I need advice on rhe best way to move a tank

[tbub1221]

I'm pretty upset about this , im moving and its a sudden change that came at a bad time .
This is so less than ideal , my tanks are full of live stock and I just got a few more fragile sps pieces than I had 2 weeks ago.
I will be attempting to tear down and put it back up in one day per tank maybe house as much coral as possible in my pico and give the tank a day or 2 before bringing them over , but the pico is already pretty full , Im at capacity on live stock.
I wish I could have seen this coming I would really rather take this opportunity to upgrade to a larger tank but even if I could its still going to require a swap over but it may only buy me a week at most and I can't drive across town daily to dose and do test etc.
It may be best to find some of it temporary homes .
I could put some in a quarrentine tank but I'd have to rig up a light of some sort so what good would that really do me , may as well just put them back in there tank rite.
My only plan of attack is to jump in armed with a bunch of stability
Given there is flow and heat how long can I keep live rock and soft coral alive in a rubber made ?

 

[frag freak]

If you keep temp and flow...they can last ALOT longer than if they get cold.

your acros and sps need to be moved seperate...the softies n shrooms etc in a big swuare rubbermaid. You will need sever after looking at your livestock.

Most the coral will last a day in move...but you cant push it. A one day thing....

I can help if needed ...I have tubs!lol

 

[frag freak]

Several*

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Your best bet is to leave the pico up and running and move as much to it as you can. Place the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with a heater. Place rock in a different bucket with a heater. Move your main tank and set it up with as much of the original water as you can. Get it running and heated. Then bag everything in the pico, place in a cooler, and move it with the fish and rock to the new tank. Use a power inverter to keep the fish water heated.

The only problem that you might run into is disturbing the sand and the crap that can cause. But you have a shallow sand bed if I remember so it really should not be a problem.

 

[Reefplumber13]

A bunch of stability!!!!!!

 

[jc_k]

leveldrummer;940980 wrote: Ive moved a few times with tanks, while its a lot of work, it isnt too terrible, you need totes and buckets.

Go to the new destination and make some water, get it mixed with salt and ready, enough to fill your tank will be needed.

Bag corals and fish, place in buckets, if the corals are too large, place them in a bucket and fill with just enough water to cover. Empty tank, put sand in a bucket.

Move all equipement to the new place, put all live rock into a large tote, fill with water, place corals and fish in, put a light over them, add some powerheads and a heater, the large tote can last like this nearly forever. just keep top off, dont feed very much at all.

Setup the tank with new sand, or if you use the old sand, wash it very very very well.

place live rock in tank, aquascape, add corals and fish.

Good luck.

This sounds good. Just remember DO NIT RUSH IT and take your time. You dot want to make any mistakes with all that livestock.

 

[tbub1221]

Thanks for the input , I have found a friend to take my sps for a little wile until my system is atable again .
I believe it will go alright.
I am trying to gather a few things today and get water stirring

This is that moment I'm glad I didn't set up a bigger tank before now.

 

[nickg]

Hey Terry,

I have room to house some as well if needed. I also have a ton of totes and a couple of large Bruts on wheels. I have moved SEVERAL large systems in a day. It is tough but can be done. I reccomend you save as much water as you can. Have plenty of new water ready, as well. I always rinsed the sand with the LAST of the water in the tank. If you use as much old water as possible, it is just a large water change. Let me know if you want to grab some totes. When are you making the move? I may could also lend a hand.

 

[tbub1221]

nickg;940998 wrote: Hey Terry,

I have room to house some as well if needed. I also have a ton of totes and a couple of large Bruts on wheels. I have moved SEVERAL large systems in a day. It is tough but can be done. I reccomend you save as much water as you can. Have plenty of new water ready, as well. I always rinsed the sand with the LAST of the water in the tank. If you use as much old water as possible, it is just a large water change. Let me know if you want to grab some totes. When are you making the move? I may could also lend a hand.

I appreciate your offer , I got containers and totes etc today.
I'm shooting to get it doen Monday .
I'm going out tomorrow for more salt mix and stability.

 

[jennm]

You didn't mention the size of the tank(s) other than a pico.

The procedure is pretty much the same regardless of the size of tank but bigger tanks take longer.

I've moved countless tanks.

Have a plan. Think about each step before you start, and have everything you need before you begin - such as extra bulkheads, tubing, PVC etc., if it's a reef-ready tank. Nothing messes up a plan worse than a broken bulkhead at 10:00 PM. So have spares of anything you can.

Tank is usually the last thing in the household to be taken down, and the first thing to go back up.

Whatever time you estimate it will take, multiply that by 2. If you think it will take 4 hours, my $5 says it will take 8 (see previous suggestion of spare parts.)

If possible, make new water at the destination, before you begin, and have it heating. If that's not possible, it changes things quite a bit.

If possible, take your livestock to your LFS to be properly packed. They may charge a few bucks for oxygen, bags, fish boxes - but it's well worth it and it buys you 24 hours to complete the task.

Start by taking out some tank water and putting it aside to put livestock in. Once you start messing around in the tank, the water will get turbid very quickly, so keep enough aside to be able to house all your stuff.

Pull corals first, then drain some of the tank and remove rocks. The easiest way to catch the fish and motile inverts, is when there's almost no water in the tank. Then you can catch them quickly and put them in that water you put aside at the beginning. Rock can be "dry" - you don't have to submerge it but if you're worried about it getting dried out, soak some newspapers in tank water and put them on the rocks to keep them moist.

This is the point you run to the LFS to have your stuff properly bagged/boxed.

Pack up all the hardware, fish boxes, get to your destination. If you already had water going, this speeds up the set-up process. We always discarded old sand. Once the water stops flowing around it, the good bacteria start to die pretty fast. So we'd lose the old sand and put new live sand in. I know a lot of people don't like live sand but for the simple fact that it's already washed, and settles to the bottom with minimal clouding, IMO it's best for a move. Time is of the essence and spending all this time washing dry sand is costly.

Set the tank(s) back up at the new spot, make sure the salinity and temp are as close as you can, and re-acclimate your stuff.

Have a bottle of Stability and a bottle of Prime handy. If you're reasonably quick getting rock back in the water, you may not have any ammonia but if you do, the Prime will save your bacon, and the Stability will help reestablish any bacteria lost in the move - and you will have lost some with removal of the sand.

You WILL experience a diatom bloom. That's normal given that everything got disturbed. Don't fret, it's normal.

Good luck with it. It's a lot of work but it's very doable.

Jenn

 

[joseayes]

I did move mine before, but you talking about more delicate corals... However I'll post the thread about how I did and hope to help some