moving a reef tank

[velocityoflove]

I've read a few things on here about moving a tank, such as getting new sand. I'll be moving my tank from marietta to buford (about an hour drive) within the next two weeks. I know that I should plan it all, but I just wanted to ask a few questions!
I have corals that are glued to rocks. Is it better to try to detach them, bag them, and put them in a cooler, or to keep them on the rock and put them in a 5 gallon bucket full of water (or something similar)? And what are some "safe" materials in case I needed to place them against the rock so it didn't move around in said bucket?
Should I pack up the equipment (heaters, powerheads, lights, etc) first or last?
Should I bag all of the fish, cuc, and moveable corals?
I would be trying to save as much of the water as possible, but how much do you guys reccomend saving?
Should i rinse rocks after putting them back in the tank or just place them on in there?

Forgive the 50 questions, but I haven't moved a saltwater tank before so I just wanted to have everything covered!

 

[ralph atl]

new sand
large bags for fish
you can rinse rock only with your "old" tank water would be fine.
up to you about removing corals from rocks. make sure they are wedged maybe with styro foam?
get yourself some Seachem stability & prime

 

[jimmystephens]

Def new sand. Def rinse rock off with old tank water. I would try to re use about 60-70% old water if you can. But u still will have a mini cycle if u wanna call it that because new sand. Use stability and prime as mentioned prior. Its a small trip so i wouldnt bag everything up seperate. I would put corals/rock with coral in buckets with styro foam around them. You ca. Bag up ur fav peices if u want. Hl

 

[bruce 1]

The water has nothing to do with the cycle. I would use all new water.

 

[jimmystephens]

I wouldnt. Ive always used 60-70% old water. So corals dont stress as much. Just like a big water change

 

[bluespot]

I have always used a lot of new water. To me you will be basically acclimating everything again just like you just bought new livestock anyway. I fill up a few 5 gallon water jugs w/caps of the old stuff and use new besides what the fish/rocks/corals are moved in. I also use a bunch of cheap tote boxes for rocks, corals and some sand. I save about 20% of the sand to seed the "live sand in a bag" with more diversity. Styrofoam or the trusty sleeping bag foam pads for cushion where needed. The live rock is kept mostly in water with the lids on tight on totes. The beneficial bacteria are still on the wet rocks/old sand. Never had an issue with doing it this way. Never had another cycle, and never have used additives for the new water.

Bags or smaller totes for fish or delicate corals work great. I would have your new water already made up and waiting at the new spot. It is only an hour away so if you work quickly and pay attention you should have no real issues. Feed lightly for the first few weeks. Good luck! All the advice you have been given is good advice. There is no real perfect or best way. Good Luck!

 

[rdnelson]

Good advice her so far. . I agree with the new sand but would not go with new live sand. It will have some die off which could cause a bit of a spike. Dry sand, rinsed beforehand should have no die off at all. The rock should be able to handle the current bio-load on its own until the sand becomes live.

As was mentioned, new or old water really won't change much either. No matter which you decided to use you will need to acclimate. If you move water from one spot to the other the parameters will change from on bucket to the other during the move.


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[bruce 1]

When I started up my 227 reef tank I used this

 

[hnguyen]

I've moved from tank to tank many times. Always use new sand with new water. I only save the the old water to store my fish and coral in until I can bring the temp of new water up to where I wan it. Then I acclimate the live stock like I would if I were to buy it from the stores and in the tank they go. Be sure to keep all your current live rocks wet to minimize did off and you should be fine. I've never had a mini cycle or cycle at all by doing that.

 

[velocityoflove]

Have Prime, Will Definitely Get Stability And Sand. Im Glad I Asked Because Reacclimating Completely Slipped My Mind Sadly. I Even Knew From Working At A Pool Store That Samples Had To Be Under An Hour And Not exposed To Extreme Temperature Changes Or ThE Parameters Would Completely change. Thanks For All The Great Input.
If I Were To Bag My Fish Do You Think An Lfs Or Petsmart Or Something Would Give Me A Few Bags, Or If Not, Where Could I Get TheM? I Figure Bags Would Be Easier Than A Bucket Of Water Splashing Them Around During The Drive Haha.

 

[eric b]

I am sure that you can get the bags from a local fish store in the area. If you can't get them and it comes down to the last minute you can always use ziplocks.

