 hours.

I was also going to go to my local petsmart and request a ton of plastic baggies to put the live plants I have in them with a bit of water in it to keep them moist with the good bacteria on it.
along with that, I have to remove the gravel I have so I was planning to put those in a 5 gallon bucket with some water and hope the good bacteria stays on it.

i'm not exactly sure how I should be doing the bio-media that I have so if someone could help guide me on how to move my HOB filters, I would also appreciate that


I've also read I should not feed them for 2 or so days before moving them and that I should do a 20% water change 5 or so days before moving them.... is that accurate?

 

First thing I will say is yes, the buckets with an air stone should work fine. I mean...think about the conditions fish deal with when being shipped (tiny bags with no air movement) and they are in those bags for multiple days. Same for fish at auctions. They sit in their bags for 8-10 hours or more!

So with that being said, a few hours in a bucket with an air stone should be just fine. As long as your aren't dealing with extreme temperatures.

I like the idea of keeping the gravel wet to hang onto some BB. Every little bit helps. But at the same time, the majority of the BB is in the filter media. So its most important that you keep that filter media wet. So put the filter media in a bucket of tank water. Or a bag of tank water or something. That filter media is the most important part of keeping your cycle in tact.

You do need to keep the plants wet, yes. Not necessarily for BB, but rather...to keep them alive. You can do that with plastic bags, or have a bucket of water just for the plants....

As for not feeding them. Fasting the fish for a couple days is always good when they are going to spend a lot of time in a bucket or a bag. The reason for this is stress makes fish poop a LOT. And you want as little poop in the bag or bucket as possible. So fasting for a couple days is definitely smart.

 

The fish and plants in the buckets should be fine and as far as the tank I would drop the water level to even wit the substrate and move it that way and be sure to put your filter media in tank wateralso then set everything up right away and add the remaining amount of water after u add the buckets of water and your Prime and it’ll be like a big water change. Good luck!!

 

only issue with keeping the gravel in the tank and a bit of water is that it is HEAVY if I don't remove it and I do have 2 helpers who are strong to help move it but I don't want it to be excessively heavy when it's being moved and have them drop it/etc. other than that, I have plenty of Prime on hand and Stability. I will definitely be putting the filter media in the water, likely in a bucket since there is so much of it.
I was just worried the buckets and air pumps wouldn't suffice. i'm hoping it will be 3-4 hours but it could be up to 8 with travel and set up, you know... but one of my helpers wanted me to set up my 29 gallon before I got there and he told me this after I had already gotten rid of it so that's no longer in the picture and I would just like to get them all up there in one trip rather than his idea of 10 trips so it's less on the fish.

 

ya, definitely don't leave the gravel in the tank when you are moving it. Not in a tank that large. If it were a smaller tank maybe. But not a 75g.

I suggest strapping the tank to a dolly as well. I had a 55 gallon tank delivered to me by a friend using a dolly and that was so much easier than carrying it! haha Why I never thought of that before?? I HAVE NO IDEA!! haha. I have moved many tanks in and out of my place over the years and never once used a dolly! haha

And again, Amanda Urmann many fish go through much worse situations than a bucket with an air stone for 4-8 hours. I really wouldn't be concerned about it!! Unless it is super cold out which is shouldn't be this time of year.

 

I suggest strapping the tank to a dolly as well. I had a 55 gallon tank delivered to me by a friend using a dolly and that was so much easier than carrying it! haha Why I never thought of that before?? I HAVE NO IDEA!! haha. I have moved many tanks in and out of my place over the years and never once used a dolly! haha

A dolly... I seriously have never done that. I too am questioning my intelligence.

Definitely don't keep anything in the tank though. I'm not sure what kind of fish you have but the buckets will be perfect as long as they can turn around.

When I've redone tanks before, I've taken the plants and put them in a bucket of water. You can do that or you can put them in baggies. They don't need a ton of water if it's just a matter of a few hours.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll find the perfect new spot for it in your new home.

 

A dolly... I seriously have never done that. I too am questioning my intelligence.

Ok GOOD! So it's not just me! hahaha

His dolly was a really nice dolly though. Nice big fat sturdy wheels and he strapped the tank onto the dolly nice and solidly and we rolled it right up the hill and into my patio door. I just couldn't believe I never considered that before!

 

the 3 largest fish I have are my angel and 2 bristenose plecos, so they'll be able to swim a bit in the bucket. the others are tetras for the most part. it's been rainy on the east coast here but we're looking at some nice whether finally so fingers crossed next weekend is a good one. I definitely will grab the dolly I have, didn't even think of that myself. it'll make moving the tank easier, but also the bureau/stand it's on.

thank you guys! making me feel better about having to move them haha I've been dreading this move since December

 

I would get a smaller bucket with a lid, rinse it multiple times with used tank water, and transfer your biological and mechanical media to it for transport. Hopefully when you fire your filter back up the BB are intact and still going strong so you don’t have to worry about daily water changes because your tank is cycling again while trying to unpack!