I know many of you have moved your tanks and I am in need of some help. I am moving my 55 to St Louis (yes my building has the power back on) on Friday. I have a bunch of tubs for water, rock and my fish. I am planning on taking as much of the water with as possible. I have a 3-4" sand bed and I am worried about moving it, should I just start a new sb and seed it with the old? Should I run heaters and air pumps in the tubs with fish in them? I know there are some experts on moving tanks out there, I need your help!!!
Need advice on 5 hour move
- Thread starter Johnson7
- Start date
hansnfrans
New member
I am not a moving expert but all you would need to do is run battery powered airpumps. No heater necessary b/c it's warm outside (haven't you been reading the global warming threads 
) . That should be sufficient. These pumps only cost about 7 bucks a piece. Try to separate the livestock into multiple, dark 5 gal buckets (w/ lids of course).
) . That should be sufficient. These pumps only cost about 7 bucks a piece. Try to separate the livestock into multiple, dark 5 gal buckets (w/ lids of course).If its only a few hours, you whould be fine by putting as much as you can in buckets. When I moved (2.5 days) I had my corals and most of my rock in buckets with about half full of water. The roads were bumpy enough to keep pretty good flow in the buckets without needing the air pumps... although it wouldnt hurt a thing! I agree with the multiple buckets.
As for the sand I cant help much there. I left the sand in my tank (~20 gal) and covered most of it with the extra rock and a few inches of water. Obviously that wont work for you it would be way too heavy and would probably break the tank if it was moved that way.
As for the sand I cant help much there. I left the sand in my tank (~20 gal) and covered most of it with the extra rock and a few inches of water. Obviously that wont work for you it would be way too heavy and would probably break the tank if it was moved that way.
Edward Smith
Active member
When I moved, I was given the advice to sell off my livestock/rock and start from scratch. I thought the person was nuts!!!!
In retrospect, it was great advice that I wish I would of taken.
By starting over, I could of taken my time in redesigning and building my new setup. It would of been very different. But since I need to keep everyting healthy, I had to set it up again ASAP.
Moving is a great excuse to redesign and UPGRADE
!!!!
In retrospect, it was great advice that I wish I would of taken.
By starting over, I could of taken my time in redesigning and building my new setup. It would of been very different. But since I need to keep everyting healthy, I had to set it up again ASAP.
Moving is a great excuse to redesign and UPGRADE
!!!!
I'll be moving 18 hours this weekend, my fish and coral-encrusted live rock is in a cooler and will have a battery-powered air pump to keep O2 levels high - the rest of my rock is in 5-gallon buckets filled with water (not light :lol: ) I was planning on a large cooler - but found I could fit everything in a 54-quart - they have the huge coolers at Wal-Mart for about $50, and the battery-powered air-pumps are there too, in the bait section of the Fishing department for under $10.
FWIW - I may add a power inverter to have a heater and powerhead as my drive is very long, and if I have the A/C on in my SUV, I don't want the fish to get too cold during such a long drive - but mostly what you want to avoid is the water becoming too warm - that is much worse.
If you have any other questions, just let me know, I've successfully moved my tank(s) 6 times over the last 3.5 years, so I've gotten pretty good at it - it's the bone-headed things that I do when my tank is doing fine that I always seem to screw up on
FWIW - I may add a power inverter to have a heater and powerhead as my drive is very long, and if I have the A/C on in my SUV, I don't want the fish to get too cold during such a long drive - but mostly what you want to avoid is the water becoming too warm - that is much worse.
If you have any other questions, just let me know, I've successfully moved my tank(s) 6 times over the last 3.5 years, so I've gotten pretty good at it - it's the bone-headed things that I do when my tank is doing fine that I always seem to screw up on
I've moved 9 times in the last eight years with my tank. They were always across town moves though. I always move things in buckets, lots and lots of buckets. My only word of advice is to take your time setting the tank back up when you get to your destination especially with plumbing. I always seem to be in a hurry and up with lots of leaks.
RobTop
New member
A couple years ago my 2 hour move became 8 hours, due to issues at closing on the sale of my house. You may not run into the same issues I had, but plan for the worse. What will you do if you.... don't make it in 5 hours. I lost almost everything on that move. The last move I did was about 5 minutes and I sold everything. The reason I did was the fishroom is a basement deal and the new house basement was unfinished. It has taken a year to get the 220 back up. Your plan seems good, just plan for the worse. Also I would take some of the sand for seeding, not all of it.
Doubledown
Active member
I would recommend selling off your more delicate pieces, particularly any SPS corals you have. Either that or ask a friend to hold them for you until the tank re-settles.
I moved last September - 1 hour away. Lost all of my SPS in the transfer. I transferred most of my water, all of the LR and sand in 33 gallon garbage cans with powerheads and heaters and still had die off issues.
Next move I will be selling a whole bunch of things before the move. Better the animals live with someone else, then die with me in transit or as the result of some un-intentional ammonia spike.
I moved last September - 1 hour away. Lost all of my SPS in the transfer. I transferred most of my water, all of the LR and sand in 33 gallon garbage cans with powerheads and heaters and still had die off issues.
Next move I will be selling a whole bunch of things before the move. Better the animals live with someone else, then die with me in transit or as the result of some un-intentional ammonia spike.
PSam
Active member
I considered moving a 220 a few years back. Instead, I ended up keeping a few frags of my favorites, and I never looked back.
Sold it all, and started fresh, which just happened to be a small tank with less upkeep.
Keep a couple frags of your best, sell the rest. It's not worth it IMO.
Five hours is a while when you have all your other household to worry about as well.
Sold it all, and started fresh, which just happened to be a small tank with less upkeep.
Keep a couple frags of your best, sell the rest. It's not worth it IMO.
Five hours is a while when you have all your other household to worry about as well.
ataylo13
habitual line stepper
I just moved up here from Florida. I put all of the rock in igloo cooler and drilled a hole in the top for the battery powered aireator. I gathered all of my fish/corals and took them to the LFS. Each were individually bagged with 02. I put all of the corals/fish in a foam cooler. I left everything in the trunk to minimize temp flux. They were in there for less than 48 hours. I only lost 2 crabs and a ricordea. I was advised to start over with the sand.
I didn't think I would be able to sell it all, and figured that if I had to move some... why not move it all. I was pretty nervous, but looking back it was not too bad.
Good luck.
I didn't think I would be able to sell it all, and figured that if I had to move some... why not move it all. I was pretty nervous, but looking back it was not too bad.
Good luck.
hansnfrans
New member
ataylo13- That's all that you lost in the process? That's pretty impressive. 48 hours is a long time. Good job.
