moving a 180gal..please help

garyw68 · 02/11/2009, 07:12 PM

i know this is not going to be easy. i will be moving soon and need some advice on how to do this. my main concern is the sand...should I leave it in the tank while moving? or take it out and put new sand after its been moved? it will be a local move and the distance is about 40min. any advise will be appreciated.

louie07 · 02/11/2009, 07:26 PM

no problem with the sand. just drain the tank, leave a little water just to keep the organismss alive. The only problem with leaving the sand is it will make the tank REALLY HEAVY! either leave it in or put as much as you can into buckets adding a little water to keep organisms alive. Have a fun move!

somosomo · 02/11/2009, 07:26 PM

Before I upsized to a 75 I moved my 29 gallon three times in three years. I know the magnitude of the task isnt anywhere near the same..but the theory should be. Each move was at least a three hour trip.
I would put the sand in buckets with enough tank water to cover it and rinse it with fresh made saltwater before putting back into the tank. This got out alot of the detritus but I feel didnt kill off all of the beneficial bacteria.

02/11/2009, 07:12 PM	#1
garyw68 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 648	moving a 180gal..please help i know this is not going to be easy. i will be moving soon and need some advice on how to do this. my main concern is the sand...should I leave it in the tank while moving? or take it out and put new sand after its been moved? it will be a local move and the distance is about 40min. any advise will be appreciated. __________________ My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn’t need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle. Current Tank Info: 180 gal AGA reef - 55 gal sump/refuge - 235 lbs of LR - 3x250 14k MH w/ 4x96 blue actinic PC's - SRO 5000ext skimmer - 2 Vortech MP40w/es

02/11/2009, 07:26 PM	#2
louie07 Addicted Reefer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: San Rafael CA Posts: 187	no problem with the sand. just drain the tank, leave a little water just to keep the organismss alive. The only problem with leaving the sand is it will make the tank REALLY HEAVY! either leave it in or put as much as you can into buckets adding a little water to keep organisms alive. Have a fun move!

02/11/2009, 07:26 PM	#3
somosomo Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: lock haven Posts: 531	Before I upsized to a 75 I moved my 29 gallon three times in three years. I know the magnitude of the task isnt anywhere near the same..but the theory should be. Each move was at least a three hour trip. I would put the sand in buckets with enough tank water to cover it and rinse it with fresh made saltwater before putting back into the tank. This got out alot of the detritus but I feel didnt kill off all of the beneficial bacteria.