How far (in days) have you driven fish or coral successfully?

[crpeck]

I'm moving from TN to CA in a couple of weeks. I've sold off most of my stuff and some is being held to ship to me.

My large tank is completely broken down and I have some stuff that I want to keep in my 24 gallon, which I'm going to take and set up in an apartment until I set up another larger system when we finally get moved. We already have the apartment so I could get everything into a tank the day I get there.

I'm splitting the drive over 4 days/3 nights and already have a parrot and cat so will have to either keep the car going and cool for them or have a place where I can bring them in. It's getting expensive to ship everything and I'm wondering why I shouldn't just try to bring some with me.

The live rock I feel really comfortable wrapping in paper and putting in a cooler. Will there be enough die off that I'll be cycling all over again or I be able to set up and put stuff in right away?

How about some coral in a bucket with an air pump?

Fish I'm thinking is too risky with as hot as it is. No matter how careful I am, there is bound to be quite a bit of temperature variation, although I could pack them in a cooler also and change out water for them every day.

I'm just so frustrated because I've been selling off so much for WAY less than I paid only to come out and have to pay market to restock. Shipping is high. I'm selling off all my common stuff, but I'm got some things that are just too hard to replace and I don't want to dump them for nothing. I don't want to kill them driving cross country either.

Anybody ever tried to move their livestock long distance or do I need to just sell, breakdown and restock?

[tcinaustin]

Good Question! I am going to have to do this soon and have a lot of rare SPS that I would like to move.

[crpeck]

You're welcome to tag along with the thread.:)

I have an adapter that fits into the car outlet that I'm thinking could run a small air pump. Battery operated pumps would be really loud and obnoxious. I was thinking if I wrapped a salt bucket with something insulated, cut a hole in the top for the air hose and just carried the whole bucket into the motel rooms with me at night ?????

[spamreefnew]

you could use a DC to AC inverter,this way you could run a small skimmer and or powerhead the whole trip,,,you can also but bags of ice at gas stations and float the ice in zip-loc bags when temp starts to creep up:) p.s. inverters are anywhere from $40-$200,,,,the more you pay the more they can run,just make sure you dont shut the car off for more than a couple hours!

[crpeck]

Do you think I need a skimmer? I already have a DC to AC inverter that we used years ago to power the kids' game system on a long road trip. I was thinking a small air pump for sure.

I did an accidental experiment that is giving me hope. Last Saturday I threw some loose zoanthids into a ziploc and put them in the sump intending to glue them on a rock later. I forgot about them until this morning when I found them doing a water change. They've been in the dark like that for a week. Pulled them out and just glued them on a rock .... they're fine.

[nikon187]

600 watt inverter. 4 rubber maid containers, 6 provinces ( nova scotia to alberta) 5 days, everything made it fine aside for a cleaner shrimp, All i used was heaters and battery powered air pumps, minimal lighting when I stopped for the night and got a hotel, ( Yes I brought everything into the room with me and set up the lighting)

[PrangeWay]

Thursday Morning to a Saturday Evening. 1000 mi+. Juse used a 10gallon tote, a battery powered air pump (and spare batteries). Didn't try moving my SPS, just LPS & Softies + Fish. Nothing died, despite some drastic temperature shifts.

[crpeck]

Wow, Nikon! Was that fish, too? Or just corals and critters?

I'll bring heaters, but my bigger problem is going to be overheating if I try to stop for any length of time during the day. I'll be going across I40 through Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona in August. I know I can use ice, but think extreme fluctuations will be worse than just getting a little warm.

Thanks for the info! This should be an adventure. I can't wait to see how the hotels deal with us bringing in a cat, a parrot and a bucket of fish and/or coral.

[crpeck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15460125#post15460125 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrangeWay
Thursday Morning to a Saturday Evening. 1000 mi+. Juse used a 10gallon tote, a battery powered air pump (and spare batteries). Didn't try moving my SPS, just LPS & Softies + Fish. Nothing died, despite some drastic temperature shifts.

Cool! Did the battery operated pump noise drive you crazy? I was thinking since I have the converter thing a small quiet pump would work. Did your temp go to highs or lows?

[nikon187]

fish as well... I forgot to add, I did have power heads for the bin with the fish and corals for when i stopped as well. The trip was specificly for my tank so I tried to stop as little as possible. As for noise from the air pumps, you can't hear anything over my exhaust :)

[agreeive?fish]

crpeck

i dont have days travel with fish corals but i can comment on the battery operated airpumps.. i go to a fish store about 2.5 hours away(one way) a couple times a year and bring back fish in buckets with the battery airpump (when i buy a fish) and i dont notice the air pumps at all.

disclaimer the radio is usually on and i have 3 kids and a wife running thier voice box 99.999999% of the trip