Big Move - Advice Needed

SinCityReefer · 05/21/2007, 09:13 AM

Hey guys,
Its been a while since ive been around here posting... Thankfully its been due to a very successful setup (thanks everyone who helped 2.5 yrs ago) and no real problems to speak of.. The Sin City Reef.com

Well until now.... I bought a new house, got engaged, and whelp i need to move my reef. I have moved this tank once before, but it was just to a different spot in my current house, (moved about 5') . Now i need to move about 8 miles down the road.

So my questions are...

#1, Whats the best way to "re-level" my tank and stand? Its going right on to the foundation and i got lucky on my first setup here in my current place. Whats the common way everyone levels their tanks, without getting really crazy and making a cement slab for it to sit on.

#2, Should i attempt to "disassemble" my plumbing system, Its mostly glued together. Or should it be cut out and re-done. Its a fairly simple plumbing setup so rebuilding is a possibility.

#3, Anything that anyone has done while moving a tank that they REALLY wished they hadent?

So far, my plan is to take out all the corals and catchable livestock and place them into ~35g Rubbermaids. (a.k.a. The tubs of Life). THen truck those over to my new place, setup a heater and powerhead in each.

Then grab the rest of the live rock and as much water as i can manage into additional rubbermainds. Im expecting around 4-6 rubbermaids will be required for my 120 with ~115lbs of LR. What do you guys think?

THen truck those rubbermaids over to the new place, Then i should beable to grab my drained tank/sump/refuge, etc. and move and setup at the new place. At this time i will need to re-level the stand and prepare the plumbing system.

Im anticipating being "down" for 1 day. That way i can make sure all the plumbing parts are glued and dried properly. While keeping everything alive in the 2 "Buckets of Life"

I also plan to make around 60ish gallons of Fresh saltwater in case of spillage or loss of water somehow. Id also like to do a water change in this process, and id imagine ill end up doing one due to loss of water, its just a matter of how large of one.

And thats it, should be easy right? :P hehehe.

siropa · 05/21/2007, 02:01 PM

How are you going to move those 35g containers when full? going to get heavy really quick. I just got done moving a 75 reef about 120 miles and I used only 5 gallon pails. even those when filled with some rocks and water got heavy fast. I ended up using about 15 pails to move about a dozen corals and about 75 pounds of rock. saved probably 3/4 of the water.

SinCityReefer · 05/21/2007, 02:05 PM

Whelp, I was planning on filling them only about 1/2 full, and i have 2 other guys assisting with the hauling. I was hoping that we could just grunt em down and out. But thats a concern, i dont want em so heavy they risk splitting while in transit either.

nickterp · 05/21/2007, 02:52 PM

You gotta figure even half full thats 17 gallons, which is going to weight about 150 pounds.

How about setting up the 35 gallon buckets at the new location with powerheads and heater. Then taking livestock, etc over in some 5 gallon buckets. Then everything will be easier to carry, and you'll have the "buckets of life" all set up and stable before you get there.

I've been thinking about these concerns lately also because I might be moving very soon. Good luck!

SinCityReefer · 05/21/2007, 04:10 PM

now there's an idea... That sounds good and probally easier on the livestock. The new house is only about a 5-10min drive away so i have the luxury of being able to make multiple trips.

05/21/2007, 09:13 AM	#1
SinCityReefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 78	Big Move - Advice Needed Hey guys, Its been a while since ive been around here posting... Thankfully its been due to a very successful setup (thanks everyone who helped 2.5 yrs ago) and no real problems to speak of.. The Sin City Reef.com Well until now.... I bought a new house, got engaged, and whelp i need to move my reef. I have moved this tank once before, but it was just to a different spot in my current house, (moved about 5') . Now i need to move about 8 miles down the road. So my questions are... #1, Whats the best way to "re-level" my tank and stand? Its going right on to the foundation and i got lucky on my first setup here in my current place. Whats the common way everyone levels their tanks, without getting really crazy and making a cement slab for it to sit on. #2, Should i attempt to "disassemble" my plumbing system, Its mostly glued together. Or should it be cut out and re-done. Its a fairly simple plumbing setup so rebuilding is a possibility. #3, Anything that anyone has done while moving a tank that they REALLY wished they hadent? So far, my plan is to take out all the corals and catchable livestock and place them into ~35g Rubbermaids. (a.k.a. The tubs of Life). THen truck those over to my new place, setup a heater and powerhead in each. Then grab the rest of the live rock and as much water as i can manage into additional rubbermainds. Im expecting around 4-6 rubbermaids will be required for my 120 with ~115lbs of LR. What do you guys think? THen truck those rubbermaids over to the new place, Then i should beable to grab my drained tank/sump/refuge, etc. and move and setup at the new place. At this time i will need to re-level the stand and prepare the plumbing system. Im anticipating being "down" for 1 day. That way i can make sure all the plumbing parts are glued and dried properly. While keeping everything alive in the 2 "Buckets of Life" I also plan to make around 60ish gallons of Fresh saltwater in case of spillage or loss of water somehow. Id also like to do a water change in this process, and id imagine ill end up doing one due to loss of water, its just a matter of how large of one. And thats it, should be easy right? :P hehehe.

05/21/2007, 02:01 PM	#2
siropa Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Neenah, WI Posts: 2,502	How are you going to move those 35g containers when full? going to get heavy really quick. I just got done moving a 75 reef about 120 miles and I used only 5 gallon pails. even those when filled with some rocks and water got heavy fast. I ended up using about 15 pails to move about a dozen corals and about 75 pounds of rock. saved probably 3/4 of the water. __________________ See red house for pics. Current Tank Info: 275 reef, 75 FOWLR, 60g frag

05/21/2007, 02:05 PM	#3
SinCityReefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 78	Whelp, I was planning on filling them only about 1/2 full, and i have 2 other guys assisting with the hauling. I was hoping that we could just grunt em down and out. But thats a concern, i dont want em so heavy they risk splitting while in transit either.

05/21/2007, 02:52 PM	#4
nickterp Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 263	You gotta figure even half full thats 17 gallons, which is going to weight about 150 pounds. How about setting up the 35 gallon buckets at the new location with powerheads and heater. Then taking livestock, etc over in some 5 gallon buckets. Then everything will be easier to carry, and you'll have the "buckets of life" all set up and stable before you get there. I've been thinking about these concerns lately also because I might be moving very soon. Good luck!

05/21/2007, 04:10 PM	#5
SinCityReefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 78	now there's an idea... That sounds good and probally easier on the livestock. The new house is only about a 5-10min drive away so i have the luxury of being able to make multiple trips.