MOVING need advice,how much water to take wif me

[DAZ3ON3R]

hey reefers, im plannin on moving this weekend have a 11 hr drive..i have a 46 gallon tank i plan on taking my fish ,rocks and corals, how much of my original water do i actually need to take wif me if any? if i use all new water do i have to cycle my tank again? ,any info will be appreciated...tx

[Vinny Kreyling]

Since it is a small system I would take as much as possible.
Perhaps in a large cooler or 2.
The less stress the better, you don't know what you will get in the new place.

[DAZ3ON3R]

would half be good?

[Pallobi]

i would go with as much as possible... or at least 2/3 of it... the transition will be enough stress... no need to add to it by changing out most the water too... jmo

[albano]

What is the situation at your new home? Is Ro/di water readily available?
Maybe you need to bring enough 'premade' salt water, just in case...I would be prepared to replace all the water, if something goes wrong!... try to figure the actual water volume of your tank...with LR, you're probably closer to 35g+/-

[DAZ3ON3R]

thanx for input ery1, ima try takin as much as i can probably bout 20-25,,,i should get der this wknd..give u guys update on monday.....thanx again

[laura.d]

I have a move coming up in a couple months so I'll be curious to see how this goes... I've been wondering, what about the sand bed? Do you just try to leave it undisturbed with a little water in the tank or is it ok to completely drain?

[albano]

there's no way, it will be 'undisturbed'...you need to rinse it in salt water, many times, to remove as much dirt and cloudiness as possible.

[DAZ3ON3R]

i dont have a lotta patience so sand is definitely staying in the tank...just gonna suk out all water ....once put together again ill refill and add a whisper filter to snatch up sand particles...is wat i did when i got it to my current home...but didnt have any water back then(purchased on craigslist)

[SleepyJ]

Originally Posted by DAZ3ON3R

i dont have a lotta patience so sand is definitely staying in the tank...just gonna suk out all water ....once put together again ill refill and add a whisper filter to snatch up sand particles...is wat i did when i got it to my current home...but didnt have any water back then(purchased on craigslist)

I wouldn't leave the sand. If possible, just get some new sand for when you re-set up. With the live rock, your bilogical filter will pretty much remain intact.

Unfortunately, I have some experience with this one. Once you fill the tank up with water, old or new, the disturbed sand bed will release everything into your water column. You'll really put your livestock at risk dispite all the pains it took to move everything safely.

[laura.d]

So even in my case, where I would only be moving across town with the 8g nano, you guys think the sand bed will be disturbed so much to the point that it would be better for the system to just completely replace with dead sand?

[albano]

Originally Posted by DAZ3ON3R

i don't have a lotta patience ... add a whisper filter to snatch up sand particles...)

"I don't have a lotta patience"... sounds like a good epitaph for the fish tombstones! Why drive them 11 hrs, if you're not willing to do 'the best' for them?
Whisper filter will not remove the 'bad stuff' released by stirring up the sand bed. Better to rinse sand for 20 minutes, than wait days for tank to settle down.

Originally Posted by SleepyJ

Once you fill the tank up with water, old or new, the disturbed sand bed will release everything into your water column. You'll really put your livestock at risk despite all the pains it took to move everything safely.

+1

Originally Posted by laura.d

So even in my case, where I would only be moving across town with the 8g nano, you guys think the sand bed will be disturbed so much to the point that it would be better for the system to just completely replace with dead sand?

sand is cheap...but if you rinse the 'old sand' out GOOD!, it will be fine ...
Have done this many, MANY times since starting reefs in the early 1980s

[DAZ3ON3R]

urggh... didnt wanna hear that i have a pretty thick sand bed....ok so how bout...all new sand .......just add my water and my live rock and my same filter with same cartridge ...that should hold enuff of my bacteria.....also i just started getting good coraline algae grwth is that gonna be affected ?
P.s my horshoe crab is going to be pi ssed..lol

[MADtanks]

I must agree with Albano, i have moved many tanks in the past 10 years i have been mobilized over seas several times, as well as moved from homes, as well as had the wife ask to remodel!!! all leading to disturbing the sand bed. In the first instance i didnt bother with the sand and nitrates sky rocket! so i assume maybe there was an amonia spike i did not see, most of the corals bleached, and was not able to find a lot of my inverts.

The other times, i either went bare bottom, or just replaced the sand and finally rinsed the sand for a few hrs while my pops helped move the live stock into the new tank. Take it from the gentleman above, that has been in the hobby for 20+ years u will not regret it. As always Good things take time, and bad things happen fast in this hobby.

GL!

[DAZ3ON3R]

tx eryone, guess theres no fast way to set bak up so i wont rush,i will rinse sand, wait for it to settle and post update once i test all....all av been great help thanx again

[IDrawFish]

As everyone has said patience is a virtue, better safe than sorry, if you know anyone who has a tank where you are moving to hold things for a week while your system settles is always a good idea. You could even look up in the forums if there is a local club in the area and I'm sure they would be glad to help out. As far as bringing water I've moved a lot and I found the best way to safely move it is in large fish transport bags tied up inside of plastic buckets rather than just buckets with clamp tops as I've had them fall over and clamped lid or not water can still dump everywhere bags can bounce around and be fine as long as they don't get popped hence the bucket protection. Good luck with the move.

[DAZ3ON3R]

ok, heres the update, moved completed - from CT to NC about 11hr drive, I bought a twin size air mattress shoved it in a 35 gallon drum and siphoned most of my water into it.i i also got a beach cooler drilled a hole on top big enuff for my heater and air outlet plugs filled it with my LR and livestock frags,fish,shrimps....etc.. i drained the tank and left the sand in it.... two socket converter in the car lighter and i was off..
11hrs later im at my new place...everything made it fine not one thing died....unfortunately i did not heed warnin about disturbing the sand..i refilled tank waited till next daybefore i threw my stuff in ...and BOOM my anemoni lookd like i dropped her in acid died instantly,my 2 coral banded shrimps also died within the next couple of hours along with my domino fish ,couple of turbos also bit the dust...when i ran sum tests ..my nitrates were 160+ (kit maximum) after a 2 huge water changes and a week everything is back to normal lukily corals survived as well as most of my fish...coraline on tank wall died but is still thriving on rocks
So the moral of the story is no shortcuts or u will pay!!
Iwanna thank everyone for their advice and ihope this thread helps anyone whos planning a move.

[mtc1966]

all in all not bad for a 11hr move. good job

[osrascom]

Underneath the aquarium sand bed are toxic bacteria and parasites. That is why it is necessary to clean the sandbed before using it again. With good cured lr and a cupfull of live sand from a good tank in a short time the sand will return to its "live" form.

Rich

[tyler91913]

What's the best way to rinse that used sand? Just use water, or something stronger? Let it dry out first, or just go for it while it's still wet?

[osrascom]

When I rinse my sand I also strain it This takes out any rubble that has accumulated and empty shells etc. I take my sand when I move to my hose with a few buckets. When you replace your sand you will get a little NTS, but with cured rock and such it shouldnt last too long.

Rich