jeffltodd
Member
I successfully moved my aquarium and thought I would share how I did it just in case anyone can use some of my suggestions or offer any other "best practices" for my 2nd move.
This is a 2-part move. Part 1 is complete and I moved it to my friends house. I will move it again in about 6 weeks time.
WHAT I HAVE -
72 Gallon All-Glass Bowfront Aquarium w/ glass tops
Stand with smoked glass door
Canopy
Power Compact lights
Plexiglass sump w/ Protein skimmer and heater in sump
85# of live rock
asst. snails, hermits, emeralds and one coral banded shrimp
In mentally preparing myself for this task, I decided I wanted to save as much water as possible and do this in one day/night. I knew I was fortunate because I did not have any fish to catch and no corals to think about moving. Fish just would have been an added headache to catch. Corals I probably would have had more plastic containers to place in with water.
WHAT I USED -
2 32-gallon rubbermaid garbage cans w/ lids
2 24-gallon rubbermaid square tubs w/ lids
1 styrofoam ice chest
1 box of gallon size ziploc bags
2 5 gallon jugs
1 5 gallon bucket
Salt mix
Step 1 - START LIKE A WATER CHANGE
When I change my water, I do 15 gallons at a time. I already had the 5 gallon bucket and 5 gallon jugs. I purchased 10 gallons of water from LFS and filled the jugs. I really didn't want to mix any water if I could avoid it. I siphoned the first 15 gallons out, 5-at a time and tossed it.
STEP 2 - REMOVE WATER & ANIMALS
I next began to siphon the water out and fill the garbage cans. While that was going, I started to collect snails and hermits and place them in separate bags. I have difference species of snails, but did not differentiate as I was removing - the same with hermits (blue legs, red legs... all the same to me). I never, ever saw any of the emeralds while I was doing this. I didn't think I would either. I thought they would make it on their own hitchhiking in the rock.
I filled each garbage can half-way with water. I was worred about the weight of lifting them.
STEP 3 - REMOVE ROCK & SAND
I began to remove the rock and place it in the 2-24 gallon tubs. I used one for the small rock (at the top) and the other for larger rock. After I had all the rock removed, I rebalanced the load between the tubs. I still had quite a bit of water, so I added it to the tubs and then some out of the garbage cans to lighten them up.
Next step was to remove as much sand as possible. I just used a small dust pan to scoop it out and I put it in the 5 gallon bucket.
STEP 4 - EQUIPMENT
Since I did not initially set up the aquarium, I was not sure how things were connected. I have 1-out and 1-in in my single, built-in overflow. I checked and sure enough, the hoses were glued in place on the bottom, so I wasn't going to be able to remove the hoses from the tank. I decided to remove the hoses from the sump. YOU WILL NEED LOT OF TOWELS. I had water going everywhere. I removed the tank and let the hoses drag their way to the truck. Now you can't just set it down because with the hoses glued to the bottom, you can damage your plumbing or worse, crack the glass on the bottom where the hoses run thru if you just try to set it down. I used a 4x4 piece of lumber that was about 15" long and set it under the tank so the hoses sticking out were suspended.
The water in the sump was just thrown away. I cleaned up the skimmer, glass tops, etc. Again, just like a water change.
We loaded everything big (tank, stand, sump, garbage cans) in the back of a pick-up and everything else went into the back of an SUV.
STEP 5 - SET UP - IN SEMI-REVERSE ORDER
Setting up went fairly quick. We started with the stand and tank and connecting the sump. We filled the overflow and checked for leaks... sure enough we had one. We played with it until the leak stopped (tightening, untightening, etc.).
Next was to pour in the sand. We just kept adding water to the bucket until the sand all came out. That was followed with water. We chose not to just dump a 30 gallon garbage can of water... instead we used the 5 gallon bucket and filled it inside the garbage can and then poured that into the tank... again YOU WILL NEED LOTS OF TOWELS. After putting all the transported water in the tank, we added the rock. At this point, we could not see because the water was so cloudy, so I just placed the rock so it wasn't falling and figured I would deal with it in a day or so.
