Long move/tank upgrade

[jetlink82]

Got a new job up north that will relocate my family and I back home to Connecticut. Now I am trying to strategically plan how I am going to move my 90 gallon reef and all the corals and fish. I have a mixed reef but is SPS dominant. I am really hoping that I can manage to pull this off and hope everything makes it. I will be moving the tank to my mother's house where we will be for 5 months, so it will be a temporary set up there. Once we move into the new house I will installing a Marineland 250DD tank and will transition all my corals and fish at that point.

This will be my first move with a tank, and I am hoping that everything works out. I am considering putting the fish in one of my 32 gallon Brute's thinking that maybe with at least 20 gallons or so they will transport better. As for the drive from Woodstock to my location in CT will probably take me about 20 hours or so. Has anyone here made a move this far like this with a tank? I always new that my current 90 gallon setup would be temporary where we are now, but the time has come for the big move.

 

[jbdreefs]

I am sure that it is possible to move that far, but given the difficulty, distance, stress and likelihood of SPS loss, I would think the better option would be to sell and then repurchase (atleast the coral). It would be far less stressful, and my gut says you would wind up in about the same spot.

Just my thoughts.

 

[nickg]

Good luck with the move. I have locally moved SEVERAL systems... Never 20 hrs. I would not recommend the brute for fish. There are several reasons for that statement.

1st being extreme "sloshing." smaller bags should have less movement.
2nd being temperature. if you bag them you can pack them in coolers. I have several you can have. I feel sure that most local fish stores will sell them to you very inexpensive.
Also I know there are several that for a minimal fee will bag them up just as they would be for shipping.

I feel that it would be easier on the livestock to ship this way.

Just my $.02

 

[jetlink82]

Thanks for the ideas, I am going to have to give this a lot of thought exactly HOW I am going to do this.

 

[jrhunter0000]

I had a buddy do it from georgia to texas. It can be done get a power inverter and make sure you have a heater or fan depending on weather and air pump for oxygen.

 

[jimmystephens]

I wouldnt recommend moving that distance with any sps. I moved from ga to ky and sold almost all my sps. The sps i kept i lost. I did several coolers and bagged them etc... sps are so fragile and dont do well in a new tank/moved tank. I didnt harm them moving. Its putting them in a new tank that harms/kills them. Even with the established live rock / sand etc.. just what ive seen/experenced happened over my years in the hobby.it can be done but its around a 20% sucess rate. i

 

[tonymission]

JimmyStephens;963220 wrote: I wouldnt recommend moving that distance with any sps. I moved from ga to ky and sold almost all my sps. The sps i kept i lost. I did several coolers and bagged them etc... sps are so fragile and dont do well in a new tank/moved tank. I didnt harm them moving. Its putting them in a new tank that harms/kills them. Even with the established live rock / sand etc.. just what ive seen/experenced happened over my years in the hobby.it can be done but its around a 20% sucess rate. i

I'm planning a tank upgrade and don't like the sounds of that. Especially with all that growth while waiting on the build and then what? Sell them? I love my sps



A move like that sounds like a big challenge. I feel for you whatever way you go... Good luck

 

[jetlink82]

I have another idea that may be my answer. I have a bunch of tanks (180, 120, 90, 65, 45 cube) in storage up there in my parents basement that I left with them when I moved to GA. I could actually go up there, set up say...my 120, get it up and running, and box up my fish and coral like live aquaria does and bring them with me on one of my flights up to new york. Still doesn't solve my issue with the sps going into an uncycled tank though. I have another two weeks to figure out a plan. I am trying to avoid it, but maybe I will have to bring back the sps to the LFS and trade them in for salt or something I can bring with me.

