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Moving Day! The very words conjure the image of total chaos. Yes, admittedly moving can be a very stressful time where chaos reigns. It can be even more intimidating if you have a fish tank that needs to be moved. But with a little forethought and planning it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.
If you are planning on hiring a professional moving company you might be better served disassembling the tank yourself. For all of their knowledge at packing fine china and moving pianos, I doubt that they are trained at disassembling aquariums. The question of whether to move your fish with you depends on where and how you are moving to. If you are moving overseas you will be better off buying all new fish. Packing and shipping fish for air travel can be done, but it’s dicey whether your fish will arrive at your destination alive, not to mention quarantine restrictions. If you are planning on flying yourself to your new home again you might be better off buying new fish.
The moving company will not take responsibility for them. Airlines aren't much more reliable, and by the time that you locate your fish and have them shipped back to you they will have long since died. So how do I move my fish if I am driving to my new home you ask? Well, it’s not as difficult as it seems. If you are going to be on the road for longer then a day all you need to do is take your air pump and airline tubing with you into the hotel room. Plug it into a wall socket and run the tubing into whatever container you are using to transport your fish and let it run all night. If the water is getting disgusting then just change about half of it out before you leave the room. Just be sure to take some Stress Coat with you and make sure the water temperature of the clean water is approximately the same as the water in your container. Do not attempt to feed your fish while on the road. Your fish will be too stressed to eat and the food will rot in your container and will kill your fish. Not to mention it will make your water even more disgusting then it all ready is or needs to be.
O.K., now comes the fun part: disassembling your aquarium. You will want to give yourself plenty of time to do this. You don’t want to be rushed and you will not want to try to accomplish this while dodging your movers. If you are moving yourself then wait until the majority of the large furniture and boxes are already packed and put into the truck or van. Keep your air pump running until you are ready to transfer your fish to whatever container you plan you using. You might want to use an old picnic cooler with a lid on it in case your fish get scared and try to jump out of the cooler. It also wouldn’t hurt to take your air pump and keep it running in your cooler until you have everything disassembled and are ready to leave. I will now tell you step by step on how to disassemble your aquarium.
1. Unplug all air pumps and filters. Turn off your heater and unplug it. Unplug your light and remove your hood from your tank.
2. Drain some of the water from your tank into whatever container you will be transporting your fish in and plug your air pump to it. Add some Stress Coat to the water.
3. Net your fish and place them in your container. Removing any decorations may help in the capture of your fish. Set them aside. (the decorations)
4. Check the temperature of your heater. If it is still warm, wait for it to cool before you drain your tank. When it is cool, remove it from your tank.
5. Drain as much of the water from your tank as you can. Do not forget to drain your filters. You will be unable to remove all the water from your tank. There is not much you will be able to do about this. Work around this as well as you can.
6. Remove any side filters you have and place in a box. Place your heater, decorations, air stones and other knick knacks in the same box.
7. Now comes the fun part: removing the gravel. This is a messy and time consuming process. The gravel will be heavy due to the water and fish scat that you will be unable to remove completely. Be sure that the container you place your gravel in is clean, sturdy and water proof. Large Rubbermaid garbage bins or clean metal garbage cans work well in this instance. It will be extremely heavy, so be very careful. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE ATTEMPT TO MOVE YOUR TANK WITH THE GRAVEL IN IT!!!!!!! YOU WILL BREAK THE SILACON SEAL AROUND THE SIDE AND BOTTOM AND YOUR TANK WILL LEAK, OR YOUR TANK WILL CRACK AND BREAK!!
8. Once you have removed all the gravel your tank is safe to move *CAREFULLY*. The little water that will be left in the tank will pose no problem at all. Be sure to keep it level as you are moving and be careful that it does not bang around too much. Wrapping blankets or towels around the outside should help keep it from cracking as it is being moved.
9. When you reach your final destination, put it back together in reverse order. Make sure your water temperature is where it should be for your fish. Add lots of Stress Coat to the tank and refrain from feeding them for the first few days as they will be just as stressed as you are.
And there you have it. A step by step list on how to disassemble and move your aquarium. While moving it was no small task, with a little planning ahead and taking your time, it can be accomplished safely and with a minimum of headaches and heartaches.
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