Moving and I Need Advice Please

[Reef Moss]

We are moving in February and I have a 75 gallon very established reef tank with fish. when we move I am going to take all of the current water to use. My question is the substrate, is it best to:

1. leave about 2 inches of water and transport with the current substrate? And if so can I add more substrate on top of the old, I really want a thicker base (currently 1").

OR

2. should I abandoned the old substate and just use new aragonite. I hate to do this because I will lose a lot of critters Amphipods and the such.

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Shelley

 

[Bruce51]

save a couple gallons of the sand to seed the new sand bed...the rest toss

 

[WVfishguy]

I used to move 75's in my sleep.

Take out the substrate while the tank is full of water. Use a net, scoop up the substrate, let the water flow through it, the sand (or whatever) will be clean enough to use in the new tank. Keep it and the rocks moist, it will still be "live."

Pre-mix water at the new locations, put sand and rocks in, fill with new water. When temps are right, toss in fish.

People make too big a deal over moving tanks. I don't even know how many I've relocated. My 14-year-old stepdaughter completely broke down my 125 FOWLER, transferred rock and sand, and dragged the tank and stand across the basement.

 

[Reef Moss]

Hello WVfishguy,

Can I add some additional substrate?

Regards,
Shelley

 

[Timfish]

. . . People make too big a deal over moving tanks. I don't even know how many i've relocated. . .

+1

 

[WVfishguy]

Hello WVfishguy,

Can I add some additional substrate?

Regards,
Shelley

Of course. What I usually did was to move the old substrate to one side, put the new sand on the other side, then put a small layer of old stuff over the new. But if it's just a small amount of added substrate, just pour it over the old stuff, gently mix it up a little. No big deal either way.

 

[wrott]

If you're going just a few hrs away:
The rule to not keep sand is that it has so much nitrogenous waste that disturbing it will nuke a new set-up. You can rinse it, or use new--i'd use new.
Keep LR under water in 5g buckets--tape lids down w/ duct tape--it will stay alive for a couple of days at 60-80F.
Fish need an air-stone and heater for 5-10hrs travel time to keep them happy.

 

[CAPT_Dave]

There's really no such thing as new sand. There's clean and dirty but it's all been around for a while.

I would save maybe 10% of it as is in old tank water and thoroughly wash the rest in fresh water. Put 3 or 4 inches in a 5 gallon bucket, put a hose in there and rinse until the water overflows clear. Repeat until you're done. Now your "old" sand is "new." Mix in the 10% you saved in old tank water to seed new life and you're ready to go. If you keep your rocks wet I'd say there is little risk of a cycle but you can always add a bottle of bacteria.


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