Time to move

RyanMcLaughlin · 11/12/2008, 02:49 AM

Ok so I will be moving in like a month or so. My plan to move my tank is to bag the corals, take out the rock, bag the fish, siphon out the sand, and then take the fish/corals to my lfs for a day or two while i move and setup. Is there anything i should make sure i do to make things go smooth? Any advice would be appreciated.

Freed · 11/12/2008, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RyanMcLaughlin
Ok so I will be moving in like a month or so. My plan to move my tank is to bag the corals and then take them to the LFS, come back and take out the rock, bag the fish, siphon out the sand, and then take the fish to my lfs while i move and setup. Is there anything i should make sure i do to make things go smooth? Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes, please see above.

crvz · 11/12/2008, 07:28 AM

How far is the move?

RyanMcLaughlin · 11/13/2008, 05:38 AM

Just across town like 15 miles or so.

crvz · 11/13/2008, 07:30 AM

Why can't you do the tank swap all in a day? Granted, you probably won't be able to move anything else, but it's feasible to just move it without having to take everything to the LFS.

Stray32 · 11/13/2008, 07:41 AM

Ryan, I just did a successful move to a new place and new tank, and (knock on wood), it has been running for 3 weeks and I only "misplaced" one fish, no other deaths. Here is a brief explanation of what I did:

1. Bagged all corals and placed in stryro coolers
2. Placed live rock in rubbermaid containers, with enough water to cover, and placed my fish directly into the containers as well, so they would have places to hide and wouldn't be as stressed.
3. My Nems and clean up crew went directly into the containers as well.
4. I saved about 40 of 55 gallons of my water, then made about 40 gallons of new water since I was upgrading to a 75 gal tank.
5. When I got everything to the new house, I placed a heater and powerhead in each container to keep everything happy. I placed my coral in a small bare bottom 10 gal tank, with a heater, light, and powerhead. Fish and rock lived were fine for 2 days until I put them in the tank, coral was happy for at least 4 days.
6. I thoroughly cleaned my sand after saving a few cups to reseed.

Since you are just moving and not upgrading, you probably don't need to be as thorough as I was. Hope this helps.

IslandCrow · 11/13/2008, 08:31 AM

The only other piece of advice I'd give you is to figure out what the maximum amount of time you think all of this is going to take you. . .and double it. Otherwise, the last two moves I did went pretty much as Stray32 described, and that move was about 300 miles. The first time I ended up replacing my sand (the tank was about 2 years old), and the second time I kept it (only 7 months between moves).

_E_ · 11/13/2008, 12:25 PM

I've moved a 75 gal about the same distance before. Get several friends to help you and lots of rubbermaid containers. I drained all the water into the containers until there was just enough water in the tank to barely cover the sand. Carried the tank with the sand and small amount of water intact (make sure not to stir it up). Rock, corals, and fish went into the containers of water...just make sure that the livestock doesn't get crushed by the rock as it shifts. Set the tank back up and put a plate on the sand. Gently pour or siphon the water on top of this plate to keep from stirring the sand. Place your rocks as you go (they can be out in the air indefinately as long as they are kept damp. Replace livestock and you're set to go. Just don't forget to have some spare saltwater setup incase there is an accident.

11/12/2008, 02:49 AM	#1
RyanMcLaughlin Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Anaheim Posts: 982	Time to move Ok so I will be moving in like a month or so. My plan to move my tank is to bag the corals, take out the rock, bag the fish, siphon out the sand, and then take the fish/corals to my lfs for a day or two while i move and setup. Is there anything i should make sure i do to make things go smooth? Any advice would be appreciated.

11/12/2008, 07:28 AM	#3
crvz Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: houstonia Posts: 7,989	How far is the move? __________________ -Chris- You don't win friends with salad. "Look! They're trying to learn for free!" ... "Use your phony guns as clubs!" Current Tank Info: rectangluar? wet?

11/13/2008, 07:30 AM	#5
crvz Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: houstonia Posts: 7,989	Why can't you do the tank swap all in a day? Granted, you probably won't be able to move anything else, but it's feasible to just move it without having to take everything to the LFS. __________________ -Chris- You don't win friends with salad. "Look! They're trying to learn for free!" ... "Use your phony guns as clubs!" Current Tank Info: rectangluar? wet?

11/13/2008, 07:41 AM	#6
Stray32 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Castle Shannon (Pittsburgh) PA Posts: 897	Ryan, I just did a successful move to a new place and new tank, and (knock on wood), it has been running for 3 weeks and I only "misplaced" one fish, no other deaths. Here is a brief explanation of what I did: 1. Bagged all corals and placed in stryro coolers 2. Placed live rock in rubbermaid containers, with enough water to cover, and placed my fish directly into the containers as well, so they would have places to hide and wouldn't be as stressed. 3. My Nems and clean up crew went directly into the containers as well. 4. I saved about 40 of 55 gallons of my water, then made about 40 gallons of new water since I was upgrading to a 75 gal tank. 5. When I got everything to the new house, I placed a heater and powerhead in each container to keep everything happy. I placed my coral in a small bare bottom 10 gal tank, with a heater, light, and powerhead. Fish and rock lived were fine for 2 days until I put them in the tank, coral was happy for at least 4 days. 6. I thoroughly cleaned my sand after saving a few cups to reseed. Since you are just moving and not upgrading, you probably don't need to be as thorough as I was. Hope this helps. __________________ Thanks, Jared Current Tank Info: 75 gal mixed reef, 30 Gal Frag Tank

11/13/2008, 08:31 AM	#7
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	The only other piece of advice I'd give you is to figure out what the maximum amount of time you think all of this is going to take you. . .and double it. Otherwise, the last two moves I did went pretty much as Stray32 described, and that move was about 300 miles. The first time I ended up replacing my sand (the tank was about 2 years old), and the second time I kept it (only 7 months between moves). __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

11/13/2008, 05:38 AM	#4
RyanMcLaughlin Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Anaheim Posts: 982	Just across town like 15 miles or so.

11/13/2008, 12:25 PM	#8
_E_ Professional Lurker Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Du Quoin, Illinois Posts: 1,169	I've moved a 75 gal about the same distance before. Get several friends to help you and lots of rubbermaid containers. I drained all the water into the containers until there was just enough water in the tank to barely cover the sand. Carried the tank with the sand and small amount of water intact (make sure not to stir it up). Rock, corals, and fish went into the containers of water...just make sure that the livestock doesn't get crushed by the rock as it shifts. Set the tank back up and put a plate on the sand. Gently pour or siphon the water on top of this plate to keep from stirring the sand. Place your rocks as you go (they can be out in the air indefinately as long as they are kept damp. Replace livestock and you're set to go. Just don't forget to have some spare saltwater setup incase there is an accident. __________________ Eric "If you think things can't get worse it's probably only because you lack sufficient imagination." Current Tank Info: 140 DSA with basement sump room