# 10 hour drive relocating fish



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

This is more of a "please critique my plan" more than anything.
I have a 20 gallon heavily planted freshwater tank with one remaining neon tetra and a BUNCH of cherry red shrimp. For all intents and purposes at this time this really is an invert tank. I was planning to buy more tetra but did not, in anticipation of this move.

The drive will be 10 hours long and my plan is to have the tank up and running until the morning of the move. Then I will empty it down to basically a quarter or the bare minimum to keep the plants submerged. I will hook up the water pump to a power inverter and keep it running during the trip.
I have to pay extra attention to the cycle because the shrimp are sensitive to water parameters and I don't want to kill them.

My two main concerns are:
-keeping the integrity of the tank uncompromised during the drive
-avoiding splashing as this may stick shrimp to the glass of the tank and kill them

I will be the only one in the car.
Where is the best place for a fish tank movement-wise? In the trunk or in front of the passenger seat by the foot area? Or maybe in the middle of the car, being in the back seat by the foot area? In order to absorb road shocks I plan on stacking a couple fluffy bath towels under it, while keeping in mind the risk of tipping over.
I think the plants, being so many of them, will largely take care of the sloshing problem.
I've had it emptied down to half when doing a large water change and the plants basically look like I just threw a towel in the water. It's like a tropical forest in there, I really need to get rid of some.

Your thoughts?


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

I would have the tank completely empty, water is very heavy and could crack the tank just moving to the car let alone driving, with the water in the tank you could get what is called the pendulum effect which will either cause damage or tip the tank


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I've had good luck seatbelting things (trumpets, potted plants, oxygen cylinders) into the passenger seat. You can add an extra bungee or two to hold it tight. I have had bad experiences moving tanks with any water in it. i once lifted a 30 and it split a seam and I once killed fish by driving a tank I bought home with water in it. The slosh smashed fish against the glass. If it were only fish, I'd tell you to bag them in breather bags, take the water down to damp substrate, pack with bags of air and wrap the whole mess in saran. Plants don't need to be wet, only moist. 

If you do this with shrimp, though I expect you will be about 2 weeks catching them. Good luck.


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

So you guys are saying ANY water at all can damage the tank? The way I reasoned it if the tank is designed to hold 20 gallons and I only have 2-4 gallons at most, that should be well below the tolerance.


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

Any water can crack the tank... there is no tolerance, you dont want it to twist as glass is not flexible


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Then in that case I wil put the tank on a hard surface like a shelf. This will prevent twisting.
Would that work?
Tearing it all down is simply not an option so I am afraid I will just have to risk transporting it with the gravel and plants in it.
So now it is a matter of minimizing the chances of damaging the tank.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

whether or not you leave some water in the tank, (which for what its worth, I agree with the others it is not a good idea-gravel weight alone will weaken tank structure when lifted, & water sloshing will weaken seams.) the shrimp/fish should not be left in tank during move. They should be transported in bags. Leaving them to bounce around in the tank is far more dangerous than capturing and bagging them. not to mention the stress! Use tank water, 3-4 shrimp in a bag, fill bag with air from your pump. place bags ina cooler with lid. The cooler will maintain temp, and reduce noise/light stress. The plants should be bagged, too, IMO. The gravel removed and also bagged with just enough water to keep moist so bacterial colonies stay alive. The cycle will not be interrupted if you maintain the bacteria in the gravel, and also the filter. Water contains almost no bacteria, so saving it is not productive. IDK how long you have had tanks, or if you have transported atank/fish before, but I do know both weedkiller & emc7 have been at it for years. I have been in it personally & sometimes professionally for 30+yrs. When we all agree on something, you gotta wonder why. Just saying....


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm certainly not being stubborn about it 
What you say makes sense to me so I will start planning on tearing it down.
Now I have to figure out how I am going to go about trapping them shrimpies >_<


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Sorry for coming off as such a grouch!  I am aghast to discover that I am starting to become that old fart everyone remembers laughing at as kids! Maybe someone on this forum who reads this and has shrimp can help out with ideas for safe shrimp trapping?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The issue is twisting the sealant. The weight in the tank can pull it away from the glass. I've heard of planted tank folk carrying tanks with substrate & plants, but usually only from one room to another. The greater the trek, the greater the risk. 20s are cheap enough and that you could risk it if you want to, since you'll the one to clean up the mess if it won't hold water when you fill it or if it drops substrate all over your car. 

But I would strongly you advise bag the fish & shrimp. The odds of you not having to stop fast once in a 10 hour ride are really tiny. 

