Moving..TWICE -> Advice Please!

[aykim2188]

I am a college student and I have a problem. I will be moving out at the end of the summer. The problem is that I have to move out 10 days before I can move into my new apartment. What should I do w/ my reef tank? Do I have to set it up for 10 days then disassemble it again and set it up again?

The apartment I am moving into is only 10 minutes from where I am now but the problem is that I have to leave my old apartment 10 days before I can move into the new one. What should I do?

I have a 20 gallon tank w/ about 30-35 pounds of liverock, 1.5 inch of fine live sand, and 4 fish.

Please help! I have been stressed for a couple weeks because of this :[

[matt880305]

do you have a friends you can keep your tank at for those 10 days?

[aykim2188]

Yes he is an avid reefkeeper (fragboy94 on reefcentral) and he also lives about 10 minutes from both my old and new apartment.

[matt880305]

then yes you want to move the tank twice. save as mush of the water as possible when you move it also

[aykim2188]

So should I get like 5-6 5gallon buckets and just divide the water/lr/ and fish between them?

Also how much water should I leave in the tank itself? Also do I have to place the tank on plywood in order to move it?

[Dont Ask Me]

Buy a few 5g drums with screw on/removable lids. Place all your live rock in one with Enough water to cover it also stick your inverts in there, the remaining water put in another drum with your fish and leave enough water to cover your substrate in your tank.

As for moving the tank i wouldnt stress to much its only 20g i would just sit it on the backseat of my car on a few blankets personally, set it back up at your mates or temp residence then do it all again in 10 days, i moved my 75g tank and my sump over an hours drive away with no problems, had to stay with the inlaws for 2 weeks until house was ready to move into, so i also had to do it twice.

[aykim2188]

Ah i see i see. Thanks everyone for their advice! Is there any special tips I should know? Like no feeding the day before and the day of so ammonia doesnt go up in the 5g buckets?

[Shard]

You should keep an eye on the Ammonia levels after you set it back up. The move can stress it a little bit. No big deal, you might just need to do a water change once or twice.

[lordofthereef]

I too would recommend sepparating the fish and corals, if for the ease of doing a nearly complete water change if need be for the fish. Make sure you toss some powerheads in there and if need be some sort of heating element.

[ibefishy]

First off dont stress yourself out about it. It will go smoother than you think if you have a good plan. Lots of buckets or rubbermaid tubs. And dont rush. I moved my tank 8 times in 3 years and never lost anything. One time I moved all my fish and livestock were in bags for 8-10 hours before going back into the tank, with no losses. At least you have somewhere to set it up for a few days and someone knowledeable to keep an eye on it.

[thegrun]

I would leave the sand in the tank with a little water to cover it. Your tank should be able to take the stress of 1.5" of sand. Avoid stirring up the sand. If you don't think you can move the tank with the sand in it, I would store it in a bucket and not set it up temporarily at your boyfriend's place. You will need to clean the sand before you reuse it if you need to disturb the sand bed.

[Jukas]

It's not going to be a big drama. When I bought my house I had to move my 75g from the old apartment. I simply separated the live rocks and corals and fish, splitting things up into different rubbermaid trash cans. I drained the tank and sump evenly between the trash cans making sure that everything was covered and left about an inch above the sand in the tank.

When I got to the new house I simply did the reverse. I did make sure to keep exposure to air of live rock, sponges and corals to a minimum and I saw almost no die off. Do keep an eye on your tank afterwards, as you are quite likely to have a mini cycle. I simply skimmed heavy and did several extra water changes and had no fish or coral loss.

[aykim2188]

Thnx everyone!