Suggestions, Ade, Landon and Jorge chip in too
Suggestions, Ade, Landon and Jorge chip in too
Hey Ruby,
I wish i hadn't graduated because there are a few people needing help. I will be headed home to NJ but i can offer advice reguarding moving animals. I have to move all my tanks every 6 months between school and home so im relatively well schooled in the process.
First, and bill probably knows it, you need to fast the livstock (I think he has a big maroon pair and a tang as well as some smaller stuff). Without food there will be less ammonia they can expel and their gills wont be nearly as damaged. You can either bag the livestock and corals or have hard containers. When you bag, i try to have 1/3 water and 2/3 air. This is a good mix and gallon size ziplocks are probably the best. If you go hard container, tupperware or 5 gallon buckets work well. The biggest challenge you will have is temperature control. Coolers work really well and are more efficient when fully packed. If you have room and are using a truck, try to keep all fish and corals in the cab.
For the corals, they may slime a bit when disturbed. It may be best to take tank water and have a dip bucket to remove slime when you first stress the coral colonies. after they release a majority of their slime, move them to a new container with clean tank water. Tupperware or a bucket are almost a must for the SPS unless you want to double or triple bag the colonies. Again, temperature is critical so keep them insulated.
As far as preparation, make sure to take baseline tank measurements before you move it. This will give you parameters to aim for once the tank gets settled, and bill has super growth so im sure what he has is ideal. Have a cheap backup heater ready in case something goes wrong during the move and the primary heater breaks. It will also help get the water back up to temp. Have extra seawater made at your home to finish topping off the tank because you are sure to lose some water along the way. Again, mimic what bill has for salinity and temp.
For acclimation always make sure everything is gradual. Everything should be moved in the dark to reduce stress. When you reintroduce them to the tank, keep the lights off to maintain that calm. I would put the clowns in last so they havent already claimed the territory. Temperature changes must also be gradual. Agin if possible, try not to add the tranpost water from the fish or corals. It will have some toxins the stressed animals released and is better thrown away if you are able to. If not have some carbon ready in the sump to absorb some of the toxins.
For the sand and the liverock, its safest to remove the sand from the tank for the tank to avoid breaking. However, moving that sand bed may release a lot of nasty stuff from the sandbed. If you have extra saltwater, rinse the bed once before putting it in. Also, dont totally dry the san to keep the livesand cultures alive. For the liveock, a rubbermaind from walmart has been most successfull for me, although 5 gallon buckets work for smaller pieces. Again, try to have the rock mostly submerged to keep bacterial colonies alive. If these can be moved inside the car as opposed to a bed, good, otherwise try to move them when teperatures are near 80 degrees outside (Memorial day should be this high). When refilling th tank, use a clean soapless dish to pour the water onto, this will disturb far less sand.
Im sure there are plenty more tips out there, but these have been the best ive found. Hopefully Ade, landon(Cayenne) or Jorge(DadyOJ) will chip in because they moved jorge's monster last year. Im sure they'll have more to contribute.
Good luck and im definitely jealous of those clowns, theyre beautiful.
-Tom
PS Welcome, its an awesome hobby
At this time, I'm shooting for Saturday, the 28th. You'd probably just like to help out on the Roanoke end, right? 
