How long can coral/live rock last in a bucket?

[ReefsandGeeks]

I'm planning on moving across the country this summer and this means for me that I have alot of work and planning to do for my tank. Unfortionatly it seems as though it would be best to sell my fish before moving as it will be a 2 day trip and I can't see them doing well for that long, not to mention the tank likel going through a cycle once I get to my destination (Houston TX to Pittsburgh PA).

My plan is to pack my tank and essentials to get it running in the car I'm driving (it's a 40 galon tank), and put the live rock and coral in buckets of tank water for the trip. The buckets will have some bubble wrap wrapped around them to help insulate them to keep the temps more stable.

Do you guys think that the coral would stand a decent chance of making the trip? They are all frags and most are glued onto peices of live rock. My conserns would be:
temp swings during transpoortation (can possibly add a small heater to the buckets or keep buckets in air conditioned car to keep cool
Water quality going bad during trip (would try to eliminate this with a bucket with plenty of water so water quality would remain more stable, also with some live rock in the buckets)
Putting the coral into a newly set up tank upon arrival (would only be coral and live rock, no fish so if there is a cycle it shouldn't be too bad)
Possible delays with setting up the tank (would have an extra rubbermaid container that could be used with a spare powerhead and spare heater in case there are problems with the aquarium set up.

If anyone else sees other problems or has advise I'd love to hear it. All in all I have about 50 pounds of live rock, and a dozen frags or so (zoas, leathers, a hammer, and SPS).

Also, I currently have a deep snd bed, but don't know that I would bother with trying to set that up initialy. I don't want to cloud up the water in the newly set up tank and futher stress the coral. I'd likely go bare bottom initialy, then later add a shallow sandbed.

[cleverbs]

You will be fine, Just put a heater in the buckets. You can get a power converter to plug into your car and put a powerstip on it and run heaters into each bucket. The water will not go bad in 2 days and I also doubt you will have much of a cycle at all if you use the same rock and just put new sand in the tank. use all the water from the buckets instead of mixing up all fresh water. they will be fine. I would honestly just take your fish along because they will be fine and in better conditions then they are when shipped around the world.

[Speedoking]

I transported my 40 gallon one days travel with buckets of tank water and a heat in the buckets. Live rock, some corals and two fish made the move. Just plan ahead, they will make the trip better than you expect.

[Mishri]

with heaters and powerheads for circulation you can probably make it work. you can get little heaters, get them in water and make sure they are actually holding the right temp before starting the process. You'll just need a good power inverter for your car. Otherwise I think the corals will die. If it were just live rock, yeah, no big deal. Bubble wrap for insulation? You can pick up a roll of home insulation from a home improvement store for $15.. would work a lot better. Put lids on your buckets to prevent too much evaporation. If you don't have lids anything can work... plastic wrap, tin foil..

[ReefsandGeeks]

Thanks guys, I'm feeling better about the coral already. It'll still be a stessful move for me and the coral and fish I'm sure. That's interesting about the fish. I realy assumed that would be a no go going in a bucket for that long. I guess when they are shipped they are in a much smaller bag, though usualy for only a day. Of course I can hopefuly have better temperature control and put an airstone in the bucket for oxygen. Could I put all of my fish in 1 bucket? I'd like to have as few buckets as I can and am already expecting to have at least 3 for the rock and coral. My car will be packed full with my tank, stand, equipment, and buckets of water and rock.

Would I be able to get away without powerheads and use an airstone for the coral too? I don't have small powerheads for the buckets, currently I only havea single 800gph which would be far too strong for a bucket. I don't know if the air bubbles would cause problems for the coral or not. The air bubbles would however provide some water circulation as well as airation. I can look and see if I can find some cheap small powerheads to use if its a must.

[ReefsandGeeks]

I was thinking bubble wrap because I can currently get it for free at work. though I'll look into a roll of insulation as well. I'll probably get small heaters first and see how warm they keep the buckets, and adjust the insulation to get the temp stable at the right temp.

How much water should I put in the buckets? Should they be half water and half air, or mostly water? My best guess would be mostly water, especialy if I have an airstone going with a lid with a hole for the air to enter and exit.

[SGT_York]

Don't transport SPS for two days. softies and most LPS will be alright. I prefer to find a reefer in the new area and FEDEX overnight. Part of my househunting trip was to find a responsible reefer. Traded some frags for the assistance and things worked very well.

The major problem is being too hot not the cold. Especially during Texan summers.

[Mishri]

airstone is better than nothing. whether or not the fish can survive in a single bucket depends on the fish. the more water you can give them to dilute their waste the better.

I would put a live rock in each fish bucket and put an airstone under the rock so the bubbles travel up around it, that will give it water circulation and continue the ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate cycle.

Getting rid of your deep sand bed is a good idea.

Also, yes as SGT_York said, if it's over 80 degrees out heat will be an issue, I missed that part. insulation and cold packs.. You can also freeze bottles of water and put those in the buckets, closely watch temps. with such a small amount of water you'd want very small ice packs/bottles. or remove them quickly.. you don't want fast temp swings.

I really don't know about the SPS on a 2 day trip.. If you can keep water conditions in your sps bucket stable it's probably better than shipping it overnight. Light? I assume you'll stop somewhere to sleep and you could put a light over them overnight.


What I would do? I would sell everything and start over.. It's going to be difficult and stressful to the creatures to tear everything down and put it all back together.