Moving Tank Across Country

[catfishcity]

As the title says I'm going to be moving from Ohio to Colorado (approx. 24 hour drive straight through) and am trying to prepare my aquariums for the move. I have three aquariums right now: 2 saltwater and 1 freshwater. My concern is the saltwater only because things are a lot more fragile and there is a wider gap for problems. My plan is to get rid of all my fish by giving them to a local reefer and just taking some coral, rock/sand, and water. I am going to get several 5 gallon water containers and keep about 30 gallons of saltwater in my car for when I arrive. I also plan on getting 2-15 gallon watertight containers and putting all my live rock in there along with some water and sand. I have a plug-in the my trunk so I am going to have a heater and air pump running with the rock continuously. For the corals I'm going to try and stop like twice for a 3 hour break and plug in my current light fixture just to get them some light. If you think of anything else or something that I could do a lot better I would really appreciate your help. Thanks

[zero26]

Alot of corals will be alright with no light for 24 hours. People do the blackout thing for three days. I would just sell the fragile stuff and move everything else. And if its in warm weather you might not need a heater.

I bought some LR last year and it was out of the water for about 5 hours and the mushrooms Zoa's and a monti were just fine.

You have to remember that sometimes there's no light in the ocean for a few days. Its not always sunny.

[thegrun]

The lack light will not be a problem, corals are fine kept in the dark for up to 3 days. Heating or cooling and air are the important things. Let us know how the move goes. Good luck!

[duncantse]

Sounds like a good plan.

If you really want to keep the fish, you can ask your lfs to bag the fish for you with c02. The fish can probably survive a couple of days in that bag. Oh yah, you can keep the bag in your bucket of LR so the temp wont fluctuate.

What zero26 said, the corals does not need lights. People do 3 days lights out to combat cyano.

[catfishcity]

thanks for the replies! should i keep my LR and corals in separate containers? are there really small trustable heaters that you would recommend to keep in the containers? when i get there i really dont plan on setting up my tank right away but really to just put my things in a big rubbermaid until i have a permanent spot for my aquarium. will i be able to just add everything straight into the container or do i need a whole cycle to occur?

[duncantse]

Try putting your corals in another container if you can. And no, you won't have to experience the whole cycle again. You might get a mini cycle but not the whole cycle.

[NirvanaFan]

Sounds like a good plan.

If you really want to keep the fish, you can ask your lfs to bag the fish for you with c02. The fish can probably survive a couple of days in that bag. Oh yah, you can keep the bag in your bucket of LR so the temp wont fluctuate.

What zero26 said, the corals does not need lights. People do 3 days lights out to combat cyano.

I'm guessing you meant O2.

You said you are giving your fish to someone? I would suggest having them overnight your corals. Have them keep your corals for a week or two. Pay for shipping, but get them to you. Have the person keep a frag of each for themselves for their trouble, and in case anything dies in your tank. That way your corals "live on". Just keep your rock in a large bucket with aerated and heated water in your vehicle.

Set everything up in the new place, and ship your corals when you feel comfortable.

[reefraj]

As the title says I'm going to be moving from Ohio to Colorado (approx. 24 hour drive straight through) and am trying to prepare my aquariums for the move. I have three aquariums right now: 2 saltwater and 1 freshwater. My concern is the saltwater only because things are a lot more fragile and there is a wider gap for problems. My plan is to get rid of all my fish by giving them to a local reefer and just taking some coral, rock/sand, and water. I am going to get several 5 gallon water containers and keep about 30 gallons of saltwater in my car for when I arrive. I also plan on getting 2-15 gallon watertight containers and putting all my live rock in there along with some water and sand. I have a plug-in the my trunk so I am going to have a heater and air pump running with the rock continuously. For the corals I'm going to try and stop like twice for a 3 hour break and plug in my current light fixture just to get them some light. If you think of anything else or something that I could do a lot better I would really appreciate your help. Thanks

Cross country move with corals are difficult. especially to the hotter climate. I did 3 moves. The 5 gallon containers are a bad idea. Lighting is absolutely not necessary.
I found the best is to get the big 45 gallon containers and to keep the corals and if you want the live rock in them. The temp shifts in a bigger containers are much slower. You could buy ice packets and tie them in a plastic bag or so and drop in the containers if the water gets heated up.
If you have to keep in a smaller container, it is better to keep in it a location where there is air condition running. Even an hour at noon for lunch if you leave the car switched off with a 5 gallon container will kill most of the corals. and the poison released will kill the rest.
Even if you pack them in bags as if you were going to ship and pack with ice bags for the trip, corals will do ok.
Absolutely donot mix corals with fish and invertebrates.
Have an airpump runiing all the time and keep checking the temp of all containers when you take breaks. if you have to stop the vehicle for some time during the day, stop in a cool shaded area.
At night heating is not difficult at all. And you may want to trim doun you corals so to decrease the living volume. If you do that you must do it atleast 2weeks in advance so as to let the dead tissues to clear off and not spoil the water.
I killed most of the corals and fishes with the 5 callon tanks when i moved from chicago to newyork. But I learnt well and did ok when i moved from NY to texas.
Good luck
Good luck.
Have a good move

[OregonReefer]

Just a thought...

I'd hope the local reefer that you're giving your fish to would be willing to help you out in return...

Ask him hold your corals for a couple days while you drive and unpack, have him ship them overnight to you... sounds like a win-win to me...

[bnumair]

lights out wont be a problem for 24-48 hrs. i do black outs to kill cyno sometimes for 3 days and 4th day just actanics. moving water and tank will cause a mini cycle that can last for days with ammonia spikes. u might wanna setup a small tank u can migerate ur corals and livestocks to and should be able to support them for week or so without exposing them to ammonia there as well(like a qt tank). when i moved in dec accross town i had a cycle that lasted 2 weeks. i had to let my LFS babysit my livestock/corals for 2 weeks. with careful planning u can avoid longer cycles. i messup by accidently stirring us some sand.

[scarolina01]

Ask him hold your corals for a couple days while you drive and unpack, have him ship them overnight to you... sounds like a win-win to me...


+1 I think it would be easier to travel with just your live rock and not have to worry about your corals. Shipping the corals would allow you to get your tanks up, running, and not have to worry about a "mini" cycle causing more problems for your already stressed corals.

I would research how much it will cost you to ship the corals though. That could be a deceiding factor for you.

Hope this helps.

Greg

[catfishcity]

Thanks for all the help! I'm going to definitely conceder shipping the corals as it seems like a lot better of an option. Here's another question, should I use all of my current sand and put it in the new tank or should I buy new sand so that I don't have as big of an ammonia spike? Also, has anyone ever done an in tank refugium/filter system because I figure that it would be a lot easier to just setup a part-time tank in a big rubbermaid and am not sure whether or not it matters if the refugium is in a separate tank?

[jeff@zina.com]

Sell. Buy new. Fix all your old mistakes. :)

Jeff


Text mangled by iPhone spell check...

[duncantse]

Thanks for all the help! I'm going to definitely conceder shipping the corals as it seems like a lot better of an option. Here's another question, should I use all of my current sand and put it in the new tank or should I buy new sand so that I don't have as big of an ammonia spike? Also, has anyone ever done an in tank refugium/filter system because I figure that it would be a lot easier to just setup a part-time tank in a big rubbermaid and am not sure whether or not it matters if the refugium is in a separate tank?


I would buy new sand because if you sift your old sand too much, it will release all sorts of nasties into your new tank.

[jabo]

+1 on the new sand...I just did a big upgrade and reused sand, not a good idea I am having a few issues.