# Moving + Rescape



## Pseuro (Aug 23, 2004)

Hey guys, as thread title states, i'm going to be moving in a month or so and i'd think it's chance to rescape the tank. However there are some obstacles i need to tackle and hope you guys can help me out.

1) i have some snails in the tank that i dont want in new scape. i understand how snails dig into the substrate so it will be nearly impossible to remove them manually. substrate is eco complete. So i'd need suggestions on how to get rid of them. (there are probably tiny snails inside the filter too)

2) i want to keep the same fish, shrimp and grass. livestock i suppose i can get a tupperware to keep them temporarily, should i just stick my filter in the tupperware, use same water and heater? (how long will the fish last in the tupperware considering it's large enough)

3) unfortuantly i have bits of riccia sprinkled over the hairgrass and again it's near impossible to separate them. but i have a whole carpet full of grass and i dont want to waste them. (48 x 12 footprint worth) Any ideas how i can separate them? only solution i see is as i unroot them i have to manually remove them bit by bit, but that will take up alot of time and very risky since if i miss one little bit of riccia, it will spread all over again...

Tank size is 33 gallon 48 x 12 x 12.

Thanks in advance for any replies i'd really appreciate it. All these problems even made me consider not planting the new tank and just start from square 1 =(


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## Scoutmaster Steve (Jan 12, 2006)

I can't be much help to you on moving your plants but your plan of a large tupperware with your heater and filter on it is a good plan. If it is large enough for your fish load they won't show any stress. You may want to consider a picnic type insulated cooler though if you will be long in transit to maintain temp better.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Some of the answers will depend on how far you will be moving, ie, how long a time frame are we talking about in transit?

Regarding the snails - other than adding fish which will eat them, I don't know how you would do that. The eggs will be everywhere, even if you were to manually remove every snail you have, I guarantee you that you would find more within a couple of weeks from hatchings. I wouldn't recommend using chemical treatment for the snail removal. How much do you feed your fish? My experience with snails is that they don't become a nuisance unless you overfeed your fish, then the snails have lots to eat. Heck they will eat some algae, so think of them as part of your clean up crew. 

Last time I moved from one end of town to another, I just drew the water down to a couple of inches in my tank and left the fish in there. I did not suffer any casualties in the transit. 

Another idea, you might want pull out the riccia/hairgrass carpet, since you want to separate them anyway. Do a good gravel vac and water change a day or two prior to your move. Plants can go into a bucket for moving - assuming the move is a short one, then replant the next day in your new locale. 

Just some ideas.


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## Pseuro (Aug 23, 2004)

I thought about adding fish that will eat snails, however i was scared that they will peck on my amano shrimps too. I'm gonan do some searches on the forum to see others experience with snail eating fish + shrimps.

Regarding my move, it's literally across the street so travel time isnt long at all. it'll be rather difficult to keep anythign inside the tank during the move because i have to go down a flight of stairs (currently in apartment, 2nd floor). I'm scared of the tilting the tank down the stairs with anythign in it, doesnt seem safe?

how long can plants last uprooted? i understand that it will be at least 3 days cause it survived the shipment online before it got to my place.

i'm just scared that in process of separating the riccia and hairgrass i'd have a tiny bit of riccia that i missed and that it'll tangle within the grass again...


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## Pseuro (Aug 23, 2004)

Alright guys so i started to uproot my carpet, after about half the carpet or so i started thinking woudlnt this cause the tank to re-cycle? cause i remembered that if you change too much at once the tank will become unstable etc etc..

what do you guys think? is it safe for me to just remove the whoel carpet at once?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You can vastly shorten the recycle time by keeping some of the tank water and tank mulm and adding them to the substrate when you re-set up the tank. That, plus the bacterial colonies on the plants, plus hooking up the filter without disturbing it during the move, should make the cycle time near zero.


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