[FeederFish33]

i need to move my 55 gallon tank and stand into another room. It is too heavy to drag or carry with water in it. I dont have another tank to hold my fish in during the move. How should I do this?

 

[Black Piranha]

wow. that sucks. ive always had a 10 gal ready. 10s are cheap. buy a 10 gal from ur lfs. they arent exspensive

 

[ralphinnj]

You can also get a new trash can (plastic). That would be a lot cheaper. Unplug the heater. Syphon 3/4 of the water from your 55 into the trash can (or whatver amount you can get in without getting too close to the top), then transfer your heater and a bubbler to the trash can. If you are careful, the heater setting will not be disturbed, and it will hold the temperature for you. Check it a few times over the 1st 2 hours and adjust as needed. The trash can can work as a temporary home for a couple of days as long as you have vigorous aeration.

Now move your 55, clean and or replace the gravel, clean and replace all filter media and re-charge with fresh water. Add in stresszyme and any other preparative water chemicals (e.g., pH adjustment, etc.) and let sit for a few hours. Move your heater over whenyou are close to making the switch. Make sure the temperature in the newly set up 55 matches the trash can. Once the 2 temps are identical, move the fish.

When you are done, you'll have a new trash can you can use.

RL

 

[SnowCichlid.]

I had to transfer fish for a move before and didnt want to disturb any other running tanks so I used a giant bucket to temporarly hold the fish with the filter and heater attached, and kept at least 50% of the established water in water containers of some sort. Good Luck

 

[Grosse Gurke]

Now move your 55, clean and or replace the gravel, clean and replace all filter media and re-charge with fresh water. Add in stresszyme and any other preparative water chemicals (e.g., pH adjustment, etc.) and let sit for a few hours. Move your heater over whenyou are close to making the switch. Make sure the temperature in the newly set up 55 matches the trash can. Once the 2 temps are identical, move the fish.

When you are done, you'll have a new trash can you can use.

RL

I agree with the using a trash can, bucket, whatever, you could also just move some water to the bath tub to hold the fish for a while.
But unless you want to recycle your tank, dont clean the gravel or change the filter media. after you are done moving the tank, put as much old water back in, fill the rest with new water and toss the fish back in. The end result is a water change.

 

[Grosse Gurke]

Also, you really dont need to keep any of the old water as long as your new water has the same paramaters. There are many who do 100% water changes with no ill effect on their fish or cycle.

 

[MPower]

I keep about half of my water, and keep the fish in buckets. Its lame to move a fish tank. I had to move my 220g. to my new apt and it was a pain.