moving avice

[spsrookie]

I am getting an established 75 gallon tank on friday.

Right now I have about 50 gallons of ro water being made.

Should I use all new water, or should i just bring as much of old water as i can , and use new for the difference.

Any other advice would be apprecaited.

As of now, the plan is to move everything in one day, coral and fish in buckets, new sand, keep rock wet. Its supposed to be in the 20's outside when I do this.

 

[iluvmyfishes]

I usually set up a holding tank to move all the life stock in to while I am moving the tank. That way I can break the tank down, clean everything and set it up again and I do not have to rush it. I use the old water for the holding tank, (use multiple 5 gal buckets with old water for transporting livestock and water and dump all the buckets in the holding tank, or keep them separate if you can get the tank set up quickly) Once the tank is set up you can dump all the original water with the livestock back in (acclimate livestock if needed of course). I usually play it by ear because you never know if the tank will need to be recycled until you break it down and see how dirty everything is. Last time I moved my 150 gal I ended up bleaching my rock due to algae growth and my fish were in the holding tank for 3 weeks while I recycled. But it was great to have my tank so clean again.

 

[A.Astore]

I second the holding tank for a larger size tank. You just never know if there is going to be a major cycle occur when the sand bed starts to move around. If you already have a holding tank in place and it does cause a cycle you are not in a bind to set one up on a whim. Now, with that said, when we were not as well educated and took the time to research, we moved a 55 gallon FOWLR live stock in buckets and used all of the original water. Did we get lucky considering the sand condition? That is a very solid YES! I don't know how we managed to have those fish live through that transfer because I can almost guarantee that water was a disaster for a few days. If you don't plan to have a holding tank I would definitely be ready with a lot of clean water to do multiple water changes to keep the parms in check.

 

[Sk8r]

YOu can expect about a 5 day cycle which would harm fish. Rocks with corals are ok to go in (hardy corals protect themselves); but fish, no. Must have a holding tank. Best to toss the sand and go with new, or prepare to wash sand for hours and hours, which is a pain in winter.

 

[thegrun]

I would not reuse the sand, it will contain a lot of trapped detritus that if released could start a new cycle, killing off all your livestock. Start fresh with dry sand. Be sure to wash the sand well before using it. To wash the sand place 5 pounds or so at a time in a 5 gallon bucket. Use a garden hose at full flow to agitate the sand. The finer grains of sand will overflow the top of the bucket, leaving the larger grains behind. Continue to agitate the water until it runs clear. I would not use "live" sand as it can contain more dead than live organisms and has the potential to start a new cycle (and cost more to purchase since you are paying for water). Try to reuse as much clean water from the old system as possible to lessen the shock of new water chemistry on your livestock. Once the water from the old tank starts to get murky from stirred up detritus, don't reuse that water. Have plenty of new premade and preheated saltwater on hand to make up for the lost water. I would plan on pre-making 50% of your display tank's volume and have it ready for use. 5 gallon buckets with lids are your best friend for a tank move. Anything larger becomes very heavy to move, although for longer moves ice chests work well at maintaining water temperatures. You can use bubble wrap to help keep your rock with corals attached from being smashed against the sides of the buckets during transport. Start by filling three buckets 1/3 with water from the tank and then add the rock from the system to one of the buckets. Continue filling buckets first with water, then rock until you have removed all the rock. Save a couple of half full buckets of clean water from the tank for the fish. Once all the rock has been removed, the fish should be easy to catch. Some fish will burrow into the sand to hide so if you come up short on your fish count you may need to sift through the sand to find the missing fish. Once you have everything back at your home and the tank in place, first set up your rock. Try to minimize the amount of time the rock is out of the water. If aquascaping the rock takes you awhile, pour some of the saltwater from the old set-up on the rock to keep it wet. Once the rock is set fill the tank with all the old water and whatever new water is necessary. You can just dump the fish directly from the buckets into the new tank to prevent injuring the fish or adding stress to the fish by netting them. Then start circulating the water, get the heaters running and the rest of the equipment. Tank moves take much longer than one would first suspect. Plan on a very long day. Best of luck and keep us posted with your results!

