Need some help to understand

[v.mahesh]

Hi ! My name is Mahesh and I am from Chennai ,India.
I have decided to buy a used Salt water aquarium (4 ft x 2 ft x 2.5 ft). There are currently a few fishes in this aquarium and they are all healthy.

I am concerned about moving the aquarium from its current location to my home.
My concerns are

1. Can the same matured water used.
2. If new water has to be used , how long should I wait before adding the fish.
3. If old water can be used ,how long should I wait before adding the fish.
4. Initially, I would start with a fish only tank. How long should I wait before adding reef to the aquarium.
5. My job requires constant travelling , at least 2 -3 days a week. Can I still manage to maintain a salt water aquarium.

 

[Northstar24]

Welcome to the site, I'll try to answer your questions

1. Yes, you can re-use the establushed water, but I would also mix up some new and do a water change while you're in the process of moving the tank (Do NOT move the tank with water, sand or rock in it, empty entirely - if not, you can stress the silicone seals and have leaking issues later)
2. Ideally, you should use at least some new water
3. Not long, you should really move everything and get it all set up in a single day. You'll need plastic containers for the rock, sand, and fish
4. I would wait to add corals until after you have moved the tank and made sure that everything is okay water quality wise (I'd think a few weeks here to play it safe personally, but others will probably disagree)
5. I suppose you could be away from the tank that often, but bare minimum you'll need to replace the water that evaporates while your gone - keeping corals makes this more important because they are not as forgiving as fish when it comes to things like this. That being said, there are all kinds of ways to automate tank mainteance

 

[wontonflip]

Ninja'd :D +1 north

The problem isn't necessarily the water -- the problem is with the sand being stirred and you having an ammonia spike during the move...that is the biggest concern. If you plan on using the same sand, just be aware that the gunk will pose a problem. Keep it wet, so you minimize the die-off that can cause you to have another cycle. Same goes with the live rocks -- don't expose them to the air too much.

Hi ! My name is Mahesh and I am from Chennai ,India.
I have decided to buy a used Salt water aquarium (4 ft x 2 ft x 2.5 ft). There are currently a few fishes in this aquarium and they are all healthy.

I am concerned about moving the aquarium from its current location to my home.
My concerns are
1. Can the same matured water used. Yes -- but also have some prepared water ready to do an emergency water change -- there will no doubt be gunk stirred up
2. If new water has to be used , how long should I wait before adding the fish. As long as your new water's salinity, temp and ph match the fish' current water, you can DRIP ACCLIMATE them...it's still best to keep as much of the old water as possible just for the sake of stability, then just do water changes over the next few days.
3. If old water can be used ,how long should I wait before adding the fish. As long as the temp matches, they should be fine...do a drip acclimate anyway. The key is keeping the sand and rocks "live"...they have the necessary nitrifying bacteria to break down the pee, poop, and food.
4. Initially, I would start with a fish only tank. How long should I wait before adding reef to the aquarium. I would wait until your tank inhabitants are settled, and your parameters are pristine. Get a good dropper test kit. Also make sure you get the proper lights.
5. My job requires constant travelling , at least 2 -3 days a week. Can I still manage to maintain a salt water aquarium. I've gone a couple of days not feeding them. They should be fine. But make sure you have some sort of auto-top off system (using RODI or distilled water)...otherwise the evaporation will cause your salinity to rise. You can also have someone check in on your tank, and do the top offs. I have an auto-top off system. I don't worry about top offs.

Research, research, research :)

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...they've got you covered. :)

 

[Waddi]

Welcome to the Reef!!

 

[marcah]

howdy and welcome to the site..:D

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

 

[Amba]

Welcome to the site!

 

[TRAUMA]

Hi and welcome.


I'm a new bee too; and I plan on moving a established 225 gal tank this week. I been doing research for about a month now on what is the best way to move a established tank, and what they said is the route I am going with.

The only thing I will add is to have towels ready and expect for thing not to go right. I will be placing the fish in a temporary 50gal tank with water from the tank they are coming out of, until the tank is moved and water test ok. I will be transporting the water also but I excect to loose quite a bit of water (ex. transport tanks for rock and fish).
I going to try and do a write up about the move with pics under the thread I started "The Big Decision." check there if your interested. The move will be Monday Oct. 31 (Halloween day)

wish me LUCK :beerchug:

 

[little_fish]

Make sure you put some of the rock from the old tank in with the fish if they are going to be sitting in the 50 for awhile, that way you have some sort of biological filtration going. I would also do water tests daily and have new saltwater on hand in case you see a spike of ammonia in their temp tank.

 

[v.mahesh]

Hi Trauma,
All the best . looking forward to your write up. I am moving my tank on 2nd Nov.
I have decided to give way the fishes that are there currently in the aquarium as I don't have stand by tank and will be adding new fishes after the water test is ok.

Any other suggestions...

 

[sen5241b]

I have GOOD ADVICE: I travel a lot too and in the hot weather of India (I have been there twice) you will get a lot of evaporation. You need an ATO device to refill the tank while you are gone or maybe you can have someone come over at least twice a day and add water. The ATO although pricey is the best solution.

 

[TRAUMA]

Make sure you put some of the rock from the old tank in with the fish if they are going to be sitting in the 50 for awhile, that way you have some sort of biological filtration going. I would also do water tests daily and have new saltwater on hand in case you see a spike of ammonia in their temp tank.

Yea thats the plan thanks

 

[TRAUMA]

Hi Trauma,
All the best . looking forward to your write up. I am moving my tank on 2nd Nov.
I have decided to give way the fishes that are there currently in the aquarium as I don't have stand by tank and will be adding new fishes after the water test is ok.

Any other suggestions...

Just try to think of every possible thing that can go wrong to try to have a plan for it. just picked up 100gal of salt water to have on stand by.