Need Moving Suggestions

[liz3]

Hello all,

It has been quite a while since I have ventured on this site. I don't even know who remembers me. Any who....

I need to move a 180 gal tank 1/2 hour away. No big deal..right..large tubs for live rock, large buckets for loose rock and frags. I know..save as much water and disturb as little as possible.

This is my problem. I have not been with the tank. And it has been completely neglected. I went through a divorce and the tank is at the ex's house. Having said that i guess i was lucky he just didn't unplug it. He did top off water to keep it quiet but never did water changes, and finally started topping the water off with tap water. I know...shudder. I don't know when my ro/di unit stopped working... he wouldn't say.

I have stuff still alive in the tank believe it or not and this tank sat for about 1 year untouched except top off water.

So, since stuff is still alive do I follow the normal moving rules or scratch everything and start fresh?

I'm afraid that moving anything will kill off what is remaining which includes 1 fish, zoos, xenia, part of my brain and anenomie. Do i move the stuff that is alive first to a smaller tank and start nursing it back to health??

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

[IMSRacing]

I would set up a small tank and keep the corals/fish in there and clean the rock off, might need scrubbing if it has built up algae. I would use fresh water and sand, and try to get the tank to recycle by adding a cocktail shrimp. Once the tank is reestablished i would add the livestock back in. It wouldn't hurt to not have lights on the tank while it cycles just to kill off any algae that survives scrubbing. I wouldn't use the water just because it probably isn't in the greatest condition being topped off with tap water. I have never moved a big tank, but those would be my plans.

[syrinx]

I would clean off the rock as described above- scrubbing it in the old salt water. However I would set up the big tank as opposed to the smaller one- no sense in making things more complicated. If the stuff you have is precious to you- have someone babysit it. I have moved hundreds of tanks- sometimes a few feet, sometimes hundreds of miles- and there is seldom loss.

[liz3]

well i don't want to completely start a new cycle as i have all live sand from like 5 different tanks and it is still very much alive. i think the worms and little creepy crawlies actually have been keeping the tank alive this long. I do need to clean the rocks well, but again, it has so much stuff alive that i would hate to kill it to start a new cycle. The algae that is there can be removed by hand mostly.

I had the tank set up 2 yrs built up from tear down of others. So the rock is great and the sand is great.

[liz3]

ok..make that before i left it there so it's been set up since 2004

[syrinx]

If you keep most of the stuff as it is and just do a big water change there will be little to no cycle.- Scrubbing the rock in salt water will not affect the bacteria, but will remove any bad algae or detritus buildup- just be careful and don`t disturb more than you need to and you will have good luck. Of course xenia is a classic crasher for no reason- so I don`t warrantee it will do well regardless.

[liz3]

but won't a big water change also harm??? I have not tested the water yet, but will before the move. I'm sure the salinity is way down and everything else is off the charts..I have been too scared to test it since i couldn't really do anything about it. My worry is that i do this great water change bring everything up to specks..and it all crashes.

Everything has been living on neglect and sheer will.

[syrinx]

You don`t want to shock anything obviously- but there is no doubt you will have a larger than normal water change in moving a tank. Granted most of the tanks I move have good water quality to begin with,and in those systems a 100% water change can be done, but you can make your new water somewhere between the old and ideal. The animals should aclimate to new and better water anyway though, they do everytime we ship or purchase them. Really I doubt that things are as bad as you think- often times neglected tanks are balanced- thats why some stuff lives.