I've carried tanks to the sink with the water that I couldn't siphon out. But any more than that makes me nervous. With the larger tanks being riskier than the smallest ones.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

I do have some thoughts about shrimp capture. After the plants & ornaments have all been removed, water level reduced, they wont have any place to hide. Using a mid sized fine mesh net and a smaller net, it would not be too difficult to gently "herd" them into the larger net, holding it stationary. The trick is not to spook them with fast movements. Once they are in the big net, lift and drop them into waiting bag. They wont even know what happened.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

In breather bags in clean water w/ammonia-detox conditioner after a fast, little fish like that can go at least a week.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if you can keep the tank level during the trip i would suggest this....leave the shrimp in the tank..lower the water level to about 1 inch above the gravel...the shrimp will have the plants to cling to so they don't get beat up...you should be fine doing it that way...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The heavier the fish, the worse the head-smash. shrimp have very little weight. I've never moved them like that, but loha has more exp. with plants than I.


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

"the shrimp will have the plants to cling to so they don't get beat up"
When I said my tank is a jungle, I meant that with 1 inch of water the shrimp will be squished by the plants against the glass, ha!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

folks make too much fuss about shrimp...the wife was breeding them in plastic pretzel jugs sittin on the basement floor....
them little buggers will sneak between the plant leaves and hang out there til the ride is over...lol


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

My main concern was the integrity of the tank.
Even if I lose half the population, I would still be left with 8493749 shrimp.

C_king, to your advice of having 3-4 per bag, sir, that would leave me with a pickup bed full of bags 
Just giving you a hard time. I literally have at least 100 roaming the 20g.

By my figures the tank can hold around 160lb of weight which I will have reduced to under 20. I might just drain it down to 1 inch of water versus tearing it all down. I'm still debating.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

Over the past year I moved and relocated to try and save my fish. I picked up ply wood and cut out the dimensions of the base of the tank. Made a small base that would prevent the tank from twisting in the back of my truck. I placed the tank in the base and drove them 15 miles. Mind you I did not have a jungle but a few rocks and some plastic plants but the tank made the trip to and fro in one piece. I also wedged a bag the had old comforters in the back to kind of hold it in place. The trip went well.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I say move it if its 20H, drain if its a 20 long. The smallest tank I ever had split a seam was a 29H. 30" may be the point where tanks get wimpy.

I'm serious about belting it to a seat (the back seat may work better). They are soft, strong, and stable. Add a few more straps and you should be able to keep it from moving at all.


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

It's a 20 standard. I like the backseat idea. I'll make sure that it is level, will place it on a hard surface (I have a small shelf that fits the base perfect) to avoid twisting and I will seatbelt the f- out of it. I will let you guys know how it goes.

My closing day was pushed back a day which means I can drain it the day of the move, so that worked perfect. I will also throw in an air stone hooked up to an air pump to keep things oxygenated.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

That may just work! And holy cow! (or, Holy Crustations, Batman!) You have 100 shrimp?! Sounds like you shoild go into business. Whatever you've been doing, it must be right. I had to laugh, thinking about a car full of bags, 3 shrmp in a bag.


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I started with 10.
I really need to get fresh stock because I probably have a tank full of inbred retards ...
You give me too much credit, good sir.
You can breed cherry shrimp in a freakin' toilet bowl.
I can see juvies in there at various stages of growth so I know I have several generations going on right now. I think one of the females must have given birth last week because I saw a couple as small as fish lice.
I think you are starting to appreciate the predicament.
I'm not avoiding a complete tear down because I'm lazy, but its a daunting task.

I'm lining everything up to do the drain then.
I have a piece of 1-inch thick foam (sponge) sheet that I think I can wrap around the inside of the tank and prevent violent splashing. Any wave would just end up hitting the foam instead of hard glass ...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Might work as long as it leaves some water. 

I mentioned "bags of air" like you get in shipping boxes because they are cheap, light and waterproof. I would likely bag the fish and let them ride in the tank unless they were in breather bags (do not submerge breather bags).


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I have neglected to come back with an update.
The tank got to the destination in one piece, it's been 3 weeks now and no leaks or anything. All is well. It wasn't as difficult as I expected but if I can avoid it in the future, I will.


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## Colonel Moose (Jun 16, 2013)

The tank is only 20 gallons. Drain it completely.


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## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

See above 
Although "just 20 gallons", it would have been a logistical nightmare, especially given that I had many more important things to worry about at that time.

I took a gamble and it paid off. It was a calculated risk and the goal was to minimize that risk.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Glad to know it worked out. I know completely emptying a planted tank would be a PITA.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i agree with emc..plants don't like to be uprooted and moving them can be a pain.you took a risk and it worked out well...very glad to see that.


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