New house, means moving time. input wanted!

[lolgranny]

Hey all!!

First off i wanted to give a little background on things. I currently have a roughly 300g system which consists of a 180g display, 60 and 40g frag tank, 40g cryptic zone, and a 80g sump. Im in a smaller house and have the opportunity to move into a much larger house on the river on almost 3 acres of land with my family. House needs some work before i move in and sell my current one. In the next 3 months i am going to get it all finished up and move in. With that said, i was looking for input on ways for it to all go smooth. Those of you which have moved a system i would like to get some thoughts on how you would do it if it was your 2nd time around.

My idea is this, since im going to get the house all finished and be able to buy a tank proir to moving over there i was going to just pickup a marineland 265g tank so i didnt have to spend outrageous $ on a custom one (if you think there is a better tank, id like to hear ideas). Anyways, i am going to buy the tank, plumb it through the floor, into the garage and have a sump / frag tanks in there.

Once i get that setup i am going to take out all my rock and bring it over in a bucket of water so things dont die. Bring the fish over (~40 fish, most smaller, 6 adult tankgs angelfish, and foxface) put the rock in and the fish. I feel like ill lose alot doing this since the tank wont have all that bacteria yet from the rock and such.

on another hand i was thinking about going and getting some new real reef rock that is dry, taking it and adding it to my tank now so i have that much more rock before i do the move.

I appreciate any help and input. I need to get a step by step together so i can figure it out with minimal loss. Im not so concerned with my acros as i am my fish since i can put them in my brothers tank ( dont have a massive collection like i use to)

Thanks Dave

 

[dave.m]

If you move as you plan you can always take advantage of the various bacteria-in-a-bottle products to help get you over the initial hump.

If you're looking for a comprehensive checklist of things to think of/do you might want to start here.

Dave.M

 

[lolgranny]

If you move as you plan you can always take advantage of the various bacteria-in-a-bottle products to help get you over the initial hump.

If you're looking for a comprehensive checklist of things to think of/do you might want to start here.

Dave.M

Thanks for the input. Ill look into the bacteria thing, but i would think with a good 300lb of rock from my tank i dont know how big that hump would be.

I dont want to buy a book, but looks interesting. Im sure i can gather what i need to know here. :spin2:

 

[m0nkie]

exciting times!

I think if you remove all the sand and only transfer the live rocks, you will have a minimal to no cycle. There will be some die off. Add some Dr Tim's One and Only or Biospira, your tank should be good to go.

I would worry about the fish establishing new pecking order and aggression. you may need a lot of small holding tanks in between.

 

[lolgranny]

exciting times!

I think if you remove all the sand and only transfer the live rocks, you will have a minimal to no cycle. There will be some die off. Add some Dr Tim's One and Only or Biospira, your tank should be good to go.

I would worry about the fish establishing new pecking order and aggression. you may need a lot of small holding tanks in between.

Ok another +1 on the bacteria

I don't have any sand, just a lot of live rock. I was thinking the same, have some die off over the next few weeks after the transfer

 

[lolgranny]

Another thought I had was this- get a few of those big Rubbermaid stock tanks, put everything in 1-2 of those and then setup the tank and make sure everything is how I want it. THEN put them in. Regardless everything should be how I want it, depending on $ for a tank/ stand / larger return pump. I have all the equipment so that's the only additional things I need to purchase

 

[Reel North]

I would recommend setting up your RODI system first.

Then take a couple of stock tanks, and tier them. This will allow the top tank to be for corals and some fish, and the bottom to hold all your current live rock, new rock, and some more fish. You can put your return pump in the bottom tank with some egg crate around it. Put the skimmer in the top tank on an egg crate stand. This way, you minimize die off, can cycle new rock with old live rock, and avoid pests.

You are putting a sump in the garage in Illinois? Hope it's heated and insulated.

 

[lolgranny]

I would recommend setting up your RODI system first.

Then take a couple of stock tanks, and tier them. This will allow the top tank to be for corals and some fish, and the bottom to hold all your current live rock, new rock, and some more fish. You can put your return pump in the bottom tank with some egg crate around it. Put the skimmer in the top tank on an egg crate stand. This way, you minimize die off, can cycle new rock with old live rock, and avoid pests.

You are putting a sump in the garage in Illinois? Hope it's heated and insulated.

The garage is in fact heated

I was thinking of doing what you said, i really need to find a tank for sale or purchase one still.

 

[tkeracer619]

I did the whole setup a new tank and transfer it all over... lost it all due to chloramines at the new house. Test the water at the new house to make sure there aren't any gotchas.