transferring tanks assistance!

[michelle]

Originally Posted by Bifferwine

Wait, what, FRESHWATER?!?!

Lol. I KNOW! It was supposed to be a marine puffer. I wanted a porcupine, but apparently they get too big for it, and my LFs says so will a lionfish. I have an obsession with puffers, so, it seems that freshawater ones are the only way I can go.
I had thought ofa valentini, I love them, but the lfs guy says it would be just him in there, bc other FO fish would out grow my tank

[michelle]

#10 - trap Striper (evil 6-line wrasse) in PVC pipe and lift him and the pipe out of the 5g tank and into the 10g tank


Yours is evil too hey? Mine is fine with everyone except the royal gramma that went into the tank after him. To him, he is evil. And a FRIGGER to catch. How does that pvc trick work?

[michelle]

Originally Posted by Bifferwine

I agree to the suggestion of minimized "transfers" if at all possible. The fish will be less stressed if you only have to move them once, from one tank to another, rather than from a tank, to a holding tub, to a tank.

This is the way I did my 55 to 240 move, and I did not lose one fish (I had 13 in there). I used all new sand, so I didn't have to move the sand over from one tank to another.

Filled the new tank halfway with new water. Moved the live rock and any corals that were attached to the live rock to the new tank. At this point, the old tank only had sand and frantic fish in it. Moved half of the old water over to the new tank, to create a mix in the new tank. Caught the fish, and moved them over to the new tank, one by one. At this point, the water in both tanks was cloudy from moving the rocks around, so it was difficult to see the fish that weren't brightly colored. Then I just filled the new tank up with water again.

This is how I will try it too I think, just a question, my sand; If added last, it will definately be very cloudy water in the new tank...will this cause trouble for the fish?

[Rcpilot]

Originally Posted by michelle

#10 - trap Striper (evil 6-line wrasse) in PVC pipe and lift him and the pipe out of the 5g tank and into the 10g tank


Yours is evil too hey? Mine is fine with everyone except the royal gramma that went into the tank after him. To him, he is evil. And a FRIGGER to catch. How does that pvc trick work?

The PVC pipe is black. It's just a 2" , 90 degree elbow. He sleeps in there and hides when he's scared. I started moving rocks and he swam in and hunkered down. I just put my hand over each end and swooped him up. He had no time to run.

[michelle]

once all my rock is out, if i put a pieace of pvc in, it could work the same way for a number of my fish that hide well, and are too fast for me. Thanks for the idea.

[RAYRAY]

I am getting ready for a big move also. BUT..... I was told not to use the sand in the tank until it is rinsed VERY VERY good. Becuase once you mix it up, all kinds of BAd things will be released from inside the sand bed. I am going to put a new bag of LIVE SAND in then rinse as much of the old sand I can use . GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING. At least you are moving in one place I have to move about 6 miles away !!

[Rcpilot]

If you have a DSB then you don't want to disturb it during a tank move.

But if it's just 1" of sand, no big deal. There's oxygen all the way down through 1" of sand, so any bacteria in there will be fine if some go to the bottom and some go to the top when you pour the sand into the new tank. It's all the same.

Digging up a 6" DSB and moving layers from the bottom up to the top is a recipe for disaster. DON'T move a DSB during a tank transfer. Better to just use new sand and let it "grow" over time. Dump 6" of new sand in and let it go.

[michelle]

Originally Posted by Rcpilot

If you have a DSB then you don't want to disturb it during a tank move.

But if it's just 1" of sand, no big deal. There's oxygen all the way down through 1" of sand, so any bacteria in there will be fine if some go to the bottom and some go to the top when you pour the sand into the new tank. It's all the same.

Digging up a 6" DSB and moving layers from the bottom up to the top is a recipe for disaster. DON'T move a DSB during a tank transfer. Better to just use new sand and let it "grow" over time. Dump 6" of new sand in and let it go.

Thanks for the heads up, but it's only about 1.5 inches deep. So, does that mean I needn't wash it?


Also, just wondering, I have 2 filters running on my tank right now. both are aquaclear 70-90 gallon versions. Do they accomplish anything other then waterflow and maybe polishing? I have about 70lbs of live rock right now and about 50lb live sand.
Thank you!

[Bifferwine]

Try to siphon off any detritus from the sand before you move it. You don't need to rinse such a shallow amount, but what I did when I switched fuges a couple weeks ago was scoop up the sand in a little plastic juice pitcher, with some water. Then I'd shake the pitcher and pour the water off the top in the yard. This got rid of a lot of the gunk that was in the sand, but didn't take as long as rinsing all the sand. Be sure to only use saltwater, or your bacteria will be killed.

[michelle]

great idea biff. Thanks