[karatelovr]

Originally Posted by shev

hello and welcome to the site.

first off, boo-hiss for trying to kill the rapheal catfish. but glad to see you gave it away. the new owner hopefully knew enough to acclimate the catfish so it wouldnt go into shock. they are pretty hardy, not surprised it didnt die.

1. alrighty, if I were you I'd keep the substrate in a seperate bucket with all other decorations of yours, and the filter cartiges. oh, and keep the bucket filled with water. this will hold the precious helpful nitrifying bacteria. you can use vinegar to remove the calcium deposits on the filter and glass.
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4. I'd take the tank yourself. 29 gallons isnt too large, but the movers will probably break it.

Thanks for the welcome! And I was being facetious about "killing the fish"! Afterall, my cats would have loved a snack if that had truely been the case Also, I meant "shock" as in the mental kind, like, "OMG, a clean tank, I cannot live here!!

I agree the helpful bacteria will remain on the substrate, but as you point out, it's easy to kill them off if they dry out. Since setting up this tank is not going to be the first, second, or even third of my top priorities (sorry, I'm a single woman moving into my first new house), I'm afraid the bacteria may die even if I do keep that stuff. What do you think?

As for movers breaking the tank - again, it's not like I need it to immediately put fish into, and while reimbursement may be a hassle, it would definitely be covered by insurance! (I drive a 2-door sports car, no way can 29 gal tank fit in it!! )