Moving a Reef

Johnseye · 02/27/2014, 02:28 PM

I'm new to the forums and to home reef systems. My experience is limited to fresh water, the most complex being African cichlids and some breeding.

I will be purchasing an existing 120 gallon reef. The environment has been in place for about 4 years and moved once by the current owner during that time.

I'm hoping those experienced can provide some advice on how to best move this environment. I will have help from the current owner, but want to make sure I get things right.

Do I keep his existing sand or get new sand? If new sand should it be live sand? Any good advice on moving the fish and corals so nothing gets hurt or too stressed? How much existing water should I keep? What should I be considering when setting it up in my home?

Here is what will be coming with.

6 fish
9 corals
clean up crew
100 lbs. live rock
3 stage T5 lights
LED moon lights
AquaC Urchin skimmer
sump
phosphate reactor

Thanks for your help

thegrun · 02/27/2014, 02:56 PM

Welcome to Reef Central! I would not reuse the sand, it will contain a lot of trapped detritus that if released could start a new cycle, killing off all your livestock. Start fresh with dry sand. Be sure to wash the sand well before using it. To wash the sand place 5 pounds or so at a time in a 5 gallon bucket. Use a garden hose at full flow to agitate the sand. The finer grains of sand will overflow the top of the bucket, leaving the larger grains behind. Continue to agitate the water until it runs clear. I would not use "live" sand as it can contain more dead than live organisms and has the potential to start a new cycle (and cost more to purchase since you are paying for water). Try to reuse as much clean water from the old system as possible to lessen the shock of new water chemistry on your livestock. Once the water from the old tank starts to get murky from stirred up detritus, don't reuse that water. Have plenty of new premade and preheated saltwater on hand to make up for the lost water. I would plan on pre-making 50% of your display tank's volume and have it ready for use. 5 gallon buckets with lids are your best friend for a tank move. Anything larger becomes very heavy to move, although for longer moves ice chests work well at maintaining water temperatures. You can use bubble wrap to help keep your rock with corals attached from being smashed against the sides of the buckets during transport. Start by filling three buckets 1/3 with water from the tank and then add the rock from the system to one of the buckets. Continue filling buckets first with water, then rock until you have removed all the rock. Save a couple of half full buckets of clean water from the tank for the fish. Once all the rock has been removed, the fish should be easy to catch. Some fish will burrow into the sand to hide so if you come up short on your fish count you may need to sift through the sand to find the missing fish. Once you have everything back at your home and the tank in place, first set up your rock. Try to minimize the amount of time the rock is out of the water. If aquascaping the rock takes you awhile, pour some of the saltwater from the old set-up on the rock to keep it wet. Once the rock is set fill the tank with all the old water and whatever new water is necessary. You can just dump the fish directly from the buckets into the new tank to prevent injuring the fish or adding stress to the fish by netting them. Then start circulating the water, get the heaters running and the rest of the equipment. Tank moves take much longer than one would first suspect. Plan on a very long day. Best of luck and keep us posted with your results!

julie180 · 02/27/2014, 03:06 PM

Ditch the sand. New non-live sand that has been rinsed very well will be fine.
I moved my 180 last year, it was very stressful.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best. It will take 2x longer than you think, get as much help as you can. Plastic totes and buckets...can't have enough. Fish and corals separate. Keep everything warm, keep fish oxygenated.
Have plenty of premixed water at your destination.

Look here http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80 and see if you can find someone in your area that could assist and offer advise.

Best of luck

Johnseye · 02/27/2014, 03:40 PM

Thanks for the fast responses. In sequence of setting up the tank in its new destination should I add old water first, then rock & coral creating aquascape, then sand, then new water, then fish and inverts?

It's great finding a community like this. Much appreciated.

danil · 02/27/2014, 05:56 PM

I don't think you'll have enough time to "create aquascape". I've been moving tanks twice and it's not easy. Just try to do you best you can change it later. There is no strict rules what should go first but it's harder to assemble rocks under water and since you moving existing reef it's even more challenging. I would make as many pictures as possible trying remember where all majors rocks/corals were located. Another option - cut them off the rocks and reattach later. Depends on type of the corals how many of them in the tank you might pick one approach over another.
Be sure you have good location for your new tank with easy access to electrical outlets.

julie180 · 02/27/2014, 06:02 PM

Don't forget to take the time to make sure your tank is completely level in its new location. Its better to level the stand then the tank on the stand.

