how to transport a small fish tank

i am going to buy this tank from someone off line. i am just wondering how i should move it back home. i live about an hour from this guy so its not to bad, but it's -9 out so i am a bit worried about the tank getting to cold. i think the tanks small enough (12 g) to just put in the car but any advise would be helpful.

here's a link to the tank JBJ 12 GAL. NANO CUBE SALTWATER AQUARIUM - Ontario Pets For Sale - Kijiji Ontario Canada.

 

just keep the car warm ... it should be ok. you could wrap it in a thick blanket or something similar to insulate it

 

Def drain the tank, put the rock into a plastic rubbermaid bin or bucket submerged in the water. Get new sand or drain the water so there's just a tiny amount over the sand. I would get new sand though. Don't attempt to move it with water, etc in it, hopefully you're not. You risk causing a crack in the seams if you do, not a good thing.

 

Depending on what is in it:

If only sand/live rock (no fish/corals/inverts) then you can drain the water down to the level of the sandbed. In an hour you should not lose all of the life on the rock.

If there is a lot of coral, inverts, fish -
take out the rock and transport in a tupperware container with water from the tank to keep it moist. This will allow you to remove about half of the water and still leave room for the critters to wiggle around.

Keeping your car warm will help as will any blankets you can wrap around it - if it has a lid - you can put blanket on the top too.

I transferred a 14 gallon Biocube from Raleigh, NC to Wantage, NJ (about 600 miles) in the dead of winter in an extreme cold spell (even for Raleigh as it was well below freezing down there).

I ran one of those power inverters that run off of 12V car electric and put out household electric voltage. I ran a small heater that would only cycle on/off as the inverter was rated for 75 watts and the heater was 100 watts.

But lo and behold, the movement of the car provided oxygenation and the heater held the temp.

Granted I only had a few corals and some CUC members to transport - but all ended well - no major losses!!

Hope this helps!!

 

I'm not to sure if i can take all the water out i think the guy i am buying it off of just wants me to take it as is

 

what if i just took some of the water out and left it half full?

 

Take as much as possible out. If no fish or corals - take it all out. either way you will need to seperate the LR if it is stacked as hitting a bump and shifting the stack can cause a fatal landslide.

 

so put the rock on the bottom of the the tank because by the looks of it there not to much and take out half the water? should i put the water i take out in something and put it back in when i get home?

 

In order to answer that - what is in the tank?

I keep asking that but I guess ur missing it . . . it will make a big difference if there is nothing versus there being a pair of fish or some LPS corals . . . .

 

there's are few small soft coral and a anemone, no fish