 

[sticky polyps]

Recently moved my 65. Was planning on moving the tank and have it running on the same in the new location since my new place was only about 45 minutes away. I had my LFS owner hold my fish and coral. Breaking down my tank was such a pain that setting it up the same day, however feasible, was to much(had moved everything else in the house the previous day).
I ended up taking my time setting the tank back up, cleaning it, scrubbing and curing the rock, cord management...etc. glad I didn't rush setting it back up.
I understand that this may not be a luxury you have.

 

[spsrookie]

Thank you all kindly for the advice. I have had tanks since the mid 90s, just never had to relocate one. Finally bought my own house, had to sell of my two tanks to pay for the closing cost, and now have the opportunity to get this tank. It has a purple tang, along with other nice fish, so I am trying to do this without issue.

My plan, with input from you guys hopes to be like this....

1. Pick up my dads truck, which Ill use for the move, Go to guys house, remove coral and whatever rock is far enough from bottom to not stir up the bottom.

Next siphon out 15 or so gallons of clean water from the collum. By clean, I mean not having been stirred up just yet.

Next remove the remaining rock, and then the fish. Siphon the rest of the water out and discard.

Load everything into the truck, including the sand. (dont want to get sand and detritus on the guys floor)

Get back to my house, remove all sand, rinse tank down with some ro water, place in new sand, then fill the 15 gallons I took, and then add the remaining new saltwater, already heated.

Aquascape as best I can (hopefully there is some visibility. Prob should place rock in first before water) Fill with the old 15, then the rest with new.

I have tank running, no leaks, temp up to par, acclimate livestock, and cross my fingers.

I have ro water made, i slowly added salt in, so by the time friday comes, it willl have a few days age in it, plus being aerate with maxijet.

Any advice, for getting new sand, to stay visible in the tank, so I can scape?

I know under normal conditions, you place it in and wait the few days for it to clear up, being fish or coral are not of concern for months after that anyhow.

Thanks

 

[thegrun]

A few things that will make the day go easier:
-Wash the new sand a day or two before the move so you do not have to spend time washing it the day of the move, you are going to have a long enough of a day without washing sand.
-Do place the rock before you add the sand so the rock sits on the bottom of the tank, you do not want is sitting on top of the sand or eventually the rock will shift and you risk a rock slide. I like to place a piece of plastic egg crate down first before the rock to help anchor the rock in place.
-I think you will be able to save more than 15 gallons of water from the old system, the more the better to reduce the stress on the livestock. If the move is far use ice chests to transport the livestock in to help hold the temperature.

 

[DrBoxedWine]

I actually just bought an established 155 and had to move it. Granted this one was bigger than yours, but i'd imagine some of what I experienced will still apply...

I would have to agree on the holding tank. It was a major task to break it down and move it. Reef tanks have so much equipment. By the time I got home that night, I was too exhausted to even go through what I had bought, let alone actually set it up. I've been setting it up, probably averaging an hour a day for the past several weeks. However, If you're intent on setting it up all in one day, definitely have at least one person to help you. I brought a friend, and it would have taken twice as long without him. Even 2 friends wouldn't be overkill.

As for adding the sand without a sand storm, get a 3" piece of pvc, and look for an adapter that would connect it to an even bigger pipe. Use the adapter as a funnel, and add the sand at the top and put the bottom of the pipe at the bottom of the tank. I did this once and it worked really well.

Best of luck!

 

[spsrookie]

So the move took place Friday, 48 hours ago, and so far one loss, an anthias, which died in transit.

All fish are alive, and all corals , seem fine. There is a green leather tree stalk, xenia, mushrooms, and a rose bubble tip anenome.

I tested ammonia tonight, with api liquid test kit, and it read .25. I am thinking this is a false reading, because, the two shrimp i have, along with hermits and snails, are doing fine, and there are no signs of laboring from the fish. I would have thought .25 would start showing signs in the fish.

 

[thegrun]

API is notorious for showing an ammonia reading of 0.25 when there is no ammonia present.

 

[spsrookie]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Would you get seachem prime tomorrow and throw some in there, or stability bacteria?

 

[thegrun]

Prime would be a safe bet, I don't see the need for the bacteria, your live rock will quickly be up to speed if it isn't already.