Aquarium World

Moving an aquarium is a serious business. There are several aspects to think about when doing this – first and foremost of course, you must think about the safety and health of the fishes life that normally resides in the aquarium and their well-being. Secondly, you must think about the actual equipment that they are being housed in – for instance, how well can you protect the glass panels of the aquarium and make sure that any food containers do not break open etc.? Thirdly, you must think about the actual process of moving – will it be by yourself or will others be helping, such as a removal company – in that case, are they well aware of the fragile things they are transporting or most likely would it be better for you to have protection over the marine life that is being moved? Whilst this article will attempt to give suggestions, if there are any considerations which need further addressing, please of course talk to a suitably qualified specialist such as from a pet shop and it is “better to be safe than sorry”.

There are various opinions around (see references at the end of the article) on what is the best way to move an aquarium. These range from not feeding any animals prior to moving, so that they will not contaminate the water to simply moving the fish into a small transport container, whilst partially draining the aquarium and then putting them back in. Whatever you try to do, make sure that you have a plan and that things are able to go as smoothly and without problem as possible for both the welfare of the marine life and your benefit as well.

As mentioned already, the first thing to take into account is the marine life that you will be transporting. When moving fish Jerome Gaw recommends discontinuing feeding a few days prior to moving. Whilst this might seem logical, of course depending on the health of your fish this could potentially not always be a good idea – check to see if your fish are in good health for example, if you decided to follow this line of action and as mentioned do not hesitate to seek the opinion of a suitably qualified fish expert if there is any doubt. Furthermore Jerome suggests actually sealing the fish into plastic bags – whilst this might possibly work for very short journeys, needless to say for longer journeys, you may need to make sure that they receive proper amounts of air with an air pump. Again other obvious considerations would be the size of the fish involved.

When moving an aquarium, one key thing to keep in mind, is that it will be very difficult to do or indeed virtually impossible whilst it is full of water. To this end, try removing as much water as possible so that it becomes lighter and will not risk overflowing when tilted – if you consider the volume of water you put in and then assess its weight, this should be self-explanatory. Aquariums could be costly to replace and not to mention there being a lot of inconvenience – be safe, slow and cautious.

Another key consideration when moving an aquarium is the fragility of the equipment. Make sure that for instance the glass of the aquarium is properly protected against bashing – remember that it is a heavy object and could pick up quite a bit of momentum if the vehicle that it is moving in suddenly brakes. To this end, consider buying some cheap materials such as air packaging or bubble wrap to properly insulate your aquarium against mishap. Needless to say, if you arrive at your destination with the aquarium life intact but their home damaged, that would be a great inconvenience and a problem you don’t need when you might want to be concentrating on things such as settling in, not looking for the nearest pet shop.

One more thing to consider when moving is what to do in the event of a problem. Whilst you hope that it will not be at all difficult, one thing you might want to do for example is bring some towels for instance, in case water gets sloshed about. Another thing to perhaps check out in advance is where pet shops might be in the new area that you would be going to anyway, just in case you needed to get in touch immediately and might well need this information later on in any case.

Even if you follow all steps safely and have installed your aquarium in the new residence, make sure to check the water quality for temperature, pH etc., so that you do not stumble at the last hurdle. Finally, just as you would make sure in its previous home, make sure that the aquarium is in a secure position away from potential hazards and those that might damage it, such as pets etc.. By damaging anything, this could incur great expense – take care that you do not do this by mistake. In short, plan well, take slow and reasoned action and review – with this action plan hopefully you will have great success. Finally, in some situations it might seem reasonable to simply call in the professionals. If you are traveling by plane or over multiple days etc. – do not see this as failure, rather than realistic pragmatism, unless you are absolutely confident in your ability. Beyond this why not run your plan by us in the forums?

To sum up, here is a possible checklist of actions to undertake.
Firstly prepare the materials such as packaging for transport and identify a safe new location.
Secondly relocate the aquarium life into safe transport items and secure the aquarium by draining enough water to be easily transported.
Thirdly, whilst looking after the welfare of the fish and the equipment, move the equipment to the new location and reassemble everything.
Fourthly double-check that things are setup according to how you would like them and how they should be for any new install.
Fifthly – now you can relax after all things have been done well – happy moving.

Reference:
Jerome Gaw – http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-and-animals/a1783-how-to-move-an-aquarium.html