Here are 6 easy steps to move a fish tank without emptying it. Moving a fish tank will require a lot more effort than you think it does.

How to Move a Fish Tank Without Emptying It? You can move a fish tank without emptying it from one room to another by taking help from your friends, removing half of the water, and slowly move the aquarium table. When moving a fish tank, do not put pressure on the side corners and the lid. You can not move a fish tank without emptying it from one floor to another.

How to Move a Fish Tank Without Emptying It?

Moving fish tanks with fish is a big responsibility because you have to do it without damaging the tank and the fish. 

Changing your fish environment may cause them to panic as they are used to living in a fish tank for a while. 

Initial Preparation to Move a fish tank

Moving a fish tank will need a lot more supplies than you think you need. When you move your fish tank to another home, you should be moving in your fish the first thing.

You should place your stuff in such a way that fish tanks and your fish are the first things you unload in your house and get going. Plan your move and get all the help you can before moving your fish tank.

Equipment Required to Move a fish tank

Collect all the supplies you might need in moving a fish tank. That includes the buckets you will need to pour your fish tank water in, and these buckets will help you fish to adjust to a new situation.

You will also need to get the new buckets instead of the ones you use in your laundry because they might contain some leftover detergent, which may be harmful to your fish.

You will also need the bags that you can carry your fish into, and for that, you need to get these plastic bags from the fish stores so that there is no fear of them tearing during your travel.

Pack all the extra containers are present inside the aquarium, including your pump, net, gravel, and whatever else present in the fish tank. This works for both acrylic and glass aquariums.

Transfer Fish and Tank Equipment

The next step is to cover your fish and do that; you have to keep changing your aquarium water 20% each day to clean the aquarium water on moving day. You will also need to stop feeding your fish so that the aquarium stays clean.

While doing so, you do not need to worry about your fish as they can sustain for a week without food when it has been well fed previously. You have to be careful if you have Killifish in the aquarium.

On the day of the move, pack one-third on your plastic bag with aquarium water and place the fish in it, and you can also get the backfilled with pure oxygen when you are traveling to a longer distance.

Place your fist in a cooler so that the temperature is average, and close the lid so that fish will be stress-free in the dark.

Now when it comes to moving the actual fish tank, you will need to take all the filtered water in separate containers. Fill that tank up with this water, so you don’t have to filter a lot of water again.

Careful pack all the gravel, the lids, and the container separately. You can also immerse some sponges in the water so that the bacterial colonies will remain stable in the whole moving process.

If you have aquarium plants, you can submerge them in the water, too, so they don’t dry out. Once you have moved the fish tank to the new place, you can put all the water into the fish tank and fill it with more filtered water. Once everything is ready, you can leave the fish in your fish tank.

How much water should be removed before moving a fish tank?

You have to remove at least 20 to 25% of the water from your aquarium before you can move it in the filled state because when the water sloshes over, you will lose that much water anyway, and it will also create a lot of mess for you.

This way, your fish will also be at the risk of being dropped on the floor when the water is being sloshed over. So to keep your fish safe, you have to remove some of the water from your fish tank.

Hazards of Moving a Full Fish Tank

Moving is a fish tank with water in it that is already so hard to do, so if you have figured out a way to do it, you still should abstain from doing it.

When you are moving a fish tank with fish and water in it, the portability of a fish tank will become even challenging, and that is why you will not only put your fish tank at risk, but your fish will be a danger too.

While moving a fish tank, it is at greater risk of breaking down, and due to that, fish can die in a very short timer. So, to save your fish from such a disaster, you should first empty the fish tank and then move it.

The most distance you can travel with the fish tank full of water or fish is within the same house and on the same floor. If you have to move it upstairs or downstairs, you will have to remove the fish to ensure your fish safety.

Save yourself some trouble by not removing the fish tank’s contents; then it is the worst mistake you are making as it will increase the work even more for you. The water will already go down the drain when it sloshes over while moving your fish tank.

When you move a fish tank on your own with fish, it will cause an immense amount of stress, leading to further problems. It’s only the fish and fish tank you will be damaging, but by lifting such a heavyweight object, you will be putting your health at risk too.

Uneven pressure on seals

The seals in an aquarium play a significant role in holding the glass together. However, when put under pressure by the gravel and other aquarium objects while moving, it can cause uneven pressure seals, causing them to leak.

You won’t be able to notice this until or unless the tank has been filled again. So, to save yourself from all such trouble, make sure to remove everything from the fish tank before moving.

Moving fish tank without emptying it

Despite everything you know that doesn’t support moving a fish tank with fish, if you still want to move a fish tank with your fish and water in it, you can only do it when you have to move it within your house on the same floor.

You must know that you need to decrease the water level in the fish tank then. You will also need more help from other people as it is not something you can do independently. You need to move the fish tank and the table or unit this fish tank is placed on. You can slide the fish tank using the moving siders.

Even if you have to carry the fish tank, you will still have to place it on plywood and then over it along with someone else’s help. This way, there will be less stress on the seals and fewer chances of a leak being developed in your aquarium.

So, it is still better to move the fish tank without any water but if you do it, then do it with extreme precautions.