 

[picoreefguy]

Jetlink82;963231 wrote: I have another idea that may be my answer. I have a bunch of tanks (180, 120, 90, 65, 45 cube) in storage up there in my parents basement that I left with them when I moved to GA. I could actually go up there, set up say...my 120, get it up and running, and box up my fish and coral like live aquaria does and bring them with me on one of my flights up to new york. Still doesn't solve my issue with the sps going into an uncycled tank though. I have another two weeks to figure out a plan. I am trying to avoid it, but maybe I will have to bring back the sps to the LFS and trade them in for salt or something I can bring with me.

that seems like the best idea to me. id go with the largest tank you can up there and put a bunch of live matrix in the sump so you have a minimal cycle. as far as your sps go make frags of each one and give them to a couple friends locally and sell off the colonys to an lfs for some salt or cash. and then when you've had your tank up and running up north for a few months have your friends overnight the corals to you as long as they're completely healed and encrusted. it'll probably still incur some losses but i think you will have a lot more of them survive and you can always make multiple frags of each and ship at different times so if one dies another one has a shot of making it to you. or better yet just sell (cheap) or give your colonies to your friends as a going away give with the stipulation that they ship you a healed frag when you are ready. that way if you lose your frag you can just have the friend make another one

 

[darren24]

Just my thoughts but there will be a lot of things going on when you get there. I had to watch the movers etc. last time I moved. Maybe take your favorite fish and / or sps and have a friend keep them here then ship them to you?

 

[jetlink82]

Well this sucks...what about the live rock? I have at least 120lbs of really nice live rock that I want to keep, what is the best way to move that? I was thinking multiple 5 gallon buckets?

 

[mikesmith34]

AL1;963978 wrote: I moved from ATL to Miami in mid January, lost every single sps, they were individually bagged in coolers for less than 12hrs, brought my water and live rock setup a 40g breeder with a hang on skimmer the moment I arrived. Lepto, some chalices and some zoas made it the rest is gone! I knew better just hated parting with my sps. Just me experience, if I could do it again I would've sold them all. :/


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I think that pretty much sums it up bro. If it dies (which sounds highly likely) you will sure wish you had that cash to buy new sticks

 

[jetlink82]

Well we made it to CT! Total driving time was about 19 hours, in which we stopped half way and stayed in a hotel over night. I went up a head of time and set up a 120 for the time being to move the fish and corals into. Everything made it and all seems to look well. I separated the fish into two 5 gallon buckets filled about 75% of the way, lids perforated to get air. I brought along two more 5 gallon buckets with just water and while in the hotel I scooped out, with a cup, about a gallon and a half of water and replaced it with the water from the other buckets. Figured a little water change in the fish buckets was needed for fish waste. I bought a small air pump along with two small air stones and put one in each bucket overnight. Fish look great in their temporary tank, colors are normal and they are eating.

As for the corals, I used a Rubbermaid vat which I put about a 2 inch sand layer and set the corals attached to their rocks in so they would move around or break. This ended up working perfectly. When I got to the hotel I brought them inside and set up a maxijet 1200 for waterflow (WP25 was too much flow), along with a heater. I also replaced some of the water with water from one of the buckets I brought along. Made the rest of the trek up to Connecticut with the fish and corals in the back seat. I slowly acclimated the corals to the new tank and everything appears to be doing well.

All in all I ended up bringing about 50 gallons worth of my water with me and put it all in the temporary tank, the rest was newly made saltwater. Used all my live rock as well which I crammed into 5 gallon buckets with water. It was a lot of buckets and a PITA for the most part but all worth it in the end. I will be building a custom stand and canopy and picking up a 250DD next week and looking forward to having a bigger tank again. I will post pics of the new build but since I am not in the Atlanta area anymore I guess I will have to post it on RC.

 

[jetlink82]

I will update this thread when we are all settled in with the move and I have the new tank up and running. Things are chaotic right now with furniture and stuff all over the place. I have the live rock/corals and fish in the 120 with the lights and skimmer and everything, I have the sand in a large vat with power heads and a skimmer on it as well. Really looking forward to a new build.