Please Help !!! Moving Soon Tips Tips Tips

[foster2008]

Hi guys i have to ask for help, after 1 year running my tank has to MOVE to another place, would you help me or give me some TIPS or redirect me to the right thread?

Based on your experiences and trying to avoig another cycling or ammonia appearance what you did to make your moving experience not to stressfull? CONSIDER THIS :

a) My tank is not too big only 55 gallon is this advantage or not?

b) My DSB is only 1" is that good or bad? also would it be ok if i keep a little bit water on the tank above the sand to avoid disturbing the life in there when i move it? lets say 2" water?

c) where do you keep your fish or corals while you move? i don't have a quarantine but i have a 29 gallon empty can i use it? if i put same the water i have now in my display?

d) Im planning to do a 50% water change when i move, is that a good range of water change?

REMEMBER is the first time i move my tank so sorry if some of my questions sound silly !!!!

Comments please .

[fatdaddy]

You need to pick up some rubber maid tubs and/or trash cans. Fill with live rock, water, fish, etc. and move. Just keep the water at a decent temperature, aerate the water if you need to, etc. Be sure to have mixed salt water waiting at the other end to make up for spillage and anything you didn't move.

There are lots of move threads on the subject. I always get the dreaded "server too busy" when I try a search, but I'm sure you could find something if you go back a few pages and just use your browser to word search. It's a FAQ, so that's why you're not getting a lot of responses.

[sdietz2469]

first, i recommend taking the water you want to keep out ogf the tank prior to moving any rocks etc.... then take and fill a 5 gal bucket about 3/4 ful with tank water and as you are taking out your rocks, give them a good swish in the 5 gal to remove any detrius.... try to catch your fish prior to moving any rocks that are in the sand bed if at all possible... move your fish in a 5 gal bucket of clean tank water..... try to keep your rocks wet, as then you shouldnt have any die off, drain the water down to about 1/2" of the top of the sand bed.... move the tank.. when you get to where you are setting it up syphon out as much water as possible to remove any disturbed detrius from the sand bed... stack your rocks in the tank prior to water, and then pour water over the rocks to keep from disturbing the sand bed any more....

make sure you have your new water mixed and ready so you can add it too..... i wouldnt do any more than 30% waterchange during the move, but do another 30% 1 weeek after moving....

add a airstone to the bucket of fish, and make sure they dont get too hot or cold during the move... allow the tank to run for ateast 1 hour before adding fish... make sure all of your pumps, filters and skimmers ore on.... it may also be benificial to add an overthe back filter or filter sock to help clear the tank.....

be fast, but be careful also..
shane

[fasturtle30]

Damn ! thanks that's a lot of good info ! hey sdietz when u say " stack your rocks and pour water??? you mean the new water i premixed already? or the water i took out of the tank when it was in my old place? (consider also i probably have to discard the water i used to shake my rock to liberate detritus right? )

[fasturtle30]

Im planning to move as well

[AL915]

When I moved I placed all of the live rock in a hard plastic water tub and filled it with water from the tank. Ice chests were used for coral and fish. When I got to my destination everything went into the tub and I used that as a temp tank till I got everything situated. I also had made extra water that was made to do a water change on arrival.

[foster2008]

thanks for the ingo the SEARCH is not working now that's why im here asking ;) Anyways AL915 when you did it this way did you experiment any level raise of ammonia or miny cycle?

[AL915]

No, everything stayed the same. I broke my tank down a few weeks prior due to having to deal with other issues of a move. I moved from California to Arizona. I used battery pumps. I made two holes on each ice chests. One of the holes was used to run a air line. For the plastic tub I covered it with a tarp. I moved a 100 gallon tank, and when I got to my new residence I up graded to a 150. So the tub substituted for my tank for a few months.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

I just moved my tank a little over a month ago... here is a good read...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1462337

[fasturtle30]

SORRY I BRING THE THREAD BACK BUT...I WAS MOSTLY WITH PEOPLE WHO SAID KEEP THE SAND WITH LITTLE BIT WATER ON IT BUT...

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CLEAN THE SAND IF YOU DECIDE YOU WANNA USE AGAIN?
ADVANTAGE OR NO ADVANTAGE OF CLEANING IT?
IF YOU DO CLEAN IT, DOES IT SUPPOUSE TO GIVE YOU A MINI CYCLE?

ALSO Nobody mention about how you move the sump or filtration ??? maybe you try t keep everything in it and take advantage to clean the skimmer and returned pump? should you take half water and save it til you move and put it back??? PLEASE HELP HERE !!!!

[SharkBait_Mtl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13367143#post13367143 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fasturtle30
SORRY I BRING THE THREAD BACK BUT...I WAS MOSTLY WITH PEOPLE WHO SAID KEEP THE SAND WITH LITTLE BIT WATER ON IT BUT...

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CLEAN THE SAND IF YOU DECIDE YOU WANNA USE AGAIN?
ADVANTAGE OR NO ADVANTAGE OF CLEANING IT?
IF YOU DO CLEAN IT, DOES IT SUPPOUSE TO GIVE YOU A MINI CYCLE?

ALSO Nobody mention about how you move the sump or filtration ??? maybe you try t keep everything in it and take advantage to clean the skimmer and returned pump? should you take half water and save it til you move and put it back??? PLEASE HELP HERE !!!!

keep very little water on the sand >1/4"...

to clean sand use a sand syphone cleaner... python a good example... or if the seand is removed from the tank put it all in a bucket and with a hose add water and stir the sand until the water that overflows from the bucket is clear...

I am not sure on the minicycle..... when I moved my tank, i used a python to clean my sand.... and when I set up the tank I did not have a mini cycle.......

yes now that the tank and sump are empty now would be a good time to clean them and clean the pumps/powerheads...

you could move as much water as you want... the more the better.... but consider you will have a loss from moving/cleaning your rocks and sand... I had 60g of premixed, heated water when I moved my 90DT and 60 sump... and it wasn;t enough... I needed another ~10g....

[fasturtle30]

That's very good info SHARK.. !!! im gonna move to a very close new house like 15 minutes driving so i don't think i will need to deal with heaters or icepacks fortunately, I JUST HAVE THIS LAST QUESTION !!! WHEN I GOT HOME ONE NIGHT I saw these little things hidding in the rocks many of them of course i assume they are pods, BENEFICIAL to your tank, my tank is average HEALTHY so What's gonna happen to them when i rinse my rocks to eliminate detritus (wich i have) ??? Nothing is gonna happen? little bit loss maybe????

[tony45power]

i moved and helped my buddy move recently. we bought about 6 garbage cans from home depot and just put everything in them. separated the fish from all the rocks so they didn't get crushed and put a heater in the can with the corals and 1 in with the fish before we left and as soon as he arrived at his house. then cleaned the cans up and returned them:)
good luck

[fasturtle30]

LOL thats was tricky !!! thanks for your ideas.

STILL DIDN'T GET ANY ANSWER IF I GET ANY LOSS AT RINSING THE ROCKS OUT COPODS OUT OF MY TANK?????

[SharkBait_Mtl]

I believe you will have some loss.... but not much... they;'ll replenish eventually...

I didnt use heaters or icepaks... but I did put a heater and mj1200 in the buckets with livestock once I got to my new address so that way they were fine while the tank was being setup... it took me 14hrs to move and setup my tank...


hope this helps...