Possible new tank - dilemma in placement!

I just heard of a great deal on a 50g with stand, filter, lights, etc. Problem? To accommodate it in our fish room we would have to move the 10g mosquito tank again (it has already been moved twice during renovations due to our chimney fire). I am only worried as I do not want this tank to undergo too much stress. During the first two moves, we drained the 10g down to about 30% each time. I have a spot for them if we do this again, but I am worried about the tank 'giving in'. The only other option is to put the new 50g in the wreck room, which is next to the fish room - so not a big stretch for cleaning. But, there is a wood stove in there. The tank would be about 15 feet away from the wood stove.

Thoughts?

free heating for the winter?

You can move a ten every week, if you drop it to 10% full and keep it level. It's just a really big water change.
The wood stove might bounce the temps a bit too much. I assume it would run sometimes, and then cool down, right? I have a friend who has a woodstove in his fishroom, but it runs all winter as the primary heating in the house. If it's one of those, no problem. It's the question of consistency that matters, as a wildly bouncing room temp is almost a guaranteed stuck heater.

put a bucket of water in the location you intend to have the tank at the height of the water the same as the top of the filled tank will be.

Stoke up the wood heater for 6 hours and monitor the temps.

If it never excieds your fish max temp you will be OK

Great idea ^

Moving your tank won't stress the fish too much. Just you Good luck, excited to see yet another tank added to your family. MTS much? Any ideas what you'd stock in it?

No idea whatsoever regarding future inhabitants - it is a tank open to possibilities! I just emailed the guy to say I would take it - I just hope no one else snatched it up!

I'll try the bucket idea...although we will not be starting up the wood stove for a little bit....that is not a problem though as we have not even started up our other 55g!!! If it looks to be too hot of a location, or if the fluctuations in heat are too much, I will just take a deep breath and move the poor 10g once again. One tank at a time!

I'm the lunatic with 35 tanks, but hey, I move them around all the time. It really doesn't bother the fish at all - I think they appreciate change. If I need a tank warmer in winter without adding a heater, I put it on a high rack, or vice versa. Summer, same thing,. also in reverse.
Years ago, I was moving my canary a good distance, and the breeder I had gotten him from said to sit the cage on the passenger seat with a thin cover, and drive. I asked if the movement of the car would bother the bird, and the guy grinned and said two words - "Branches, wind". Yup, he had a point.
So for fish being moved? Floods, rain. Works for me. You can move a 10 gallon in 20 minutes.

The more I think about it - the more it does make sense to just move the 10g...better to keep at least the majority of the tanks in one room (at this point, the tetra tank and betta tank are both upstairs, all of our other tanks are in the fish room/office downstairs)! My poor babies...as you put it Gary - a wind storm is heading their way!

Hubby is picking up the tank this afternoon - I can't believe we will have an empty 55g and 50g just sitting here....we are nuts - happy - but nuts!  

I think it is a pretty good deal though - 50g tank with stand, canister filter, AquaClear filter, heater, bubbler with air pump, gravel, extra large piece of driftwood, live plants, 3-D background, vacuum, and several other 'natural looking' decorations. All for $150. Not a bad deal for around here!  

I don't think it's a case of poor babies. It's more lucky fish. Stability is boring, and storms and change are exciting. A lot of fish will change behavior patterns wildly if the rainy season floods arrive - the Amazon can rise deep into the forest and open all kinds of possibilities for river inhabitants. Big changes stimulate activity and energy.
Mosquito fish live in really unstable environments where the water moves around endlessly. The biggest colonies I've seen were in drainage ditches, where the water depth could change by 8 feet over a season.
A fish that swims listlessly will come alive in a redecorated tank, or with a new view out the window. Some stress is good for them, as it is for us. Some...

GaryE wrote:I don't think it's a case of poor babies. It's more lucky fish. Stability is boring, and storms and change are exciting. A lot of fish will change behavior patterns wildly if the rainy season floods arrive - the Amazon can rise deep into the forest and open all kinds of possibilities for river inhabitants. Big changes stimulate activity and energy.
Mosquito fish live in really unstable environments where the water moves around endlessly. The biggest colonies I've seen were in drainage ditches, where the water depth could change by 8 feet over a season.
A fish that swims listlessly will come alive in a redecorated tank, or with a new view out the window. Some stress is good for them, as it is for us. Some...

So, I guess I should be saying, "poor me" instead!  I think I get way more stressed over these tank moves when compared with the fish! Thanks for the reassuring words...I am feeling a little more at ease about the whole thing now, for sure.

On a different note, this tank is a 55g, not a 50g, which I like better as it is longer than I thought it would be...but, now we may have to maneuver a few more things to accommodate it in this space!