Cross-country move - saving rock?

[artful13dodger]

Greetings,

I will be moving in about a month, South Florida to Denver. I will be selling or donating livestock before the move. I will be selling tank and stand, and keeping all the equipment for the new setup. Most of the equipment is oversized and I will be going bigger on the tank after the move (currently a 75G).

I would like to save the rock and a few scoops of sand. Some rock will get sold because it has colonies, but maybe half of it will come with (no colonies, or can be removed). I started with dry rock so it was a long cycle, and want to shorten it next time (obviously, with a bigger tank and some new rock, there will be some cycle).

How should I transport so that I’m not doing more harm than good? Just a few 5-gallon buckets? If it’s just live rock, does it need heat/aeration?

I’m figuring 5-8 days in U-Haul all told. Once arrived, I’ll keep in holding tank with heater and pumps until new tank arrives.

Thanks in advance.

 

[moondoggy4]

It will be difficult to keep the rock live, you will need air and heat, if the sponges die the rock will die as well. Then you will have to cycle it again.

 

[artful13dodger]

It will be difficult to keep the rock live, you will need air and heat, if the sponges die the rock will die as well. Then you will have to cycle it again.

Interesting. Would it be better to start from scratch on the other side? In other words, would any bacteria survive that would outweigh harm from putting in rock that may also have die off?

 

[Sk8r]

Just keep it wet and don't let it freeze. The interior of the rock has vesicules that will harbor bacteria, and it reacts very slowly to outside conditions. I received lovely rock in a snowstorm that arrived very cold, wrapped in newspaper, in the open back of a pickup, about a 20 mile trip, and was crawling with life in a week. Cold is less to fear than heat. Heat will render a stinking mess. As for crosscountry, I managed to get 4 angels (freshwater,) a piranha, and uncounted guppies from Baltimore to OKC in a 3 day trip by car. Winter can be dicey, and sub zero, all bets are off, but you might even try a penn-plax bubbler on batteries during the trip if you take the southern route via I-40 and come up to Denver via I-25 out of NM, which keeps you (or would in any normal year) in fairly moderate winter temperatures. Though frankly I'd say you're better off wrapping it in thick sodden newspaper and forgetting the bubbler.

 

[cody6766]

You'll see a lot of die off, but you'll also save quite a bit of life. I moved a full tank (fish, coral and all) from OKC to Pensacola, then back. The first move was in Feb, the move back was in October. The rock was in buckets full of water in the back of a truck. It got cold, but not below about 40'ish degrees. There was some cycle when I re-established the tanks, but it was minimal.

For your timeline, I'd go one of two ways.
The first is more simple. I'd put the rock in 5g buckets full of tank water and start the move. Once you get there, change the water in the buckets from time to time and keep as much alive as possible.
The second is a little more complicated. Rock still goes into buckets with water, but you work to keep the water oxygenated and warm'ish. Try to keep the water around room temp, add a bubbler or work in water changes, work in a heater if practical.

If I was moving in your timeline, I'd go with option one. Rock in buckets, water on rock, minimize cold snaps as much as is convenient. When you get where you're going, change the water and work to keep it around room temp and avoid stagnation. When restarting the tank, expect some cycle. It'll be better than starting from scratch.

 

[Imaexpat2]

When I made a move from the Seattle area to Dallas I used 5 gallon buckets and ran an Air Pump off a Inverter from my cigarette lighter outlet for circulation and oxygen. The Temp at the time was a little on the cold side up north and a little on the warm side down south obviously but I used the AC and Heater in the car to try and keep the temp as close to 78 as I could. Everything seem to make it just fine although I did make the drive pretty much non stop except for a brief stop in Wyoming when the water pump on my car went south on me. When I set up the tank at the new place I had a minor cycle but nothing that would have been a typical cycle on a completely new set up.

That worked for me YMMV...

 

[artful13dodger]

Thanks for the replies.

I was leaning towards, and am planning to go with this:

If I was moving in your timeline, I'd go with option one. Rock in buckets, water on rock, minimize cold snaps as much as is convenient. When you get where you're going, change the water and work to keep it around room temp and avoid stagnation. When restarting the tank, expect some cycle. It'll be better than starting from scratch.

Sk8tr's suggestion was similar. I may cut back on the amount I am moving so that I can keep in the car or truck cab for temperature reasons, and add some aeration at the motel stops along the way.

 

[Sk8r]

Also, do everything you can to stabilize those buckets in the cab. Water is a lively load in an emergency braking and continues to slosh and react in a way a solid doesn't. Learned that one on I-35.

 

[mrpizzaface]

I have never moved live rock, but have moved lots of fish. I like using cheap coolers, they tend to have larger footprints and are easy to strap down.