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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Advice on moving house with tank?

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15 Jul 2017 12:41 #1 by BillyB (Billy B)
Hi all, I have a 200l tank and am going to be moving house (it's only about 10 minutes drive away).
Any advice on how to go about moving the tank as well as the fish? I have rummies, cardinals and two SAEs as well as a lot of plants.
Thanks.
Billy

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15 Jul 2017 23:23 #2 by JohnH (John)
To start the proverbial ball rolling I would advise you to obtain (beg, steal or borrow) as many (preferably sealable) water containers then - just prior to the move - fill them with tank water. Empty out the remainder and discard it.
Catch your fish and put them into bags of tank water and put all your plants into a large bag.
Lastly take out your substrate and secure that in one - or as many as are needed - bucket(s).
I would not advise you to move your tank with any water in it as the potential pressure generated by the water could possibly weaken the silicone seals - and, really, that's the last thing you would want!
Which type of filter you have depends upon how you should transfer it but whatever happens do not let the media dry out to any extent.
Then move the whole lot the ten-minute drive and set the tank in its new position, put in the substrate then all the water you managed to save and bring with you.
Place your filter (if it's an internal) in the water, you needn't switch it on immediately - just getting the media submerged is the important thing for the moment.
Replace your heater, plants and any 'furniture' and then your fish.
Top up the water level with new treated water - try to do it very gradually in case the chemistry is different from the old to new house. Set up your filter and get it running again.
I personally wouldn't advise switching on the lights until the following day to further reduce any more stress on your fish than they have already witnessed from the move. I would also not feed them for 24 hours following the move and even then only at a reduced level to allow the bio load on the filter (from the fresh water) to start to retain its normal function.

Of course, if you have water testing capabilities, it goes without saying that you should monitor the water too after the move.

In case I've overlooked anything I expect members will add further advice presently.

Good luck with your move and please report how it went.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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16 Jul 2017 06:41 #3 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
DO NOT let the media in the filter dry out or go without a food source (fish waste) for too long (a few hours)

Take all the media from the filter and put it into a container with water taken from the aquarium....

The good bacteria will start to die off immediately when you turn off the filter but once ya dont let it go too long without a food source or oxygen or let it dry out you will be fine....

Try and get the fish back into the tank and the filter running again within 4 or 5 hours..You can work from there then as regards redecorating the tank...Maybe if you have a second tank you can put the fish in it and run the filter on it temporarily until you redecorate your main tank...

"Also" DO NOT be tempted to clean the filter media either....You will just kill off more of the good bacteria.....If its gunky and mucky leave it.....You can clean it again another time when the tank has been re established properly...

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16 Jul 2017 06:45 - 16 Jul 2017 06:45 #4 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Test for Ammonia and NitrIte daily for a few days (4 or 5 in a row) after the move to make sure your filter bacteria colony is processing the fish waste properly again....
Last edit: 16 Jul 2017 06:45 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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16 Jul 2017 12:25 #5 by robert (robert carter)
With such a detailed post from John , theres not much to add, reckon he may have done this . Good luck with the move and all the best in your new home

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16 Jul 2017 21:08 #6 by BillyB (Billy B)
Cool, thanks very much everyone...
The only thing is, I was thinking of leaving the plants in the substrate in the tank instead of uprooting the plants from the substrate. Would the plants survive for the 30minutes to an hour the move would take without water or do you think I have to take them out?
Billy

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16 Jul 2017 23:53 #7 by nomad (pat murphy)
Hi and welcome,if it was me i would just wrap the aquarium in cling film to keep the moisture in so the plants dont dry out.

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17 Jul 2017 04:53 #8 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Lifting a fish tank with water loaded substrate still in it is not advisable....You risk the bottom crashing out of it from the weight...

Unless its a smaller tank...In that case you should be ok....Bigger tanks absolutely no way (Dont even risk it)

Your plants will be fine once you dont let them dry out...Fill a spray bottle with tap water and just spray them every so often to keep them moist....

Sure thats how Aquascapers plant and scape their tanks before filling them with water....

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17 Jul 2017 07:48 #9 by BillyB (Billy B)
Alright will do, it's a 200litre tank and it's 1 metre long so I'll do it the proper way... I'll take a few pictures and report back on how it went!

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17 Jul 2017 20:16 #10 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Great excuse to rescape your tank...

:cool:

House the fish in another tank while you redo it...Takes away the worries of stressing the fish while you get your tank exactly how ya want it.....When ya have the scape ready just move the filter and fish back over...

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17 Jul 2017 21:30 #11 by BillyB (Billy B)
Good idea... I don't have another tank, but if I filled up a bucket with tank water, heated it and ran the filter in it, that would be a good place for the fish for the 2 or 3 hours max it would take to rescape the tank I imagine?

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18 Jul 2017 07:53 - 18 Jul 2017 07:57 #12 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
You can absolutely keep fish temporarily in a bucket/container with a filter and heater...Once its clean and chemical free...

Just be aware that if you have lots of fish or any bigger fish you will need a larger bucket or container....Try use a container/bucket with at least about a 50 litre capacity...Unless you only have a few small fish...In that case a 15 litre bucket will do fine...

Put a bunch of fake plants and caves and stuff into it to give them hidey places...Also cover the top and keep them in the dark....This will reduce stress...

They will actually be fine in there for a few days...So no panic with the rescape....

Take your time and enjoy rescaping your tank....Nothing worse than not having your tank exactly the way you want it after the addition of fish....

Its less stress on the fish and less stress on you LOL

DONT FEED THEM while they are in the temporary home!!!!!!
Last edit: 18 Jul 2017 07:57 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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15 Aug 2017 17:09 #13 by BillyB (Billy B)
OK I'll do that, it's taken longer than I thought but we're moving soon so I'll give an update when that happens.

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