Help!!! I have to move a 180!!!

[Kimi]

We have been renting and now we are buying!! YAY!!! problem is I have to move our 180 reef!!! I need suggestions on how to go about doing that, assuming we are only going to have a weekend to move... how can I do this with crasing the system? I would imagine that I need to move the water as well. Has anyone done this successfully?

[ShootMe]

The easiest solution would be to sell all the livestock and restart the tank after you have completed the move. You would have to move as much of the water as you can and acclimate all the livestock at the new location. I would imagine it would be real hard to move a 180 gallon reef and all your other belongings to a new location in the span of one weekend.

[chimmike]

multiple rubbermaid tubs for all the livestock and a good bit of water. Probably need to scoop out all the sand, and use tubs for the rock as well.

[billdogg]

I have done several moves in 20+ years of reefing. It is not all that difficult (well, ok, it is a major PIA! lol ) and can easily be done with little or no loss.

1. Plan Ahead!!!
2. get several brute trashcans claened and ready
3. remove LR to the brutes - cover with wet towels to prevent drying (filling with water = LOTS of weight
4. catch the fish & corals, transfer to another brute - or use 5gal buckets with lids
5. tear it down - save some (1/2 if possible) of the water
6. get all your friends to move the tank while you guard the fish
(good luck with that one)
7. At the new place - have new water prepared ahead of time
(i like to have at least as much available as total tank volume)
8. set up the tank in new location - have plenty of spare pvc/vinyl tubing, etc. - you don't want to run short now!!!!!
9. put in substrate, LR, and as much old water as you have.
10. add fish & corals.
11. topoff with new water
12. check for leaks!!!
14. plan on a large waterchange within the first few days - just because.......
15. Sit back and enjoy the tank in the new home!

Don't think that it will be a good idea to move a tank with any water/sand in it - they are planty heavy without adding to it!

My last move was a 150, a 120, and a 60. All were moved with NO losses and only minor cycling issues, all easily handled with extra water changes.

Plan on doing this, and ONLY this, from start to finish. Last time it took ~ 16 hours. Begin EARLY, and plan on working late. Don't rush the job, you'll only make mistakes that will be difficult to fix once the tank is running again.

[tmantaylor18]

The easiest way would be to get a new tank that is already setup and just transfer corals and rock!

[Kimi]

any other ideas????

[davewbush]

+1 for billdogg's suggestion. I've had to move my tank twice and did it about the same way. I put my sand in old 5 gal salt buckets.

I will set up the tank but leave my fish and corls in the buckets over night with a heater and power head going. It is a big pain in the butt.

How far are you moving? And what do you plan on moving all of your stuff with?

[ebording]

i would think having a small tank setup at the new place for fish might be a good idea...

[Mouse]

From your list of tanks at the bottom of your post, I highly suggest finding a way to get more time for the move. If you are buying, odds are you can have access to the new house earlier than your move out date.
Depending on when you need to do this, Id do a fairly large water change a few days before the move, save the water you remove, take it to the new house and keep it at temp with an air stone in it to ease the water moving when the time comes. Also have your RO/DI setup at the new place or new water for the tank ready to go.

Also, GET LOTS OF HELP !!!!!

[headless]

I had to transport my 92 gallon about 20 miles...

As someone wrote above, get tanks for the fish...put corals and inverts in buckets...keep ALL your water in trashcans...

Empty and transport sump and tank...get it set up and pump the water back into the tank...acclimate fish and go from there...

We did this with probably 40-50 lbs. of live rock and several fish and all was fine....

It can be done, but plan on a full day...do it when the weather is good as too extreme of a weather change will shock things too much....a trashcan full of water will retain heat for some time though....

Oh yeah, leave the cans outside and pump using strong powerhead and 1/2 inch or so tubing long enough to get the job done...