Need advice on moving a FOWLR tank

[LarryZ]

Hi all,

We will be moving in a few months to a house about a 10 min drive from here. I have a 70 Gal FOWLR with 5 fish (Coral Beauty, Canary Blenny, Royal Gramma, and 2 clowns) along with a cleaner shrimp, some hermit crabs and snails.

I've had the tank for 9 months and everything is going well so I was wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom since I have never done this before. I want to keep the sponges and other growth on my live rock but I am not sure what the best way to do this is.

Thanks!

 

[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 at your new home 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. 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 new 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!

 

[AlSimmons]

Being that your going to have to rinse the new sand the way you would the old sand, I would just use that. Like mentioned above just put it in a bucket & stir it up until the water overflows the bucket clear. Piece of cake.
There's really no reason to throw out sand that's only 9 months old IMO.

 

[Sk8r]

Qt the fish in the new place: a new cycle is likely in 5 days, brief, but producing ammonia for a brief time. If you are absolutely unable to provide this for all, (a Brute trashcan is a safe qt in a pinch, and they go up to about 50 gallons) then have Prime standing by.
The sand is optional, and if you can save up discard water for sand-washing, it would help; but whatever you do, test daily until you are through the crisis point. Fish do not tolerate ammonia, period.

 

[LarryZ]

Thanks everyone good stuff.

I will definitely rinse the sand. I did not even know that was an issue but I knew there were things that I wasn't aware of which is why I posted.

I have a 20 Gallon QT tank that I used as a hospital tank when I had an outbreak of ich. I treated with copper and washed it and the equipment out with vinegar and threw the sponge filter away. I have another sponge filter in my sump that has been there a month already. Will the QT tank be safe for the inverts or should I set up a separate container?

We won't be moving until April so I have time for planning purposes.

Again much appreciated!

 

[colodano]

I agree with Thegrun! Move the rock first, and keep it wet. then fish, and start new with sand if you can.

Your rock is your filter, so it needs to be kept in tip-top shape, and have good water, temp, and aeration. Last year I moved a few fish and corals 4000 KM, and by keeping the rock happy, the fish were happy. Once I got them to their new home, the accelerated water changes actually seemed to do more good, and being in a larger tank at the end helped as well.

As I have been in the hobby longer, I keep decreasing the amount of sand I use btw, just food for thought.

 

[colodano]

Oh, and as for my move, I went from a 36 with small sump, to a 10 and no sump, to buckets for the 4 day move, back to the 10 for a month, and finally into a 55 and 20 gallon sump.