Moving Tank need advice

[Mioduz]

I am considering purchasing a used tank setup locally. Looking for advice as to how to most smoothly pull this off.

Some info:
Currently have a 75 gal in place, typical fish load and just getting into hard corals, quite a few softies

Tank that im looking to purchase is 150 with sump of course
Has a naso tang, magnificent fox face and a handful of smaller fish. (the naso and fox are in very bad shape)

Since I want the 150 to be located in the same spot as the 75, i was gonna drain out maybe 20 gallons into buckets and try to slide the 75g tank across the room for the moment (laminate flooring luckily makes it easy to slide). put the water back in and let things keep going in that tank as usual. Until the 150 is setup and the water is safe for new fish and corals.

Now the hard part. Moving the 150,
Planning on filling buckets with the live rock and then using water from the tank to fill the buckets with.
The fish are in pretty poor shape, id like to rehab them but if they are lost in the move i wont cry myself to sleep
There are virtually no coral in the 150 (just some zoanthids and kenya tree)
The question then now is: do i reuse the sand?
I assume disturbing the sand bed and laying it back down will release a large amount of amonia and nitrates into the water when i fill it back up. Is it best to get new sand and start fresh? Will the tank then need to cycle? arnt all the "good bacteria" hiding out in the sand?

Looking for any good info before i jump into this. It will be alot of work for the move. Also a note the current owner of the 150 has 250 GAL of sw premixed at his house in a holding tank that I get with this setup if this helps with the moving plans. (of course its in a basement and i need to pump it out into something more portable but its there)

 

[MondoBongo]

so first, since this new tank isn't your tank, it might be a good opportunity for you to quarantine the fish from the 150. you say they're in "rough shape". i'm not really sure what that means, but if it were me, i would run them through Tank Transfer Method (TTM) with some prazi, and get them eating well before re-introducing to the tank.

a 150 is going to be at least a 3 person lift. that's 3 really strong people. i would suggest having 4 or 6 as being much more ideal.

as for moving things, when i made move i had the luxury of time, but to move the rocks i actually used large styrofoam coolers that i lined with very large bags i got from my LFS. i actually bought a ton of different sized plastic bags from them for the move, and mainly used zip ties as an easy method to close them.

the coolers lined with the large bags for the rocks and larger coral colonies were helpful because it gave me a larger opening than a standard 5 gallon bucket. i would fill them with as much rock and water as i dared, then seal the bag and remove enough air to get the cooler lid on.

when moving things in buckets i got myself a few large storage bins and a tarp. i put the tarp down in the back of the car, and then the storage bins on top of that, and then buckets in the storage bins. this kept any spilled water out of the car, and also helped hold the buckets in place and upright during transport.

i would get new sand. you'd be surprised how much nasty crap is hanging out in most sand beds. plus stirring up the depths will just be bad news. you will likely get at least a mini cycle after the move, so be prepared for that.

i would also fill with new water if possible. the old water that you're transporting things in is going to get straight up gross from all the detritus that will get kicked up.

lastly, time. things will go more smoothly if you can press gang a few friends that are also fish people, but i would plan on at least one long, long day for the move, with a contingency for the next day if things should take longer. i was fortunate enough to be able to move my tanks over the course of about 5 weeks, but the one i did move in one day was my 20 long grow out system, and that took a solid 5 hours from break down to back up and running again, only going about 20 minutes across town. luckily i was able to get everything in to one hatchback load, or else it would have taken longer.

good luck.

 

[snorklr]

think you're going to have to drain a lot more than 20 gal out of the 75...55 gal of water alone weighs nearly 500 lbs....i got some food grade 5 gal pails from tractor supply for about 6 bucks each

 

[Mioduz]

so first, since this new tank isn't your tank, it might be a good opportunity for you to quarantine the fish from the 150. you say they're in "rough shape". i'm not really sure what that means, but if it were me, i would run them through Tank Transfer Method (TTM) with some prazi, and get them eating well before re-introducing to the tank.

a 150 is going to be at least a 3 person lift. that's 3 really strong people. i would suggest having 4 or 6 as being much more ideal.

as for moving things, when i made move i had the luxury of time, but to move the rocks i actually used large styrofoam coolers that i lined with very large bags i got from my LFS. i actually bought a ton of different sized plastic bags from them for the move, and mainly used zip ties as an easy method to close them.

the coolers lined with the large bags for the rocks and larger coral colonies were helpful because it gave me a larger opening than a standard 5 gallon bucket. i would fill them with as much rock and water as i dared, then seal the bag and remove enough air to get the cooler lid on.

when moving things in buckets i got myself a few large storage bins and a tarp. i put the tarp down in the back of the car, and then the storage bins on top of that, and then buckets in the storage bins. this kept any spilled water out of the car, and also helped hold the buckets in place and upright during transport.

i would get new sand. you'd be surprised how much nasty crap is hanging out in most sand beds. plus stirring up the depths will just be bad news. you will likely get at least a mini cycle after the move, so be prepared for that.

i would also fill with new water if possible. the old water that you're transporting things in is going to get straight up gross from all the detritus that will get kicked up.

lastly, time. things will go more smoothly if you can press gang a few friends that are also fish people, but i would plan on at least one long, long day for the move, with a contingency for the next day if things should take longer. i was fortunate enough to be able to move my tanks over the course of about 5 weeks, but the one i did move in one day was my 20 long grow out system, and that took a solid 5 hours from break down to back up and running again, only going about 20 minutes across town. luckily i was able to get everything in to one hatchback load, or else it would have taken longer.

good luck.

Thanks for the advise

 

[Mioduz]

think you're going to have to drain a lot more than 20 gal out of the 75...55 gal of water alone weighs nearly 500 lbs....i got some food grade 5 gal pails from tractor supply for about 6 bucks each

I can slide it full it's just harder to stear. The floor is pretty slick luckily

 

[Kentech5]

Just moved a 90 gallon with sump and stand 50 miles. Lots of buckets and make a ton of water beforehand to fill at least half with clean water. Plan on a very long day.

 

[Sapelo]

We moved a 300 gallon this summer. A lot depends on what vehicles you have to use. We had an enclosed trailer with rubber mat floor so we could make a mess. Used brute trash cans for live rock,put rock in and then pumped water from tank into cans. When we got home we reversed the process.
Losing fish is never ideal. I also dont know what "rough shape" means but I moved new fish into QT tanks which allowed time to set up and replumb the new tank. No matter how well you plan, everything will take longer than you think so try to be prepared for that.
I would plan on space and place to hold fish while new tank cycles.
Yes, yes, yes to new sand.
And think about everything you'll need to replumb (and if you want to make any plumbing changes) before you start your move.
Good luck!

 

[Mioduz]

We moved a 300 gallon this summer. A lot depends on what vehicles you have to use. We had an enclosed trailer with rubber mat floor so we could make a mess. Used brute trash cans for live rock,put rock in and then pumped water from tank into cans. When we got home we reversed the process.
Losing fish is never ideal. I also dont know what "rough shape" means but I moved new fish into QT tanks which allowed time to set up and replumb the new tank. No matter how well you plan, everything will take longer than you think so try to be prepared for that.
I would plan on space and place to hold fish while new tank cycles.
Yes, yes, yes to new sand.
And think about everything you'll need to replumb (and if you want to make any plumbing changes) before you start your move.
Good luck!

Both fish are missing alot of fin. I was observing the tank for about 30 min. Either it's fun rot (not sure what causes that) or maybe the 2 damsels are nipping at the big fish. The fox face and naso seamed content with each other

 

[Sapelo]

Yikes.
Either way honestly the tank is too small for a Naso so it needs rehoming...