moving plans

parrotchute

parrotchute

DUSTOFF MEDEVAC
So, I'm actually moving soon! I've been doing some searches, and melevsreef has some good points, but I was wondering if anyone has any favorite articles or tips on moving a tank?

I bought a bunch of plastic totes and I've got several buckets right now...my plan is to drain the tank into the totes, putting the rock/corals in the buckets as I'm draining it out. I'll (hopefully) have about 6 people to help me move it. I'll put the fish in one bucket (they all get along and are fairly calm, but maybe I should put the foxface in a separate bucket). Their bucket will have one of my heaters and a powerhead in it while it waits for transport (20 minute drive) - as soon as the tank is drained, the stuff will get transported to the house and plugged back in, using my heaters for all the critical livestock. While that's being done by the girlfriend, I'll be transporting the tank with a brace under it, along with the rest of the equipment and the stand. I'll have 10 gallons of water change water available at the house, as well.

Should I bag the fish? I can't really bag the corals, as they are all over the rocks..
I'm going to leave the sand covered with about an inch of water, should that be enough? I'm sure some of it will slosh a it and expose the sand...will the snails and other life be fine for an hour or two like this?

I know there are some products to help mitigate a spike in ammonia, but I'm figuring this will cause my skimmer to go crazy - should I do it anyway or let the skimmer handle it?

Will the dried out corraline algae from the move cause an issue?

Lots of q's, thanks guys!!
 
Sounds like you got a good plan Alex.
BUT.You'll probably need to remove the sand and wash it out good.Theres a lot of crud thats built up that will get stirred up when you move it.That crud will have all kinds of nasty tank crashing stuff in it.
I'd also bag the fish.I think that will be less stressful on em than being in a bucket.
Bag the snails and other CUC members too.
For the coralline,theres not much you can about it.But I've found that a lot of times,the new coralline will grow back quicker on the dead stuff.Guess the calcium and carbonates help it get hold:dunno:
Hope that helps some at least.
 
yote said:
Sounds like you got a good plan Alex.
BUT.You'll probably need to remove the sand and wash it out good.Theres a lot of crud thats built up that will get stirred up when you move it.That crud will have all kinds of nasty tank crashing stuff in it.
I'd also bag the fish.I think that will be less stressful on em than being in a bucket.
Bag the snails and other CUC members too.
For the coralline,theres not much you can about it.But I've found that a lot of times,the new coralline will grow back quicker on the dead stuff.Guess the calcium and carbonates help it get hold:dunno:
Hope that helps some at least.
Click to expand...


Thanks Yote! Hmm, was afraid of that with the sand. My biggest concern is that spending the time washing the sand, etc, will take up valuable time during the move. Should I just buy new sand? I'll bag as much as I can, afraid I'll miss some nass snails. Can they do ok out of water at all?

Alex
 
I'd guess that their like any other snail and can live out of water for a little while.But dont quote me on that.
Just take your net and kinda sift through the sand.If your carefull,you'll find 99.9% of em.
You could just buy new sand,but that can be fairly expensive.
I think that as long as the tanks the last thing broke down and moved,then the first thing set back up,that everything will be fine.
When I made the switch from my 75 to the 125,I had to get the 75 empty and out of the way before I could set the 125 up.It took me close to 18 hours to complete the move.But I also took the time to scrub every single rock with a brush and wash out 3 full 5 gallon buckets of sand.
 
yote said:
When I made the switch from my 75 to the 125,I had to get the 75 empty and out of the way before I could set the 125 up.It took me close to 18 hours to complete the move.But I also took the time to scrub every single rock with a brush and wash out 3 full 5 gallon buckets of sand.
Click to expand...

Where were the fish the whole time?

What's the best way to wash the sand?
 
I had the fish in an Igloo cooler with a powerhead and heater.I just left the lid open too.
I took mine outside and used the water hose.Just rinse it untill you get good clean water coming over the top of the bucket.
 
Snails will be fine if kept moist. I've ordered cleaner crews of snails and crabs online, and they came "dry bagged" -- in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel inside of it; no free water.
 
