Need HELP please: Moving soon!

[Jgoal55]

Hey all,

I guess its my turn to call on all the wonderful ppl in this club and ask who might be available to help me move my 90 gallon tank.

The 160 is still in the very slow build/ stain/ organize process and has yet to see a drop of water. And since my brother seems to want my tank, I figure Ill move the 90 straight to his house and then transfer all the corals to the 160 much later on.

Anyway, I was hoping to do this during the middle of the week next week but knowing that most ppl have jobs they cant get out of during the week I can push it back to Saturday the 26th or Sunday the 27th.

That said, if enough ppl can help either Wed the 23rd or Thurs the 24th, that would be great.

I dont have much in the way of frags (since most of what I have is frags), but anyone who knows me knows that Ill find some way to make your efforts worthwhile. A whole lot of beer and pizza at the very, very least.

The other thing I need to clear up, is what my steps are. Here is what I am thinking and please let me know if you have a better plan.

Day prior to move:
- Have fresh SW ready at destination (I'll have two 44g Brutes ready to go)

- Disconnect Fuge (its separate from the main system)

Day of Move:
- Bag all corals (ill do this before anyone arrives)

- Disconnect all equipment

- Remove all LR and place in large rubber maids (if helpers have these please bring; you can never have too many)

- Bag all fish, CUC, etc.

- Drain and reserve as much water as possible (I have a couple of 5 gallon buckets with lids but if anyone has spare salt buckets that have the screw on lid that would be great. If you have these and you cant come by and help let me know anyway as I can pick them up and have them back to you when Im done). I figure about ten five gallon containers will be plenty. Thats 50 gallons of water so its about half of my total system plus the two brutes.

- Move tank and stand and all containers to destination.

- Start it all back up.


Sounds easy enough! LOL......not looking forward to this.

Also, if anyone with a large pickup truck/ minivan to carry the tank, stand and canopy is willing to help that would be outstanding.

Of course, Thanks in advance so much to everyone.

 

[Jgoal55]

Here is a big question as well - The 90 has about 110lbs of sand in it. I was hoping it would be possible to drain the tank entirely and carry the tank away with the sand still in it so as not to disturb the sand bed or risk a new cycle.

However, I wasnt sure if this would put too much pressure on the bottom glass. I figure between 4 or 5 ppl it wouldn't be too difficult to carry but obviously, the sand retains a good bit of water so its going to add a bit more than 110lbs overall. Thoughts?

 

[MikePowell]

I live right down the street from you. I can help. Pm me with more details. I can help out either date you need

 

[ninjamini]

Well I am working so I cant come to help but having done a tank move a few times let me give you some advice.


Make an inventory of critters before you pull anyone out and mark that you moved them. Some fish are hiders and you dont want to have to go searching for a fish after the fact.

Keep the fish in one rubbermaid. I put the corals in with the fish.
Put the rocks in another one.

Drain the water so that there is just enough to cover the sand.


Have enoguh heaters for each tub. and have gas cans for the extra water.

The tubs are heavy when filled so I recomend buying a dolly at home depot. Also get good hard walled tubs. the cheap thin walled ones bow when filled.

When you arrive at the new place:
Set up the tubs with heaters and temp. Put powerheads in the tubs to keep the water moving.

Start to replace rocks and refil the tank. No way around it its going to get cloudy. too cloudy to see. Set up powerheads to make the water clear. Clearing the water takes 24 hous. As its clearing use a turkey baster to blast the rocks and get the sand off of them.

TEST-TEST-TEST-TEST!!!!

You may have a cycle, you may not. Either way you have to decide if you want your fish and corals to suffer through it. Once I had a full blown cycle for 2 weeks, once I had it spike to 20ppm. Thats why I always leave my fish and corals in the tubs for a week. With power heads and heaters. I even mount my light on the corals and a small one on the fish.

Good luck.

 

[eon]

if you decide to do it on the weekend id be more than happy to lend u a hand

 

[AMGReefer]

I have a 3500 Dually Truck, which can hold alot of weight with no problem and I have a couple of Rubbermaid containers, the cheap kind though, I have transported alot of live rock in them before with no problems. They do bow out with water. I would only be able to help on the weekend, not weekdays.

Let me know.

 

[ladybug5234]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15715249#post15715249 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ninjamini
No way around it its going to get cloudy. too cloudy to see. Set up powerheads to make the water clear. Clearing the water takes 24 hous.

There's a way to avoid this. If you place a large bowl on top of your sand and refill your tank pouring the water into the bowl instead of everywhere in the tank, you will not have much cloudiness. I have done this countless times and usually within a couple of hours the tank is relatively clear.

 

[screenguy]

.

