Moving an Aquarium

[mdhnatow]

Hey guys,
Im planning on moving my 30 gallon to a new home about 2 hours away. I've been planning this for awhile but I wanted to present my plan and see if its ok and get some feedback if its not. The good thing is that its only 30 gallons and I have very hardy livestock! Here's the plan:

My 30 gallon DT and 20 gallon sump have about 40-45 gallons of water.

To breakdown the tank:
I will siphon the water into 5 rubbermaid tubs. This should come out to a manageable 70 ish pounds per tub. In two I will put some LR for some temporary filtration for my livestock. Between those two tubs, I will split up my damsels and clownfish. I will dig around to salvage most of my clean up crew. The rest of my rocks and sand will be divided between the remaining tubs.

In transit the temperature will be managed by ambient temperature in my truck. Aeration will be provided by my airpump driven by my power inverter.

Drive two hours. (splash splash)

To set up everything:
Wipe down the tank and sump. Re-plumb everything. Rinse the sand and rocks. Aquascape. Add water. Re adjust temp, check for leaks, run pumps. Add livestock! I will have about 10 gallons of water ready to go, just in case I need it when setting up.

Ok so thats the ideal situation... Am I missing something? Anything that I should watch out for?

 

[anbosu]

For a tank that small I would probably just start with a new sand bed. Too many bad things can happen trying to re-use the sand.

 

[James404]

I would not put the fish in the same tubs as your rock, all it takes is one rock to shift and kill one of them. Bag up your fish, they will be fine for the 2 hour drive, they survive in bags overnight when shipped.

 

[mdhnatow]

Thanks for the advice, I was wondering... what exactly are the problems that come from reusing the sand bed? I have always heard that it can cause problems but what are they?

Is it the release of anaerobic bacteria that die when exposed?
Is it the release of detritus?

 

[cloak]

You shouldn't have any problems reusing a sandbed that's only 3 months old IMO. Just stir it up and then pour off the muck. Piece of cake. You might have to do this 3 or 4 times though. Try to use some of the old saltwater for this if you can. You'll want to preserve all that bacteria.

 

[kidkams]

when i move my tanks i dont take out the sand i simply leave just enough water to cover the sand.

and also i agree dont put your fish in with your rocks, i sometimes put the larger ones in plastic containters, smaller ones in bags and float then put those in a bucket that just has water in it cover it and they're ready to go never lost anything that way

 

[anbosu]

Thanks for the advice, I was wondering... what exactly are the problems that come from reusing the sand bed? I have always heard that it can cause problems but what are they?

Is it the release of anaerobic bacteria that die when exposed?
Is it the release of detritus?

I think a little bit of both. I nuked my reef when I moved it across the room because I stirred up the sandbed, so I am probably overly cautious.

 

[IslandCrow]

I would not put the fish in the same tubs as your rock, all it takes is one rock to shift and kill one of them. Bag up your fish, they will be fine for the 2 hour drive, they survive in bags overnight when shipped.

I'll 3rd this statement. I lost a beautiful Mystery Wrasse with a similar maneuver. On my next move, I just put my fish in a 5g bucket. Otherwise, your plan sounds fine, if possibly slightly over complicated. I wouldn't worry about aeration. I've moved a 46g twice on a 6+ hr road trip, and didn't worry about aeration. I figured if we can mail fish in a tiny bag, my fish can survive in a much larger container for 6 hours or so (ended up being more like 12 after I got everything set up). For the sand bed, if your tank is indeed only 3 or so months old, I'd just re-use it. I've re-used a 6 month sandbed with no issues. . .not even the slightest nitrate spike. Not that that's proof of anything, but I just can't see such a young sandbed being an issue.

 

[dublo8]

I just moved my 20 gallon a couple months ago. Get some of those buckets with the lids from HD or lowes for your fish and left over water. I re-used my sand, some people may tell you not too but I gave it a good rinse in the old SW before I used it and it was fine. you have to be pretty orchestrated when you move though. I did mine in 1 trip and was setting everything up within an hour of arriving at our new home.