moving nano tanks

[zdawgnight]

Hi im new to the whole saltwater nano thing and i was wondering if anyone has much experience with moving thier tanks to different locations. Since im in college I must move my tank about every couple months. If anyone has experience moving tanks your knowledge would be much appreciated. I have the 24gal aquapod with the 70 watt metal halide. I plan on creating a reef tank. Thanks

 

[Agu]

[welcome]

 

[LBCBJ]

Constantly moving your tank will be difficult and stressful for your livestock, but it can be possible to do.

 

[nodbugger]

What I plan on doing is putting the tank on a stand with wheels so I can just move it off. Kind of like the ones schools have that they put tvs or other video equipment on, plenty of room and support for a nano.

Anyway, once you get it into a vehicle I plan on just emptying half the water into a rubber maid container, putting the fish and any corals that don't stay under water in that container. Get two battery powered air pumps, or a converter to run them off the cigarette lighter, and drive away. Just don't take any wild turns.

As long as your drive doesn't take for more 5 or 6 hours you should be good, may need to watch temperatures though, but shorter distances won't change much.

 

[artooman]

given that the aquapod is glass, you need to be very careful transporting the tank when there is a significant amount of water in it. Even with a cart on wheels, you run some risks when moving since a non-level surface can cause the tank to crack. glass is not tolerant to torsion (ie. twisting) and if the cart is on a non-level surface, there will be torsion forces on the glass. If you do move your tank, I would recommend moving the vast majority of the water and stock into a rubbermaid or even a bunch of five gallon buckets with tops. you dont want a lot in the display when you move it. note: this is a huge pain in the butt since you upset everything in the tank with each move, and you need to re-aquascape each time. also, you would need to devote attention *only* to your tank when you move (ie. move tank quickly without worrying about moving the rest of your college stuff) so that you can minmize the amount of time the corals are out of their homes.

i have moved 4 nanos (two glass and two acryllic... all 12ga), and it was a major pain each time. usually, there were two of us. nothing died tough. it can be done.

good luck.

 

[ClarkiiClown]

I moved my 12 gallon, 29 gallon, 50 gallon and 75 gallon tanks to my new house last october. I DONT WANT TO DO IT AGAIN.

It is not any fun for you or the livestock. Have a friend help you who knows what they are doing.

 

[r00onmac]

ive moved my tank once during the hurricane to a friends that had power and ill be moving and upgrading again in august... same story - im in college and i have to move,, period... no way around it...

its tough, but you can leave like 2" of water and sand in the tank... get a 5 gallon bucket for water and rocks and a 5 gallon bucket for fish and corals and you should be okay...

re-aquascaping is the worst if you are setting up the same tank because you have gotten used to a particular setup and unless you glue the rocks together there is no way to get it back exactly... luckily for me i am upgrading so itll be all new aquascaping anyway...

 

[zdawgnight]

how difficult is it to get out a bunch of corals and what about inverts is there anythign special needed to do with them?

 

[nodbugger]

It really depends on how far you are going.

If it is a quick drive, getting them into an easily manageable container is fine.

Think about when you buy stuff or order online. Those things are in bags that whole drive home or from when they are shipped to you and most of the time they do just fine. So anything better than a transparent bag in a dark box will be good, but of course you'll want to take all precautions when dealing with longer distances and less hardy species.