Maybe moving from GA to Phoenix, AZ. Has it been done?

[is_that_a_fish]

Hello all!

I have been a long time lurker (probably around 2006 or so), but when I was in college I started my reef when I moved out, and have had the livestock up until now, my longest standing reef tank. I started with a 75 gallon in 2014 and moved it to a 180 gallon when i moved in Jan 2018 that now has mature corals, as well as livestock I hold dear to my heart.

I might have a potential job opportunity in Phoenix, AZ soon (within 2-3 week move date) however, I can hold on to my place until about the end of Sept/Oct until I find a place there to buy and rent out my current place.

I was wondering if there was any possibility to move my tank over there when I buy a house there, and set up a tank (ideally over 180 gallon). thinking about shipping livestock, or setting up brutes in a moving truck (AC or not?) to drive, etc.

Has anyone done such a large move? I can get a new tank/equipment, and leave my tank running (fiance will stay here to keep the dogs/tank till i get settled) so time isnt a huge issue. Or, would you recommend selling the live stock and starting new? I am on the fence. I would love to keep everything (most of it has survived the 2017 winter snow where the tank was out of power and house was at 40*F for 3 days before power was restored), so i have become quite attached, but dont want to kill everything in the process.

Tank livestock includes

Blue tang (survived the snow storm at 40F)
3 lyre tail Anthias
1 bengal cardinal
6 line wrasse
magnificent foxface
2 false percs
lawnmower blenny
3 peppermint shrim

Corals

large hammer
large frogspawn
large amount of pulsing xenia
large amount of green mushrooms
a few small heads of all of the above that were fragged during move/during tank cleanings.

a little more info
just recently ran a skimmer. no other filtration/filter socks for the majority of tank life (since 2014)

Let me know your thoughts. Please, no flamming/arguements/ugly comments, just want everyones opinions on what they would do in my position, an open easy discussion of everyones thoughts.

The move would probably take place mid september or early october, just depends on when i find a house i like, and be able to purchase it and get equipment set up.

Thanks a ton!

Max

 

[ZapataInc]

@ActiveAngel moved from Chicago to Atlanta fairly recently. He should have some great insight on this.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Yup, as Zap mentioned, I did the 1000 mile move a couple years ago. This included transporting about 8 fish and 100-150 coral colonies (mostly SPS, but honestly a mix of everything). But yes, it can be done.

I cut 2-3 frags off all my colonies (to keep), and sold my colonies and used the money to upgrade my lights and buy a new Apex system. Only for 1 Acro during the move, did I lose both frags. It’s sad because I also have a personal connection to all my corals, but it could have been much worse. So I consider it a big success for me.

First step, I began preparing my live rock months in advance. I set up storage containers, with saltwater, added dry rock, bacteria, and a heater and small air pump. Occasionally, I added a bit of ammonia to help bolster nitrifying bacteria populations... and turn the dry rock into pest-free live rock.

Additionally, I had a 1 month overlap where I had two homes. This was my transition period to set up the new tank.

I found a tank on Craigslist immediately before my move. Picked it up in a Uhaul and carried it with all my big furniture on the first weekend. On this trip, I also brought all my rock, a bunch of water, and water conditioner. After the grueling task of setting up the tank, checking for leaks, leveling the tank, etc... plus moving all my furniture into the new place. Then I headed back to Chicago the next day. (Thankfully, no major tank leaks. But I had contingencies if needed).

The new system is about 140 gallons, so I brought my 3 Springeri damsels, and my leathers, Zoas, and a Monti on the 1 week mark (the next weekend basically). Tested the water... all was well.

This repeated each weekend for 4 trips total, where I would bring in a couple fish and increasingly sensitive corals. The last trip was my Acros. During each of these trips, I also loaded up my car with boxes of my wife’s and my personal belongings. No more u-hauls were necessary.

In the end, it all worked well. I only brought 1 large colony, and it got suuuper pissed. After a few months of slowly dying, I decided to hack it up into 2-3 dozen frags. Each flawless frag stayed in my display. All dying frags, went to the QT tank. Eventually, almost none of the dying frags made it. But the healthy frags regrew into each other and became a colony again. Long story short... colonies don’t fare well with such big changes.

 

[is_that_a_fish]

thank you for the insight!

I think I have decided against moving anything, and selling everything here and restarting due to truck price/gas/food/accomedations during the move. As much as it would hurt selling it, I dont think I can justify the cost (since i wont be moving any other furniture, or clothes), just my cars and dogs lol

Thank you again! I will be a paid member soon and post a FS ad this weekend.