Thanks BIff, I've got a lot of tiny snails and I'm afraid of missing them!

I'll have to get a cooler, that seems like a really good idea. Uggggh, this is going to be so much work!!!

Wha about that stuff that helps prevent a cycle? Good idea?
 
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Yeah, especially if you get the smaller sized ones. That way they're light enough to move around easily. You can also place the cooler in a similar sized cardboard box for reinforcement.
 
I was just about to make this topic myself till I saw yours. I am moving in another month to a different apartment. It is about 25 mins away so I am not completely terrified, but still somewhat terrified on how to do this process. I am gonna be following this thread and check out Malev's Reef suggestions.
 
just moved a month ago, short distance. the physical move wasnt bad but i left the sand in the tank with a bit of water in it and had a really bad cycle. i thought i was going to crash the tank, luckily i had a very small and hardy coral population. next time i will definatlelty be more carteful and rinse the sand.
 
Altohombre said:
I was just about to make this topic myself till I saw yours. I am moving in another month to a different apartment. It is about 25 mins away so I am not completely terrified, but still somewhat terrified on how to do this process. I am gonna be following this thread and check out Malev's Reef suggestions.
Click to expand...

Alto,I'll let you know how it goes and keep updating this as I approach the move!
 
I'm back! I finally have internet + tv at my new house (don't get me started on how irritating it is dealing with verizon technical support) so I thought I'd stop in and say hi and give an update!

Sooooo, two days ago I moved my tank. Since most of my friends live out on the east side of MA (I live in the boondocks out west near my work) I had to get people from work to help, and they turned out to be pretty flaky. Too many people canceled the first time I tried, I rescheduled it, and one guy who promised to help didn't show...I can see if people don't want to help, but don't promise and then bail.

Anyway, once they got there, I cut the power and started siphoning the water out into tubs. As the water drained out, I grabbed the rocks (with rubber gloves) and started moving them into the tubs along with any 'verts/corals I could get. Once the water & rocks were pretty much all out I corralled the fish with a net into a small plastic container, so I could bag them up. Once the water was almost all out, I broke down the rest of the tank and we drove it twenty minutes away.

I started adding water and it was so muddy looking, I couldn't even see the rocks. I haphazardly put the rocks in there (I think I squished one of my favorite toadstool corals) and put in the pumps, heaters, and skimmer. I added the fish soon after, since they were looking pretty pale in their bags. By this time the temp had dropped 10 degrees and was still opaque with dirt and kicked up crap. I added a bunch of seachem prime and did a water change, but things still looked miserable.

By yesterday morning, things looked a lot clearer, but two of my fish were by the bottom of the tank, gasping. But then, by the afternoon, everything was turning around and looking better. As of tonight, I got the lights set up to give the corals a boost, and everything is looking great, no fish losses! I may have lost some 'verts and maybe some corals (due to me just putting the rock down blindly, put some corals face down or covered them with other rocks), but not too bad!

I didn't get any pics, camera was packed up from the move, but I'll post pics of the house/tank soon!

Alex
 
At least the hard parts over.
If you'd have brought that blackhawk down here and got me,I would have been happy to help move the tank:D
Happy you got it over with and done.Cant wait to see the pics.
 
yote said:
At least the hard parts over.
If you'd have brought that blackhawk down here and got me,I would have been happy to help move the tank:D
Happy you got it over with and done.Cant wait to see the pics.
Click to expand...

Haha, I'm sure you would've!

Yeah, it was a royal pain. I didn't end up washing the sand like you recommended - if I had more support with people helping, maybe, but I think that may have added another hour to the process, so I skipped it.

How long until I'm out of the danger zone? I think I'm outta it now (2 days)

Levels look good.
 
Give it a good week / week and a half at least.
When I made the transfer from the 75 to the 125,I didnt have any help either.But wasnt anywhere close to the chore you had.Still took me close to 18 hours though,by the time I got a couple leaky bulkheads fixed and everything transfered.
 

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