One of the more difficult things to relocate is definitely an aquarium. While the tank itself is not that difficult to move, it is the marine life that is the problem. Even with perfect moving conditions, there is still a chance that you might lose some fish, unfortunately. Moving an aquarium is actually a really stressful experience for the fishes. Moving companies Ontario can greatly help with this process. The whole process splits into two parts: Tank moving and fish moving. You never want to move the fish in their tank!

Moving an aquarium – The tank

Tank moving suffers from one major problem. So-called “aerobic” bacteria in the tank start to die without a steady supply of oxygen in the water. While this might not be a problem in a short distance move, it definitely is in a long distance one. You will most likely need to restart the colony after the move.

That being said, when moving your tank, here are the steps :

Step one – Store the fish

The first thing you need to do is get the fish out of the tank and place them in a proper holding container. This part has a few problems. You might be thinking about where to store the fish. As you probably know, storing your fishes in a storage unit is not a good idea. Then how do you actually pack them in the container? How to support them while they are moving? This is where experts come in real handy. They can give you the best solutions for your aquarium life.

There are two basic options when it comes to storing the fish :

• A tank of a friend
• A tank of a pet store

Friend’s Tank

Pretty straightforward, if you have a friend that has a tank which can house your fish, go for it. The bad part is that you are not getting any guarantees.

Pet Store Tank

There are pet stores which will provide your fish a place to stay during the move, for a fee. What you want to get here is a contract that is signed and detailed. It needs to name all the responsibilities of the pet store. Some of those stores will even provide packing and air-shipping services.

Both of these options will have the fish being there for some time, most likely a couple of weeks. So be prepared for that. If you hire experts for moving an aquarium, they will let you know what exactly is best for your particular fish.

Step Two – Drain the tank

Nothing fancy here, just make sure to keep some of the water in order to try and preserve the bacteria, provided that the move is short. Experts will know the best way to preserve the colony and might even be able to do so on long distance moves!

Step Three – Disassemble the tank

This is a tricky process, best left to the experts. However, if you are keen on doing it alone here is what you need to know. The plants in the aquarium can survive quite a bit if you keep their roots wet. Pack them with some water, seal them properly and move them by hand. For short moves, you want your filter media to be in a container that is sealed. Do not clean it. 

For long moves, you will need to either clean or throw away the filter media. 

Other parts of the tank, such as heaters, pumps etc. you can pack like you would pack any other fragile thing.

Step Four – Move the tank

Moving the tank is a controversial process. Some say that it is best to move the tank yourself but having a good and reliable moving company can make all the difference. If you decide to go with the moving company, a good idea is to supervise the loading process. That way you can see for yourself if the tank is being moved properly. If you live in Sudbury and are in need of large moving boxes Sudbury, there are some good deals in store!

Step Five – Reassemble the tank

Moving an aquarium requires you to reassemble the tank at the destination. While this might not be a problem for simple tanks, some of the more complicated ones can be quite a chore. Experts help is invaluable in those cases. Unless you are highly proficient with the whole process, it would be better to leave it to the experts. If you want to do it alone, here is what you need to know:

For short moves, you want to have as much treated or dechlorinated water available as you can. You want to fill the tank on arrival and to get the water moving as soon as possible. For long moves treat your tank as if it is a brand new one. Do not forget to include a standard delay of a week, before you place fish in it. You also want to put some particularly hardy fish first, just to get going on establishing a nitrate cycle. After some time, when your tank stabilizes, you can put your old fish back.

Moving an Aquarium – The Fish

Packing the fish is, again, something that experts can help with. They know exactly how much air/water ratio is needed, as well as how to properly pack them. If you are doing it yourselves, try to place the fish in sealed bags which are half filled with air. You can use oxygen for longer moves. Place those bags in a padded container and ship it by air.

During the move, fish will not eat. This is due to a large amount of stress that they are experiencing. Do not worry, they can survive about a week without any food, provided they were well fed before that.

You want to have an even temperature which you can accomplish with sealed coolers. Again, expert moving services can provide all of these things for you. If you are transporting them by car, you want to have an air pump and airstone in place.

Once you finish with moving an aquarium, treat it like you would the first time, by slowly placing new fish in the tank.