 

[mcphock]

rdnelson99;861995 wrote: Good advice her so far. . I agree with the new sand but would not go with new live sand. It will have some die off which could cause a bit of a spike. Dry sand, rinsed beforehand should have no die off at all. The rock should be able to handle the current bio-load on its own until the sand becomes live.

As was mentioned, new or old water really won't change much either. No matter which you decided to use you will need to acclimate. If you move water from one spot to the other the parameters will change from on bucket to the other during the move.

This is pretty much exactly what I would have typed out.

 

[hnguyen]

Gallon size freezer ziplock bags. They work great and are extremely hard to puncture. I always use freezer bags when transporting coral and fish, mainly sps.

 

[jef4y]

Home depot 5 gal buckets have liquid proof lids available. I moved a 60 cube from Milwaukee to Atlanta a few years ago. MASSIVE PITA. Would never do that again, but I did it with very very minimal loss.

New sand.
You can reuse water, but it does you NO good.
I put the fish in a huge cooler with an airstone. They stayed in it for a week while I set things up once I got here (heater, flow when we got to ATL).
Corals on rocks, in buckets.
Pulled the nems off the rocks and put them with the fish

That's really about it. You're so close that it will be much easier.

 

[ripped tide]

Plan for the worst- hope for the best- expect nothing.

The biggest thing is temp and o2 levels. The hotter water gets, the less oxygen is dissolved in the water. Too cold and the fish stress. Corals are much more tolerant.

 

[velocityoflove]

For Corals Attached To Rocks, The Rocks ARe Pretty Big And I Dont Think Theres Any Way To Acclimate The Corals Back Without Wasting Huge Amounts Of Water. Is This Okay? Theres An Sps And Some Mushrooms That I Planned On Leaving On The Rocks. Everything Else Is On Plugs I Can Take Out.

Edit: Also As Far As Oxygen Goes, Since ITs An Hour Drive (I Imagine People Have Gone To Some Of The Further Lfs Stores With Fish For An Hour Drive Before, So It Wont Be Too Bad), Should I Bag The Fish And Have Them In A Cooler, Or Will The Bags KEeping Their Temperature More In A CooleR Not Have Sufficient Oxygen For The Drive.

Forgive My Typing, I Dont Know Why My PhoNe Types Like This On The Forum. Also, Forgive ThE 50 Questions Haha, I Can Do Tanks, But Have No ExperieCe In Packing Up And Transporting Them! I Want To Cover Every Little Detail If I Can!

 

[rdnelson]

When aclimating from a store you don't know what is in the store water and therefore should not put it in your tank. However, you are transporting in your water that you know is good. Using some to replenish what you use for acclimation should be fine on the coral buckets. In other words, acclimate for a while, take water out of that bucket and dump back in the tank and then acclimate some more. All you are trying to do is get them used to the tank water slowly.

On the fish, I would not use the transport water though. There could be a bit of Ammonia build up during transport. While it should be minor why polite the new water?

Hope that helps.


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[ripped tide]

velocityoflove;862196 wrote: For Corals Attached To Rocks, The Rocks ARe Pretty Big And I Dont Think Theres Any Way To Acclimate The Corals Back Without Wasting Huge Amounts Of Water. Is This Okay? Theres An Sps And Some Mushrooms That I Planned On Leaving On The Rocks. Everything Else Is On Plugs I Can Take Out.

Edit: Also As Far As Oxygen Goes, Since ITs An Hour Drive (I Imagine People Have Gone To Some Of The Further Lfs Stores With Fish For An Hour Drive Before, So It Wont Be Too Bad), Should I Bag The Fish And Have Them In A Cooler, Or Will The Bags KEeping Their Temperature More In A CooleR Not Have Sufficient Oxygen For The Drive.

Forgive My Typing, I Dont Know Why My PhoNe Types Like This On The Forum. Also, Forgive ThE 50 Questions Haha, I Can Do Tanks, But Have No ExperieCe In Packing Up And Transporting Them! I Want To Cover Every Little Detail If I Can!

So, when travelling from a fish store, the bags are usually bagged with decent pressure. This pretty much forces the air to dissolve back into the water. If you can adequately bag the fish, putting them in a temp controlled cooler should be just fine. The corals use very little oxygen so it isn't as much of a concern. I have seen some soft corals sit out of water for a few hours in 40 degree temps and they were all fine. LPS and SPS, probably not so much. Shallow water sps can stay out for extended periods, but deep water will fry.