Found a used setup... Now, transportation

Neokane · 03/14/2013, 09:13 PM

Ok, So I found a tank that is already set up.. Looks promising, but it brings up the question:

What will be the best way to get everything from point A to point B (which is about a 15 mile drive or 20 minutes.. Lately it has been in the 30-40 degress for a high during the day..

My though process is:
Get 2 brute force trash cans that many people use to mix and store RODI water in.
Empty the existing water into the can to a safe level for transport, while keeping all the fish in one can, put all the live rock in the other.

load the truck with all the equipment.

Make it home as quickly as possible while trying to lose the least amount of water.

Assembly tank, and equipment.
Start with can that holds water and rock, aquascape as necessary

transplant fish, and remaining water.

Cross fingers, double check equipment etc.

This sound safe and promising?

Slystone · 03/14/2013, 09:55 PM

Put powerhead in each trash can. Heater in both, but if you only have one put it with thefish.

thegrun · 03/14/2013, 09:58 PM

How big is the tank? 5 gallon buckets are your best friend, trying to move much more at a time is a back strain waiting to happen. If you have a few clean ice chests they are great to use as they help keep the water, fish and corals warm. Plan on a long day, trust me it takes at least twice as long as you think to move a tank. Have premixed and heated saltwater on hand ready for use before you start the move. Be sure to have at least 50% of the tanks water volume of new saltwater. I would not try to reuse the sand, it is bound to have a lot of trapped detritus and likely phosphates and nitrates in it, you are better to start with new dry sand. Be sure to wash it the day before the move and just leave it in RO/DI water. Siphon out as much of the old tank water as possible and save it. When you half of the water out, remove the rock trying to keep it under water as much as possible. Then catch the fish and then drain out the rest of the water. When you get near the bottom the water is going to be fouled by the detritus and that water should not be reused. Since you are only 20 minutes away you shouldn't need heaters during the move but you should add heaters (and an airstone if you have one) to the containers with the fish and corals as soon as you get home. Add the rock first (I like to place a piece of egg crate down at the bottom of the tank before adding rock), then 50% of the water, then the new sand and then fill the tank with water. Finally the fish and corals. Best of luck!

Neokane · 03/14/2013, 10:09 PM

90 gal..

CoryMc42 · 03/15/2013, 02:42 AM

is the tank? 5 gallon buckets are your best friend, trying to move much more at a time is a back strain waiting to happen. If you have a few clean ice chests they are great to use as they help keep the water, fish and corals warm. Plan on a long day, trust me it takes at least twice as long as you think to move a tank. Have premixed and heated saltwater on hand ready for use before you start the move. Be sure to have at least 50% of the tanks water volume of new saltwater. I would not try to reuse the sand, it is bound to have a lot of trapped detritus and likely phosphates and nitrates in it, you are better to start with new dry sand. Be sure to wash it the day before the move and just leave it in RO/DI water. Siphon out as much of the old tank water as possible and save it. When you half of the water out, remove the rock trying to keep it under water as much as possible. Then catch the fish and then drain out the rest of the water. When you get near the bottom the water is going to be fouled by the detritus and that water should not be reused. Since you are only 20 minutes away you shouldn't need heaters during the move but you should add heaters (and an airstone if you have one) to the containers with the fish and corals as soon as you get home. Add the rock first (I like to place a piece of egg crate down at the bottom of the tank before adding rock), then 50% of the water, then the new sand and then fill the tank with water. Finally the fish and corals. Best of luck!

I can only speak from my begginner experience ( which is not much)
I agree completely with thegrun 5 gallon buckets worked absolutely great when moving my 75 with live rock and fish. I got it from a friend who has way more knowledge I. The area than me. I too live twenty or so minutes from my friend.

nynick · 03/15/2013, 07:49 AM

Are you planning on reusing the substrate? If so you will have to clean it extremely well but frankly, I would get fresh sand. This way you can have it clean and ready when your tank arrives too. A thorough cleaning of 100ish Lb of sand takes quite a while and many, many things can go wrong still.

You also have some articles on the net on how to transport substrate "undisturbed" ...lol.... suuuure.

SaltLifeBob · 03/15/2013, 08:01 AM

picked up a dozen plasic tubs with lids from Menards for $4.00 apiece and you can get 10 gallons of water and a few corals in each ,put the fish in a bucket with a battery bubbler and put a heater in as soon as you get home .. drove 3 hours broke the tank down ,drove 3 hours back and carried everything in and had tank back 2gether and running with fish 9.00 p.m. same day .. We used an enclosed Box truck so things did'nt get real cold but it was 30 degrees & sno the day we did it ..good luck and post some pics

Cymonous · 03/15/2013, 08:16 AM

You don't have to bring back all or even most of the water from this tank. You just need enough for the rocks, coral and fish. You probably can just do the buckets since they are not that much and they would be easier to carry. Just pre-make your own saltwater at home. Even if you did get most of the water from this tank, you will still need top-off saltwater to fill the rest of the tank. So, might as well get the min water and not worry about carrying it all back with you. I did my move with a 32g brute. I had it maybe 1/4 way filled with all of my rock, fish and most of the water. It was pretty heavy to carry by myself and I'm not a weak guy. I think it was harder to carry and try to keep it steady at the same time.

