Bought a set up tank

[Apartmenttank]

Tank is fully loaded 60 gallon, nice light, sump with skimmer, phosphate reactors, live rock and sand.

Problem is it currently has 4 fish and coral. The fish are 2 snowflake crowns, 1 fire fish and a diamond goby as well as cuc

I'm picking it up by my old apartment(where I still love) and I'm setting it up in my new apartment(1.5 hours away)

My plan is to have my LFS fish sit for a few dollars. Idk if they can take the coral. But I will take everything else to my new apartment and set it up make sure to cycle through any die off during shipping and then pick up my fish.

Any suggestions on all of this? Gonna have 8. 5 gallon bucks with lids, some sort of foam to load the tank into my truck. Straps to keep it from moving.

Anything I'm missing? And suggestions for the coral?

 

[Sk8r]

I'm glad you view the fish and corals at this point as a problem, which they are, and you're doing the right thing by engaging the lfs. If they can't, you have to qt those in a holding tank during setup.
Only thing I can add is that if it's a drilled tank, protect those bulkhead connectors: banging into one or resting on one can crack the glass at worst, or possibly affect the seal of the connector. Protect them and they'll be fine. I had to set my bottom-drilled tank onto a bucket wrapped in moving blankets during an apartment move.

 

[Sapelo]

Add to that: be ready for the unexpected.
Five weeks ago, I brought home a new tank with 8 fish and 4 coral. I was able to put the coral into my old DT but the fish went into QT. I told myself 1 week, 2 max on the replumbing job.
In my experience, if it can go wrong it will.
A few days pet sitting at your LFS probably will not be enough.

(BTW, I LOVE that you still "love" at your old apartment! Ha!

 

[Apartmenttank]

There are 2 good LFS one of them will hold them and I'm willing to pay but idk about the corals. Xenia is one and there is one more I don't know about. Would it be weird to ask them to hold the coral and the rock or should I just set that up now

Was hoping I could do it in 1-2 weeks but I'll have to check ammonia levels and make sure there wasn't crazy die off.

For tank safety I was going to put each side on a foam sheet, I know to wrap rocks in wet newspaper but what should I put that in? Just a random basket?

I will get the rodi unit installed quickly to start making new water. I also have a 150dollar gift card to the LFS if there is something else I need.

 

[Sk8r]

Xenia can actually survive a cycle, but I'm not sure you want it: it's bad about spreading like Johnson Grass. Gift it to the lfs and just let them sell it would be my advice. Do wear gloves and protect your eyes with glasses, even dimestore cheaters, (reading types) because some corals are problematic when wounded, as can happen in a tank move. They can exude serious poison: check out the stickies. It's no big problem, but if you have a hangnail, say, not only wear gloves but rubberband the wrist to keep water out. Not to be scary, but when putting your hands into somebody else's tank, you just don't know what kind of stingy things you could encounter, that even he's forgotten are in there, and the water gets real murky.
Snails and crabs and such probably can live through a moderate cycle, and it could cycle in as few as 5 days if you have enough live rock. I'd sift the sand for live critters like nassarius and conchs, and then toss the sand and get new, either that or wash it until you get something like clear water, then add Prime to remove chlorine, stir to circulate it, and then you're good to use it. If the chlorine kills a lot of bacteria, at least you'll have biomass to drive the cycle.

 

[Keoki18]

Do you have the capacity to move the rocks submersed? I have had experience moving my reef tanks many... many times back and forth from my dorm rooms in college (I couldn't give up my hobby during school!). I always kept my rock submersed to allow for not only some bacterial stability, but also to give the micro-fauna a chance to survive.

Likewise, I always kept the sand bed in the tank and slightly wet. This might not be easy for you seeing as 60 gallons in not a light tank.

I don't think it would be weird for the LFS to hold corals especially because there's not many of them. Just depends on their space.

Will they be keeping your livestock in an isolated system?

 

[Apartmenttank]

I'll use the gift card to get new sand, I plan on doing a 4 inch of fine sand. Other critters is what I am most worried about, like the long worms in the rock as I have seen this can decimate a tank. Even if I have to completely restart this tank I'm still coming up plenty ahead 650 dollars for everything. But I don't want to, what's the best way to check issues in the tank? From the sounds of it this guy is in financial trouble and had to sell but it could be a tank issue that caused the selling.

Also would 10 gallons be enough for a Q tank?

 

[Sk8r]

Oh, no, you WANT the worms. They're a dollar apiece. Even bitsy ones. The only worms you don't want are the ones with conspicuous tentacles on their heads, short, but definitely not legs. Those are eunicids, which are fairly rare. I've never seen one in decades of reefing. But the regular bristleworms, absolutely, keep them. I name my larger ones.

10 gallons is enough for anything that would thrive in a 60.

 

[Apartmenttank]

I was talking about the big ones, but ok I'll keep the little guys.

I can move the rocks submersed I'll just buy more 5 gallon bucks at the hardware store today.

 

[tzylak]

Is mowing the entire tank, still on the stand and with all the critters inside it, an option in your case??
-I moved my 50g established tank all at once by draining 3/4 of the water and removing 1/2 of rocks into buckets to lighten the load. My 3 friends and I did all that in ~4 hours. The next day the tank was back to normal as if nothing happened.
If that's an option to consider I can give you more details on the process.
Good luck

 

[Apartmenttank]

I feel like the whole tank would be a little too much with all of the equipment it would way a lot and the height in the truck bed could be an issue

 

[Apartmenttank]

i bought 200 feet of bubble wrap for the tank and sump, 8 5 gallon buckets and a a bunch of ratchet strap and bungee cords to keep everything from moving.

i plan on putting the fish in a 55 gal bucket, will they all be fine it one?
the coc in another,
all coral in a 3rd,
and every other rock in the last one?

or should i go buy baggies for the fish and coral?

but the fish and coral are going to my LFS for a small charge, the rock and cuc are going to my new place to get them all set up? from my understandng the cuc is a hardy bunch.

 

[Shawn O]

Just put the rocks in the buckets full of water. If a bit of the CUC stays in the rocks, they'll be fine. Couldn't hurt to send the CUC you can catch to the LFS with the fish, if they'll take them.

My LFS sells the same starter packages that walmart does. I bet if you bought a 10gal setup from them they'd let you put whatever you want in it and hold it for you. The 10 gal setup would make a good qt after the move.