02/27/2014, 02:28 PM	#1
Johnseye Reef Addict Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Naperville, IL. Posts: 1,196	Moving a Reef I'm new to the forums and to home reef systems. My experience is limited to fresh water, the most complex being African cichlids and some breeding. I will be purchasing an existing 120 gallon reef. The environment has been in place for about 4 years and moved once by the current owner during that time. I'm hoping those experienced can provide some advice on how to best move this environment. I will have help from the current owner, but want to make sure I get things right. Do I keep his existing sand or get new sand? If new sand should it be live sand? Any good advice on moving the fish and corals so nothing gets hurt or too stressed? How much existing water should I keep? What should I be considering when setting it up in my home? Here is what will be coming with. 6 fish 9 corals clean up crew 100 lbs. live rock 3 stage T5 lights LED moon lights AquaC Urchin skimmer sump phosphate reactor Thanks for your help

02/27/2014, 02:56 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Welcome to Reef Central! I would not reuse the sand, it will contain a lot of trapped detritus that if released could start a new cycle, killing off all your livestock. Start fresh with dry sand. Be sure to wash the sand well before using it. To wash the sand place 5 pounds or so at a time in a 5 gallon bucket. Use a garden hose at full flow to agitate the sand. The finer grains of sand will overflow the top of the bucket, leaving the larger grains behind. Continue to agitate the water until it runs clear. I would not use "live" sand as it can contain more dead than live organisms and has the potential to start a new cycle (and cost more to purchase since you are paying for water). Try to reuse as much clean water from the old system as possible to lessen the shock of new water chemistry on your livestock. Once the water from the old tank starts to get murky from stirred up detritus, don't reuse that water. Have plenty of new premade and preheated saltwater on hand to make up for the lost water. I would plan on pre-making 50% of your display tank's volume and have it ready for use. 5 gallon buckets with lids are your best friend for a tank move. Anything larger becomes very heavy to move, although for longer moves ice chests work well at maintaining water temperatures. You can use bubble wrap to help keep your rock with corals attached from being smashed against the sides of the buckets during transport. Start by filling three buckets 1/3 with water from the tank and then add the rock from the system to one of the buckets. Continue filling buckets first with water, then rock until you have removed all the rock. Save a couple of half full buckets of clean water from the tank for the fish. Once all the rock has been removed, the fish should be easy to catch. Some fish will burrow into the sand to hide so if you come up short on your fish count you may need to sift through the sand to find the missing fish. Once you have everything back at your home and the tank in place, first set up your rock. Try to minimize the amount of time the rock is out of the water. If aquascaping the rock takes you awhile, pour some of the saltwater from the old set-up on the rock to keep it wet. Once the rock is set fill the tank with all the old water and whatever new water is necessary. You can just dump the fish directly from the buckets into the new tank to prevent injuring the fish or adding stress to the fish by netting them. Then start circulating the water, get the heaters running and the rest of the equipment. Tank moves take much longer than one would first suspect. Plan on a very long day. Best of luck and keep us posted with your results!

02/27/2014, 03:06 PM	#3
julie180 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Raymore, MO Posts: 2,556	Ditch the sand. New non-live sand that has been rinsed very well will be fine. I moved my 180 last year, it was very stressful. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. It will take 2x longer than you think, get as much help as you can. Plastic totes and buckets...can't have enough. Fish and corals separate. Keep everything warm, keep fish oxygenated. Have plenty of premixed water at your destination. Look here http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80 and see if you can find someone in your area that could assist and offer advise. Best of luck

02/27/2014, 03:40 PM	#4
Johnseye Reef Addict Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Naperville, IL. Posts: 1,196	Thanks for the fast responses. In sequence of setting up the tank in its new destination should I add old water first, then rock & coral creating aquascape, then sand, then new water, then fish and inverts? It's great finding a community like this. Much appreciated.

02/27/2014, 05:56 PM	#5
danil Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Concord, CA Posts: 935	I don't think you'll have enough time to "create aquascape". I've been moving tanks twice and it's not easy. Just try to do you best you can change it later. There is no strict rules what should go first but it's harder to assemble rocks under water and since you moving existing reef it's even more challenging. I would make as many pictures as possible trying remember where all majors rocks/corals were located. Another option - cut them off the rocks and reattach later. Depends on type of the corals how many of them in the tank you might pick one approach over another. Be sure you have good location for your new tank with easy access to electrical outlets.

02/27/2014, 06:02 PM	#6
julie180 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Raymore, MO Posts: 2,556	Don't forget to take the time to make sure your tank is completely level in its new location. Its better to level the stand then the tank on the stand.