The Great Tank Move

[brittant]

I'll be moving out of my dorm on Wednesday night, and wanted to double-check my moving procedure...

1. Empty the tank's current water in a plastic tub. Place the inverts (snails and crabs) in plastic Tupperware bins/bags filled with water, and the fish and the coral in two others. Keep the dorm at the normal tank temperature (79F) to ensure that there are no temperature swings.

• What is better, a bag or a plastic container, or is there little difference?
• How much air should I leave in the bag/container?

2. Place the sand in another container, damp.

3. Wrap the live rock in newspaper - or should I transport it in the water?

4. Disassemble the tank and load everything in the car. It'll be kept around 79, and the critters will travel in the front seat with me for the 45 minute car ride.

5. Get home, and set everyone back up. Voila!

Can I expect a mini-cycle with the move? I'll monitor with my liquid dropper tests, and do small water changes as necessary.

 

[ErinCahir]

You should be good with your plan (with a few minor changes)... especially if it's only 45 minutes.

Personally I'd transport the rock in water... I'd also either rinse the sand really really well or replace it.

 

[brittant]

Replacing the substrate won't make the tank more susceptible to a mini-cycle? And is the concern with the sand exposure to excess air...?

Thanks for the quick reply! :)

 

[Bifferwine]

Using the old sand is more likely to cause a mini cycle. It usually contains all sorts of crap that gets released into the water if you try to re-use it when you set the tank back up again. I would use plastic containers -- not bags. Bags are easy to puncture, pop and could leak. Also look into getting 5 gallon buckets from the hardware store for the move. Transport the rock as wet as possible. Either wrapped in wet newspaper, towels or submerged if you can.

 

[brittant]

All right - I'll try to get new sand before the move! If I buy all dry sand, will it be okay in my cycled tank, or should I mix it with a bag of live sand? And if I can't get to the LFS, will rinsing it with distilled water be sufficient?

Guess this might be a good time to have fun with substrate changes!

Thanks, Biff! I'll just put the rocks in their own bin, submerged.

 

[Bifferwine]

Don't waste your money on live sand. Dry sand is much cheaper and will become live in no time. You can rinse it with tap water. Then just put a splash of dechlorinator in the bucket when you drain it.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

I used something along the lines of this,Shop Rubbermaid Plastic 24 Gal ActionPacker® at Lowes.com, for when I moved my 29g. I sustained my livestock and coral for 2months in it. I used 5g buckets filled with saltwater to contain all of my LR. That wasn't a pleasant smell after 2 months but shouldn't affect you.

 

[2XAl]

when we moved our tank we followed the same procedure. the only vehicle i have is a pickup truck so everyone got some natural uv for about an hour. it was a cool day but everyone made it through ok.

 

[brittant]

Thank you everyone! The move went well, and all of the critters are happily settled in. :)

 

[2XAl]

great!