After the rock, we added the new water and came up short. I checked the salinity and determined I would need to mix up about 10 gallons of salt water and then add another 5 gallons of fresh. Now I don't use RO and I never have. I have always used tap water treated with prime.
After the water was added, I added the animals. Again, I was not too worried about aclimation since they had already been living in that water. If I had fish or corals, I would have been more cautious. I just dropped them in - snails on one side and crabs on the other. One note about my shrimp - I accidentally hacked off one of its large claws when I was catching in... he went back in one-handed.
STEP 6 - CHECK FOR LEAKS AGAIN
Now I noticed a small leak and began playing with the pipes... it went from a slight drip to a pretty good flow while I was playing around... It took some time to get it back to the slight drip, which has since stopped (love that salt creap). I am going to take a much closer look at this when I move it again in 6 weeks.
TOTAL DISTANCE FOR MOVE = 15 MILES
TOTAL TIME FOR MOVE = 4.5 HOURS
2 PEOPLE
LESSONS LEARNED
#1 - I am getting one of those big blue tarps and going to cut a hole in it the size of my stand, so I can place it over the tank and it will protect the floor from splash overs.
#2 - You can never have enough cheap towels - I really think that you should have at least 10 bathtowels
#3 - I did this in the evening. The next time, I will do it in the morning and plan on having nothing to do that day except make the move. That way if there are leaks - I can be sure I have time to address them.
#4 - The shrimp grew his arm back after 1 week. He molted and now has one claw larger than the other. I have since seen both emeralds and so I know they made the move.
SINCE THE MOVE
I have added 6 assorted damsels. It was the cheapest fish purchase I ever made - $18 for all. It was just so my kind friend can have something to look at besides rock and when I move it again, if I have any casualties - I'm not out like $40 each.
I would love to hear any feedback or personal experiences here.
Thanks for reading!!
This is a 2-part move. Part 1 is complete and I moved it to my friends house. I will move it again in about 6 weeks time.
WHAT I HAVE -
72 Gallon All-Glass Bowfront Aquarium w/ glass tops
Stand with smoked glass door
Canopy
Power Compact lights
Plexiglass sump w/ Protein skimmer and heater in sump
85# of live rock
asst. snails, hermits, emeralds and one coral banded shrimp
In mentally preparing myself for this task, I decided I wanted to save as much water as possible and do this in one day/night. I knew I was fortunate because I did not have any fish to catch and no corals to think about moving. Fish just would have been an added headache to catch. Corals I probably would have had more plastic containers to place in with water.
WHAT I USED -
2 32-gallon rubbermaid garbage cans w/ lids
2 24-gallon rubbermaid square tubs w/ lids
1 styrofoam ice chest
1 box of gallon size ziploc bags
2 5 gallon jugs
1 5 gallon bucket
Salt mix
Step 1 - START LIKE A WATER CHANGE
When I change my water, I do 15 gallons at a time. I already had the 5 gallon bucket and 5 gallon jugs. I purchased 10 gallons of water from LFS and filled the jugs. I really didn't want to mix any water if I could avoid it. I siphoned the first 15 gallons out, 5-at a time and tossed it.
STEP 2 - REMOVE WATER & ANIMALS
I next began to siphon the water out and fill the garbage cans. While that was going, I started to collect snails and hermits and place them in separate bags. I have difference species of snails, but did not differentiate as I was removing - the same with hermits (blue legs, red legs... all the same to me). I never, ever saw any of the emeralds while I was doing this. I didn't think I would either. I thought they would make it on their own hitchhiking in the rock.
I filled each garbage can half-way with water. I was worred about the weight of lifting them.