Neokane · 03/15/2013, 09:14 AM

Well the deal is done. Have a week and a couple days before everthing gets moved..

Got a 90 gal tank/stand
2 radion xr30w's (gen 1's)
1 Vortech Mp40w
1 Eshopps S120
1 Aqueaon ProFlex Sump Model 3 w/ light
1 Viaaqua titanium heater 300-watt
a rio 2500 return pump

plus 2 clowns, a blue tang, a chromis, a 6 line wrasse, an anemone, a sea urchin, and misc other creatures.
plus chems, food, boxes, salt, etc.

I thought I did well for 2800

nynick · 03/15/2013, 09:39 AM

Not bad at all! You might wanna do a little reading up on the 6 line, they can be little bastards

Having said that I had one in an old tank and he was a model citizen but there are people that have had them go rambo in the tank. In a thread here on RC about which fish you regret having gotten the most, 6 line is Nr1, by far.

Neokane · 03/15/2013, 10:05 AM

I will read up on him.. in the mean time keep a close eye.. I am thinking of upgrading the Eshopps 120 to a Aqua C-EV180 though..

Sk8r · 03/15/2013, 11:32 AM

Step one: get a cheap tank to use as a qt, use the ato on it meanwhile, jump screen it, heat it, and use a cheap floss filter you can change daily. (Pillow floss works: see your fabric store.) Use new salt water. Have a bottle of amquel handy. And have that tank large enough for all fish and inverts.

Step two. Use the water to wash your sand of gross brown dirt, toss the water, set up the rock first, then old sand, and fill with new salt water; add in any corals you don't have room for in the fish quarantine, especially softies and lps: they're tough. Expect it to cycle mildly in about a week, maybe a little longer. Once it cycles, move inverts in, and if they survive, move in one of the smaller fish. Every few days, you can add in another fish. Reason? YOur sandbed will take time to build to full ability. Go slow. Don't overwhelm it.

At no time during this process should you feed generously. Be stingy. Very. Clean water matters more.

HTH.

03/14/2013, 09:13 PM	#1
Neokane Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Iowa Posts: 166	Found a used setup... Now, transportation Ok, So I found a tank that is already set up.. Looks promising, but it brings up the question: What will be the best way to get everything from point A to point B (which is about a 15 mile drive or 20 minutes.. Lately it has been in the 30-40 degress for a high during the day.. My though process is: Get 2 brute force trash cans that many people use to mix and store RODI water in. Empty the existing water into the can to a safe level for transport, while keeping all the fish in one can, put all the live rock in the other. load the truck with all the equipment. Make it home as quickly as possible while trying to lose the least amount of water. Assembly tank, and equipment. Start with can that holds water and rock, aquascape as necessary transplant fish, and remaining water. Cross fingers, double check equipment etc. This sound safe and promising?

03/14/2013, 09:55 PM	#2
Slystone Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: WI Posts: 258	Put powerhead in each trash can. Heater in both, but if you only have one put it with thefish. __________________ Nemomma (><((('> 28 gal nano cube, Rapid LED Retrofit, 50# LR 40# LS 2 ocellaris, yellow watchman goby. Firefish, yellow accessor

03/15/2013, 08:16 AM	#8
Cymonous My Clown Attacks Me Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Akron, OH Posts: 2,105	You don't have to bring back all or even most of the water from this tank. You just need enough for the rocks, coral and fish. You probably can just do the buckets since they are not that much and they would be easier to carry. Just pre-make your own saltwater at home. Even if you did get most of the water from this tank, you will still need top-off saltwater to fill the rest of the tank. So, might as well get the min water and not worry about carrying it all back with you. I did my move with a 32g brute. I had it maybe 1/4 way filled with all of my rock, fish and most of the water. It was pretty heavy to carry by myself and I'm not a weak guy. I think it was harder to carry and try to keep it steady at the same time. __________________ 100 Gallon Long with 20L sump 10 Gallon Office Tank Current Tank Info: 2 False Percula Clowns, One Spot Foxface, Diamond Watchman Goby, Yellow Tail Damsel, Engineer Goby

