Changing filter and moving tank location

[linda.m.amundsen.1]

This weekend, I will be relocating my 10 gallon planted shrimp tank out to the living room and adding my hm filter. Could you help out with a few questions?

1) Should I save the majority of the water to put back into the tank after I have moved it? I will be using the same substrate (pfs), plants, etc.

2) Should I remove the shrimp to a holding tank while doing this?

3) How long should I leave my power sponge filter in there? Would two weeks be enough to get the hm filter going with beneficial bacteria?

Thanks for all you's guys help! This is an awesome community and I am glad I found you!

[35ppt]

1) save and reuse the water. Shrimp don't like changing params.

2) netting the shrimp would probably stress them. If you are moving tank a short distance (no sloshing for hours in a car), I don't think it is worth it to net.

I try to move tanks with little or no water in them to reduce stress on the seams, so I would try to take the water level down quite a bit, not that I have personally done this with a shrimp tank.

[Chiumanfu]

Moving a planted tank is going to be difficult. Adding a HMF to a planted tank is going to be even more of a pain! Its probably gonna be more work that you were expecting speaking from experience of trying to move a planted tank myself. The substrate shifts all over the place and hardscape falls over etc. I guess it really depends on how level your substrate is and how far you have to go (stairs? forget it.). If you can use a rolling cart, it will help immensely. No matter what, you are going to stir up a lot of stuff so I wouldn't leave the shrimp in during the move itself.

 

This is how I would do it... 

Feed the shrimp to bring them all out of hiding.

Siphon out 5 gal of the water before disturbing anything so it is still perfectly clean. Just use a Home Depot 5g buckets.

Net all the shrimp to the bucket. Use a heater in the bucket if your ambient is very low. Add airstone or filter if you intend on leaving them there overnight.

Siphon out the remaining 5 gal into another bucket.

Remove hardscape and all plants except carpeting plants.

Add some dechlorinated water and do a deep gravel vac. You're there, might as well do it. Keep vacuuming until all the water is out.

Move the tank.

Push the substrate aside where the HMF is going and install HMF.

Add hardscape and plants back.

Put 7 gal of your original water back in very very gently.

Turn on filter and heater, etc. and let things settle for an hour or so.

Do all your tests. Amm, Nitrite, Nitrate, TDS, GH, KH, pH, temp. Make sure nothing is out of ordinary.

Measure the temp in the remaining 3 gal with the shrimp. If it is drastically different from the tank temp, acclimate. If not, dump the shrimp and remaining 3 gal back into the tank.

 

2 weeks is not long enough to fully seed the new HMF. Think of it in terms of cycling a new tank for how long it will take the bacteria to grow. Though I probably wouldn't worry about it too much. The substrate will have more than enough beneficial bacteria for your stocking level.

[linda.m.amundsen.1]

Thanks for thr input. The new location is literally right down the hall to the next room-no stairs or automobile rides involved.

My plants are: red tiger lotus (tuny baby plant) 1 crypt, 1 anubuas, 1 bunch of red ludwigia, 1 bunch of limnophilia aromatica and some wisteria.

[35ppt]

Good point, things are bound to get stirred up.