Need help/advice/suggestions(Im Moving and want to bring my tank)

[RalphTheOscar]

Im going to be moving in less than 2 months and I want to bring my saltwater tank with me. Im driving from NY to FL. I have a 30 gallon with around 22lbs of live rock, 4 fish, 3 starfish(maybe more), 2 shirmp, 1 hermit, 4 normal size snails(I also recently have countless baby turbo snails that have taken over my tank lol) Also have 8 corals(none of these are attached to live rock) I talked with my local fish store and she said I could bring the live rock with me in the car ride if I kept it aerated in a little bit of water. But everything else I would most likely have to overnight with UPS or Fedex. Has anyone else done anything similar to this? Any advice or suggestions or tips? Welcome to peoples opinions/stories and help.

Thanks

[Foooz]

I will offer an opinion with my only experience being a four hour tank transfer. I used garbage cans to put the live rock in, filled with water and added the fish, corals and inverts. When I got home four hours later I placed power heads in the garbage cans to circulate the water overnight. I was not worried about heater as I live in south florida. Next day set up tank, moved live rock, corals and fish. I lost a couple small corals, no fish, inverts hard to tell as I didn't count them before or after. My opinion is fish travel in those little bags for at least 24 hours and survive with some casualties. As long as you keep them warm and if you stop plug in power heads I think you will be fine.

[Bogue Chitto]

You need to pack your fish in bags and oxygen with about 1/2 of the bag, water. They will live longer in the bags than with using air stones. At least that's the experience I have had with moving fish.

[heathlindner25]

I would put the livestock in two -5 gallon buckets and use a battery powered air stone for the trip

[Bogue Chitto]

heath, I have tried that before and they just didn't survive, the bags are the proven way to go as that is how they are shipped all over the world and survive 3 or 4 days most of the time, being they are healthy to start with. It is also better for them to get a little cool than a little warm. I had some fish left out on the dock at an airport with the top of the box gone and ice forming on the bags. Some of them thawed out and once acclimated, did well in the tank.

[figuerres]

I think I would offer the fish to a local reef keeper and buy fish after your tank has been setup and cycled in fl. The stress of trying to ship them and the fact that the tank will have a cycle to go thru when you set it up, just not worth the stress on the fish or on you.
Also what part of Florida? checkout www.tampabaysaltwater.com they do some amazing live rock and local critters.

[heathlindner25]

heath, I have tried that before and they just didn't survive, the bags are the proven way to go as that is how they are shipped all over the world and survive 3 or 4 days most of the time, being they are healthy to start with. It is also better for them to get a little cool than a little warm. I had some fish left out on the dock at an airport with the top of the box gone and ice forming on the bags. Some of them thawed out and once acclimated, did well in the tank.

I've had different results doing this on a trip from NY to GA, in the hotel room I used heaters and I also had some live rock in their with them.
Properly packed in bags with air would be your best option, just wasn't very good option for me.

[noble7]

FIGURES has it rite ...no worth the hassle or risk...gl

[daniel.bosetti]

I moved from Michigan to Minnesota durning the dead of winter last year. I broke down the 29 gallon tank I had, and put a few pieces of live rock in a 5 gallon bucket. I had 2 clownfish that also went into the bucket, and a few corals as well. I put a heater, and a bubbler in the buck with a lid on it.

The drive was in the middle of a snow storm around souther Chicago. We had to make an unplanned overnight stop in a hotel, so I brought the bucket in and plugged everything back in. Everything survived the move with no problems what so ever.

When I got the tank back in the house I mixed up some salt water, and taking my time I slowly moved everything into the tank. I did a water change every 2 days until I had all the other live rock cycles in the new 90 gallon I was upgrading to.

The key was just keeping an eye on all the parameters. Good luck on your move!