03/15/2013, 11:32 AM	#12
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Step one: get a cheap tank to use as a qt, use the ato on it meanwhile, jump screen it, heat it, and use a cheap floss filter you can change daily. (Pillow floss works: see your fabric store.) Use new salt water. Have a bottle of amquel handy. And have that tank large enough for all fish and inverts. Step two. Use the water to wash your sand of gross brown dirt, toss the water, set up the rock first, then old sand, and fill with new salt water; add in any corals you don't have room for in the fish quarantine, especially softies and lps: they're tough. Expect it to cycle mildly in about a week, maybe a little longer. Once it cycles, move inverts in, and if they survive, move in one of the smaller fish. Every few days, you can add in another fish. Reason? YOur sandbed will take time to build to full ability. Go slow. Don't overwhelm it. At no time during this process should you feed generously. Be stingy. Very. Clean water matters more. HTH. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/14/2013, 09:58 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	How big is the tank? 5 gallon buckets are your best friend, trying to move much more at a time is a back strain waiting to happen. If you have a few clean ice chests they are great to use as they help keep the water, fish and corals warm. Plan on a long day, trust me it takes at least twice as long as you think to move a tank. Have premixed and heated saltwater on hand ready for use before you start the move. Be sure to have at least 50% of the tanks water volume of new saltwater. I would not try to reuse the sand, it is bound to have a lot of trapped detritus and likely phosphates and nitrates in it, you are better to start with new dry sand. Be sure to wash it the day before the move and just leave it in RO/DI water. Siphon out as much of the old tank water as possible and save it. When you half of the water out, remove the rock trying to keep it under water as much as possible. Then catch the fish and then drain out the rest of the water. When you get near the bottom the water is going to be fouled by the detritus and that water should not be reused. Since you are only 20 minutes away you shouldn't need heaters during the move but you should add heaters (and an airstone if you have one) to the containers with the fish and corals as soon as you get home. Add the rock first (I like to place a piece of egg crate down at the bottom of the tank before adding rock), then 50% of the water, then the new sand and then fill the tank with water. Finally the fish and corals. Best of luck!

03/14/2013, 10:09 PM	#4
Neokane Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Iowa Posts: 166	90 gal..

03/15/2013, 02:42 AM	#5
CoryMc42 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 24	is the tank? 5 gallon buckets are your best friend, trying to move much more at a time is a back strain waiting to happen. If you have a few clean ice chests they are great to use as they help keep the water, fish and corals warm. Plan on a long day, trust me it takes at least twice as long as you think to move a tank. Have premixed and heated saltwater on hand ready for use before you start the move. Be sure to have at least 50% of the tanks water volume of new saltwater. I would not try to reuse the sand, it is bound to have a lot of trapped detritus and likely phosphates and nitrates in it, you are better to start with new dry sand. Be sure to wash it the day before the move and just leave it in RO/DI water. Siphon out as much of the old tank water as possible and save it. When you half of the water out, remove the rock trying to keep it under water as much as possible. Then catch the fish and then drain out the rest of the water. When you get near the bottom the water is going to be fouled by the detritus and that water should not be reused. Since you are only 20 minutes away you shouldn't need heaters during the move but you should add heaters (and an airstone if you have one) to the containers with the fish and corals as soon as you get home. Add the rock first (I like to place a piece of egg crate down at the bottom of the tank before adding rock), then 50% of the water, then the new sand and then fill the tank with water. Finally the fish and corals. Best of luck! I can only speak from my begginner experience ( which is not much) I agree completely with thegrun 5 gallon buckets worked absolutely great when moving my 75 with live rock and fish. I got it from a friend who has way more knowledge I. The area than me. I too live twenty or so minutes from my friend.

03/15/2013, 07:49 AM	#6
nynick Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,029	Are you planning on reusing the substrate? If so you will have to clean it extremely well but frankly, I would get fresh sand. This way you can have it clean and ready when your tank arrives too. A thorough cleaning of 100ish Lb of sand takes quite a while and many, many things can go wrong still. You also have some articles on the net on how to transport substrate "undisturbed" ...lol.... suuuure.

03/15/2013, 08:01 AM	#7
SaltLifeBob Moved On Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 60	picked up a dozen plasic tubs with lids from Menards for $4.00 apiece and you can get 10 gallons of water and a few corals in each ,put the fish in a bucket with a battery bubbler and put a heater in as soon as you get home .. drove 3 hours broke the tank down ,drove 3 hours back and carried everything in and had tank back 2gether and running with fish 9.00 p.m. same day .. We used an enclosed Box truck so things did'nt get real cold but it was 30 degrees & sno the day we did it ..good luck and post some pics

03/15/2013, 09:14 AM	#9
Neokane Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Iowa Posts: 166	Well the deal is done. Have a week and a couple days before everthing gets moved.. Got a 90 gal tank/stand 2 radion xr30w's (gen 1's) 1 Vortech Mp40w 1 Eshopps S120 1 Aqueaon ProFlex Sump Model 3 w/ light 1 Viaaqua titanium heater 300-watt a rio 2500 return pump plus 2 clowns, a blue tang, a chromis, a 6 line wrasse, an anemone, a sea urchin, and misc other creatures. plus chems, food, boxes, salt, etc. I thought I did well for 2800

03/15/2013, 09:39 AM	#10
nynick Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,029	Not bad at all! You might wanna do a little reading up on the 6 line, they can be little bastards Having said that I had one in an old tank and he was a model citizen but there are people that have had them go rambo in the tank. In a thread here on RC about which fish you regret having gotten the most, 6 line is Nr1, by far.

03/15/2013, 10:05 AM	#11
Neokane Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Iowa Posts: 166	I will read up on him.. in the mean time keep a close eye.. I am thinking of upgrading the Eshopps 120 to a Aqua C-EV180 though..