Hi all, i am moving and i need some advice on how to move my 55 reef tank i have lots of live rock and lots of corals and several fish i am very nervous about moving this thing i am only moving like 20 minutes away but i have no clue how to go about it any help would really be appreciated Thanks, Shane
Moving my tank
- Thread starter dsumm
- Start date
Hey Shane,
Basically get lots of containers and have plenty(more than you think you will need) of extra seawater mixed up before hand. Fill the containers, but not all the way for moving ease and to keep sloshing down, with clean tank water and then take corals, then rock and then fish and place in the containers. It's impornt to get as much clean water out as you can before you start stirring things up IMO but I have seen several people use all new water and be fine. If you have a sandbed IMO it will need to be thrown away and replaced. Keep only the top 1/2" if you wish to try to preserve some of the life in it. Then move the tank and go in reverse. If you use new sand I would wash it well, place it in the tank and then pour water over a plate or plastic bag to keep from clouding up the water too bad.
hth, Chris
Basically get lots of containers and have plenty(more than you think you will need) of extra seawater mixed up before hand. Fill the containers, but not all the way for moving ease and to keep sloshing down, with clean tank water and then take corals, then rock and then fish and place in the containers. It's impornt to get as much clean water out as you can before you start stirring things up IMO but I have seen several people use all new water and be fine. If you have a sandbed IMO it will need to be thrown away and replaced. Keep only the top 1/2" if you wish to try to preserve some of the life in it. Then move the tank and go in reverse. If you use new sand I would wash it well, place it in the tank and then pour water over a plate or plastic bag to keep from clouding up the water too bad.
hth, Chris
greystreet41
In Memoriam
what he said. I have moved my tank 3 times the past year and have a shallow sand bed and kept it intact each time with no ill effects fwiw. Minimzing the "stir up" is the key I guess if you intend to keep your sandbed.
gflat65
New member
When are you moving and where are you? I'm sure you could drum up some support.
To add to what Chris said, use towels and lids over the large containter (rubbermaid) to keep the sloshing down and the water out of your car. Put the containers in lenghthwise (along width of car) as this will reduce sloshing, too. I pull all equipment first so the corals and fish aren't 'out of water' too long. Like Chris said, I drain some water first. Then I start pulling coral and putting them in one tub and rock in another. The fish can ride either with the coral or in a separate smaller bin. When you get to the new house, put the rock in first (unless replacing sand bed) so you can see how you want it stacked. Once the rock is kind of like you want it, start pumping water into the tank and let the discharge of the pump (or if manually, the bucket you are dumping from) go over/through rocks to reduce stirring up the sand bed. Plastic sheeting can help here, too (though I've never used it). Thens start loading the corals and fish back in. If it looks like there may be a slightly extended time frame between removing and getting the corals and fish back into the tank, run a power head and possibly a heater. That will buy you just about all the time you'd need. Don't plug the heater in until it is completely submerged, or it will crack and shock the crap out of anythign touching the water. This is probably the most common mistake I see made in moving.
Hope that helps.
To add to what Chris said, use towels and lids over the large containter (rubbermaid) to keep the sloshing down and the water out of your car. Put the containers in lenghthwise (along width of car) as this will reduce sloshing, too. I pull all equipment first so the corals and fish aren't 'out of water' too long. Like Chris said, I drain some water first. Then I start pulling coral and putting them in one tub and rock in another. The fish can ride either with the coral or in a separate smaller bin. When you get to the new house, put the rock in first (unless replacing sand bed) so you can see how you want it stacked. Once the rock is kind of like you want it, start pumping water into the tank and let the discharge of the pump (or if manually, the bucket you are dumping from) go over/through rocks to reduce stirring up the sand bed. Plastic sheeting can help here, too (though I've never used it). Thens start loading the corals and fish back in. If it looks like there may be a slightly extended time frame between removing and getting the corals and fish back into the tank, run a power head and possibly a heater. That will buy you just about all the time you'd need. Don't plug the heater in until it is completely submerged, or it will crack and shock the crap out of anythign touching the water. This is probably the most common mistake I see made in moving.
Hope that helps.