STEP 3 - REMOVE ROCK & SAND
I began to remove the rock and place it in the 2-24 gallon tubs. I used one for the small rock (at the top) and the other for larger rock. After I had all the rock removed, I rebalanced the load between the tubs. I still had quite a bit of water, so I added it to the tubs and then some out of the garbage cans to lighten them up.
Next step was to remove as much sand as possible. I just used a small dust pan to scoop it out and I put it in the 5 gallon bucket.
STEP 4 - EQUIPMENT
Since I did not initially set up the aquarium, I was not sure how things were connected. I have 1-out and 1-in in my single, built-in overflow. I checked and sure enough, the hoses were glued in place on the bottom, so I wasn't going to be able to remove the hoses from the tank. I decided to remove the hoses from the sump. YOU WILL NEED LOT OF TOWELS. I had water going everywhere. I removed the tank and let the hoses drag their way to the truck. Now you can't just set it down because with the hoses glued to the bottom, you can damage your plumbing or worse, crack the glass on the bottom where the hoses run thru if you just try to set it down. I used a 4x4 piece of lumber that was about 15" long and set it under the tank so the hoses sticking out were suspended.
The water in the sump was just thrown away. I cleaned up the skimmer, glass tops, etc. Again, just like a water change.
We loaded everything big (tank, stand, sump, garbage cans) in the back of a pick-up and everything else went into the back of an SUV.
STEP 5 - SET UP - IN SEMI-REVERSE ORDER
Setting up went fairly quick. We started with the stand and tank and connecting the sump. We filled the overflow and checked for leaks... sure enough we had one. We played with it until the leak stopped (tightening, untightening, etc.).
Next was to pour in the sand. We just kept adding water to the bucket until the sand all came out. That was followed with water. We chose not to just dump a 30 gallon garbage can of water... instead we used the 5 gallon bucket and filled it inside the garbage can and then poured that into the tank... again YOU WILL NEED LOTS OF TOWELS. After putting all the transported water in the tank, we added the rock. At this point, we could not see because the water was so cloudy, so I just placed the rock so it wasn't falling and figured I would deal with it in a day or so.
After the rock, we added the new water and came up short. I checked the salinity and determined I would need to mix up about 10 gallons of salt water and then add another 5 gallons of fresh. Now I don't use RO and I never have. I have always used tap water treated with prime.
After the water was added, I added the animals. Again, I was not too worried about aclimation since they had already been living in that water. If I had fish or corals, I would have been more cautious. I just dropped them in - snails on one side and crabs on the other. One note about my shrimp - I accidentally hacked off one of its large claws when I was catching in... he went back in one-handed.
STEP 6 - CHECK FOR LEAKS AGAIN
Now I noticed a small leak and began playing with the pipes... it went from a slight drip to a pretty good flow while I was playing around... It took some time to get it back to the slight drip, which has since stopped (love that salt creap). I am going to take a much closer look at this when I move it again in 6 weeks.
TOTAL DISTANCE FOR MOVE = 15 MILES
TOTAL TIME FOR MOVE = 4.5 HOURS
2 PEOPLE
LESSONS LEARNED
#1 - I am getting one of those big blue tarps and going to cut a hole in it the size of my stand, so I can place it over the tank and it will protect the floor from splash overs.
#2 - You can never have enough cheap towels - I really think that you should have at least 10 bathtowels
#3 - I did this in the evening. The next time, I will do it in the morning and plan on having nothing to do that day except make the move. That way if there are leaks - I can be sure I have time to address them.
#4 - The shrimp grew his arm back after 1 week. He molted and now has one claw larger than the other. I have since seen both emeralds and so I know they made the move.
SINCE THE MOVE
I have added 6 assorted damsels. It was the cheapest fish purchase I ever made - $18 for all. It was just so my kind friend can have something to look at besides rock and when I move it again, if I have any casualties - I'm not out like $40 each.
I would love to hear any feedback or personal experiences here.
Thanks for reading!!
, i ended up killing everything except my rock.
