How to Prepare Your Fish Tank for Moving Day
Posted on Aug 21, 2022 by Top Movers Global
Moving a fish tank involves a lot more than just unplugging and loading it into a moving truck. For the safety and wellbeing of your fish, you’ll need to carefully plan this out in advance.
Careful Preparation is Needed
Well before moving day make sure you have everything you’ll need to safely move your fish as well as the tank. You certainly do not want to be looking around for the right supplies at the last minute. So, get this all organized in advance by doing the following:
If your fish are small and your move is less than an hour’s drive, you can place them into small water-tight plastic baggies filled with tank water. For larger fish or if you’re moving further away, you’ll need to transport your fish in large buckets with water from the tank. These buckets must be perfectly clean with no soap residue and have never been used to carry harsh chemicals.
Packing Up the Tank
Once you’ve safely removed the fish, it’s time to prepare the tank. After you’ve unplugged it, carefully take out the plants and any accessories. You can pack the plants in more clean buckets with tank water. As for the accessories and décor, carefully clean and dry them before packing them up in clean bubble wrap and paper. You’ll now need to carefully disconnect and remove all the equipment, which includes the pump, light, and heater. Clean and dry before carefully packing it all up.
It’s important that you save the existing tank water as it’ll be easier on your fish while reducing health risks. If you have a large tank, we recommend using a siphon hose to remove the water. Save as much as possible in clean buckets, so that you can refill the tank when you’re at your new home.
Once you’ve removed the lid, it should be packed separately from the tank in bubble wrap. See if you can find a box large enough to hold your tank. Pour foam peanuts on the bottom before placing the tank in the box. Fill in around the tank with more foam, so the tank doesn’t move inside the box. Then, load the tank with scrunched up packing paper, bubble wrap, and/or foam to keep it from being scratched.
Transporting the Fish and Tank
We recommend transporting the tank and fish by car to make sure they’re safe. If your car is not large enough to haul the box carrying the tank, it will have to go in the truck. Write “Fragile” all over the box. Tell the movers what it is and ask them to be careful carrying it and to make sure that it doesn’t slide around in the truck.
At the New House
Once you arrive at your new house, immediately set up the tank. After installing the equipment, you can pour the water back in, then replace the plants and accessories.
Wait until everything settles in and the water returns to normal conditions before you put the fish back in. Scoop the large fish out of their buckets using a net before carefully putting them in the water. For the fish in baggies, first put the bags in the water for a while because your fish need to adapt to the temperature before being released into the tank.
