Okay people, I am trying to decide how to go about the procedure of moving my 55 gal, 30 gal, 20 gal, and 10 gal to a new apartment when my lease is up in 4 months.

I will most likely be renting a 14 foot U-Haul truck to move everything. In my community tank I have about 40 different fish and creatures along with tons of plants.

My other tanks arent planted and are easier to move so the only concern I have with them is the transportation of the fish.

Total amount of fish for all the tanks is around 60 fish.

My plan so far:
-Buy 3 5 gallon buckets with lids
-move fish from 55 gallon into two buckets
-move fish from the remaining tanks into other bucket
-place bubbler in each bucket
-Drain 55 gallon tank and remove drift wood + ornaments
-try to carry 55 gallon tank down the stairs as carefully as possible as to not mess up the roots of my plants (this is the main step I need help with)
-repeat process for all tanks
-put the 5 gallon buckets in the U-Haul
-drive to new apartment and take the buckets up and put bubblers back in
-bring tanks up and fill with water
-put fish back in

the new apartment shouldn't be more than 10 minutes from my current apartment so the fish should be fine without a bubbler for like 20 minutes correct? and what can I do to keep the stress down as much as possible? also what about the best way to move my 55 gallon without messing up the plants? any help is appreciated.

Sounds like a plan. But, test the water at the new apartment - even water from just a few blocks away can be really different, so you're fish may need to be drip acclimated to their new water.

You may need more than 2 buckets though, depending on the size of your fish..... 40 fish in a 5g bucket is a lot, lol, even if it's just for a few hours. (Maybe your lfs has an extra one you could borrow for the day?)

I have to do the same thing with my tanks... drain them and try to carry them without cracking them - as they are heavily planted and I'm sooooo not uprooting everything to move them.

Good luck and keep us posted.

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

well im buying the buckets new, I dont trust used ones to put my fish in =/

ill go ahead and get 3 buckets then =D

to keep stress down you can put fake or real plants to free float in the buckets, it's something for them to 'hide' under. everything else sounds like a good idea. I don't know how I can help you with your plants though, sorry x.x

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Frontosa Fanatic

Don't forget to keep filter media wet with the tanks water

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55 Gals. Plants Anubias,Amazon Swords and more. Tetras: 6 Sarpaes.4 Red Eyes,5 Black Skirts,4 Giant Danios,2 Lemons, 2 Emerald Cory,4 German Blue.
10 gals. tank : Plants, Full of Guppies; 20 Gals. Tank planted Full of Guppies: 1 gal tank filled with Guppies

Also, if I were you I would NOT put the fish in the uhaul. Those trucks ride very rough and could very easily dump over. I would suggest putting them on the floor board of your car.

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75 Gallon Planted

I hope there is an elevator in you apt. I moved 4 tanks 2yrs ago from the 4th floor to my new [1927 craftsman] home using a mini van. 2 29g was the largest I had then. Don't even want to think about moving a 75g,2-55g,a 40g,2-29g 2-20g tall 1-20g long a 35g corner round, AND FISH!

Go to your local family owned restaurant. They throw away FOOD GRADE buckets every day!... Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

This move is not that big of a deal. When you buy fish, they put them in a plastic bag. Yes more buckets is better; they are cheap. Put the water from the buckets back in the tank, so as to not do a 100% water change. I don't think I'd want to carry the tank with gravel down stairs. Just take the plants and gravel out.

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Live Coral and Care Instructions at aquaticcastle.com

We moved last summer from our 3rd floor apt to our new house which is about 5 minutes around the corner from our old apt. We had 2 tanks on a third floor and THAT was very tireing. I can only imagin 4 tanks. We now have a 75 gallon and 10g to add to our 29g, and 36g. So I hope we dont move anytime soon. We used buckets as well. we had like 4 I think. Two had fish in them, one had water, and the other had the plants, caves, etc. in them. We left the gravel and water in the tanks of course. I was just happy everyone survived the move!

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From experience, if you can remove the substrate you'll have a better go at it. if you are still against it then I would make a "stretcher" for your tanks especially the larger ones. I made mine out of some 2"x4" boards and some 1/2" plywood for support. then I had 3 strong guys help me move the tanks down the stairs. (it helps if they are taller as well) we placed one tank with substrate CAREFULLY onto the stretcher then each one of us took a corner and slowly carried them down the stairs. The stretcher allowed us to keep the tanks mostly level. I think I spent $15 in lumber and screws then tossed it when I was done.

I would also suggest more buckets than 2 unless you are going to move the tanks one at a time and set one up then go get another one. For my 46gal I used 4 buckets. 3 had fish and the other had some more tank water so I wouldn't be doing more than 50% water change.

Also, X2 on not carrying the buckets in the back of the u-haul. They WILL tip over. I used a pickup truck and used a ratchet strap to hold the buckets still. I also used seranwrap to cover the buckets and duct taped the wrap on so it wouldn't fly away. I didn't use a bubbler at all and didn't loose any fish.

This particular move was approximately 1 hour and around 55miles. I have 2 fish that have survived over 5 moves in this tank.

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46 Gal Bowfront:
It has fish....
Please don't post things in my thread that could get it locked, It is NOT appreciated.