So, Im getting closer and closer to winter break, and I just learned that before we vacate the dorms, we have to unplug EVERYTHING. That includes my 14 gallon tank. I am taking all my fishies home with me, but I was wondering, should I take all the water out of the tank or leave it as it is, without a heater or filter?
Please let me know since I have to start packing soon!
I would empty the tank, and bring it and all its supplies with you along with the fish.
but its a 14 gallon... wouldnt I have to cycle it all over again? Plus i dont really want to carry it with me...there are only 4 fish in there right now
Even if you take the tank with you, after 3 hours of no air you bacteria will start to die off and you will have to restart the cycle.
I would just empty everything out, clean it and start a new cycle when you get back from break. It's easier to clean a wet tank than a dried up one.
Even if you take the tank with you, after 3 hours of no air you bacteria will start to die off and you will have to restart the cycle.
I would just empty everything out, clean it and start a new cycle when you get back from break. It's easier to clean a wet tank than a dried up one.
sooo if i were to take the tank with me (all emptied out) back home, which is 45 minutes away, I could technically put in new water and keep all the bacteria?
You would keep most of the bacteria but you HAVE to keep everything moist. If it dries up your bacteria will die.
I would keep enough water in the aquarium to cover the gravel or move the gravel with decorations to a bucket you will have some of the water in... don't forget you filter cartdridge needs to be kept moist as well.
I was able to travel for about 4 hours and not lose my cycle. Not sure how... I kept the media moist, and I also had a ton of live plants, including moss balls. That probably had something to do with it.
You may not have time for my suggestion to help you this time, but in the future you may want to buy fish bags. If you have a LPS see if they will sell you some of their bags. If not, you can order them on line for cheap. You can fill the bags with water to hold the filter. The substrate should be good if you keep it moist for the entire trip. But you are worried about spilling anything, then you may want to put the substrate in bags with just enough water to cover everything. I personally would only focus on having the fish and filter in bags since the majority of the good bacteria is in the filter media. The substrate should be able to wing it for 45 minutes. : )
I guess for a 45 minute trip can be done with zip lock bags, but I'm not sure how water tight they really are. Even the fish bags aren't a 100% garuantee that you won't lose the cycle. I figures I would toss my 2 cents in just incase you can't travel with a tank that has water coating the bottom. My mom wouldn't let me in the SVU if there was a single drop of water on anything except my fish. In fact, I think she would make me dry out the fish before she turned on the motor if they could survive it. XD
I agree. Either empty it or clean it out. If you leave it, full or empty, you will have to restart the cycle. If you take it, leave enough water to cover the gravel and keep your filter media in water. If you have decorations/driftwood etc, keep that in water if you can. The 45 minutes should be short enough to keep your cycle. I kept mine in about 2 hours of travel in my tanks. You might have a mini cycle, but a lot of the bacteria will be ok.
They do that to us too... Unplug everything...Even when they kick us out for just a week. Its irksome. Xan doesnt like his bowl at home. :P I always leave the tank and the snail here though...I figured they would be fine for a week without filter and whatnot. Maybe THATS why i've been having algae issues...
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