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has it been moved yet?
if not i got cargo van.
deponds on date if i can help let me know

 

[DEIGNAN14]

If you want to try to save the sand bed cover it in a trash bag or heavy plastic and a few rocks to hold it down. Leave a few inches of water in there. The plastic will keep the turbulence down and you can refil the tank with the plastic covering the sand. Once full, just remove the rocks and plastic carefully.

 

[ninjamini]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15715329#post15715329 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ladybug5234
There's a way to avoid this. If you place a large bowl on top of your sand and refill your tank pouring the water into the bowl instead of everywhere in the tank, you will not have much cloudiness. I have done this countless times and usually within a couple of hours the tank is relatively clear.

I never got that to work. once the water starts to pour out of the bowl it kicks it up. And it does clear up after a few hours so you can see through it. But I would not say its clear.

 

[Jgoal55]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15715314#post15715314 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AMGReefer
I have a 3500 Dually Truck, which can hold alot of weight with no problem and I have a couple of Rubbermaid containers, the cheap kind though, I have transported alot of live rock in them before with no problems. They do bow out with water. I would only be able to help on the weekend, not weekdays.

Let me know.

Nice truck Alina......yeah seems like the weekends might be best and I very much appreciate the offer.....Ill PM anyone who has offered to help with details.

Howd the sump work out btw?

 

[Jgoal55]

Ninjamimi - thanks for the suggestion to do an inventory list....hadnt thought about that but its a great idea.....Ill do one for all the livestock I deem worthy. lol

I have a dolly so that will help a ton. As far as not being able to get the water clear, Ive done well with using the bowl trick mentioned above. You just have to pour water in as slowly as possible. I mean youre right, it gets cloudy but not much. Usually I also add a Penguin Bio-wheel Filter and those help a ton.

I was hoping to put all the livestock back in the same day. As for the large rubbermaids, I was thinking it would be easier and more manageable (less risk of breakage and spillage) to bag all the fish and corals individually, place them in a couple of small rubbermaids for ease of carrying, and then transfer them to the destination to float them in the SW containers until the move is complete. Basically never actually adding water to the containers themselves.

As for the LR, I would put it all in one or two containers with no water, and then cover with a soaked, wet towel. When the reserved water and the LR containers get to the destination thats when you put all the reserved water in the ten 5 gallon containers back on top of the rocks so as to eliminate excess die off. I was actually thinking of using Brutes for this.

So, most of you are saying that ist is ok to carry the tank with the sand still in it? Deignan, I like the idea of using the trash bag to help minimize movement.

Thanks to Mike, Eon, AMG - Ill keep all of you on the PM list.
Screenguy - I havent moved yet......so the cargo van could possibly help a ton. Whats better for you? weekend or weekday?

 

[DEIGNAN14]

Re: moving a sand bed - most people dont recommend it but I think it can be done if you take care not to disturb it. Ive done it with a number of my tanks without any problems.

Most recommend removing the good stuff and using it to seed a whole new bed. I think this is wasteful and lazy

 

[Jgoal55]

lol....yeah I kind of agree. I mean I can see it being an issue when your dump a five gallon bucket back into the tank or if while removing things you really stir it up bad, but I think of your careful and set up very good filtration, its no isssue. I did it with no problem but it was only a 30 gallon tank. thx

 

[DEIGNAN14]

If you can carry it - you can move it those are my thoughts at least... you said the sand is 110 lbs so that should be doable with a few guys. If you end up moving on the weekend let me know Id love to help.

 

[MikePowell]

Oh I also forgot that I have access to a bunch of four wheel dollys and hand trucks.

 

[WLDSHARK]

Jorge, if is Saturday I am in... just make sure to PM'nd me on a weekday.. i don't check RC on weekends...i have about 10 5 gall buckets.. with no lids...

 

[Jgoal55]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15716182#post15716182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DEIGNAN14
If you can carry it - you can move it those are my thoughts at least... you said the sand is 110 lbs so that should be doable with a few guys. If you end up moving on the weekend let me know Id love to help.

Thanks so much.....yeah I was more worried about the pressure on the bottom glass moreso than I was worried about actually being able to carry it.....but I cant imagine it would be too much.

Mike, Ill definitely take you up on that. Thanks.

 

[mojoreefer]

Jgoal, I'm starting up a new job but that won't be for another week or so. If I still haven't started it up by the time you need help on Wed or Thurs I can help and have a nissan frontier that will help as well.

 

[kifeter]

When I moved my 120 i moved it with about 2 inches of sand on the bottom and prolly about 1 inch on top of that with water. I moved it with only two people. It was heavy as **** but nothing happened. I think the worst part about it was when i had to take it down the stairs from a second floor!! LOL

When I filled it back up with water I just Poured the salt water in the overflows so it didnt come crashing down on the sand bed. Good Luck!