Please share tank-moving experience

[Raven1645]

I'm just wondering if there are alot of people who moved their (reef) tanks after they were filled with everything and fully cycled, and how this was done.

With moving I actually mean moving to another home and taking your tank with you, but stories about moving it to another room or something are also appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[ginger7286]

Ok ,I moved my tanks twice in a 2 year period. Not what I planned (ended a relationship moved, bought a home about 18 months later...moved again) but anyway..... I had my LFS move my 125 both times, expensive but worth. He is a knowledgable guy and in both moves I only lost a procelain crab. I moved my 30 gallon by myself using orange buckets from Home Depot with the lids. I used about 10 buckets with rocks, fish, water etc but got it done. The good thing about someone else moving your tank is they set it up again. It's an all day affair but.... I had a few little leaks but he fixed them before he called it a night just simple stuff, nothing major. It is nerve racking to say the least, I felt bad for my fish but they were troopers and all made it. The Porcelain died when a couple of rocks shifted and well......you know the rest. Good Luck.

 

[ginger7286]

I am not sure how far you're moving but if you are moving far away like using a Ryder or Uhaul I'd suggest having a LFS take it down pack it and a LFS on the other end set it up.

 

[implac]

I've moved my 90 gal to three different houses and my 50 gal once. First I drain off any system water I want to save into old salt buckets and rubbermaid containers with lids and a battery air pump running until I'm ready to leave. For livestock transport I use fishbags obtained from an LFS and deli containers from a grocery store. I pack my bagged fish/coral into large styrofoam boxes. I use the remaining water in the aquarium to wash out accumulated detritus from the live rock and any unwanted algae. I try to put large individual rocks with attached coral into seperate buckets and the rest of the rock into a rubbermaid with a bit of water or even wet plastic strips/newspaper.
At the new location I have saltwater already mixed to match the previous system parameters. (After packing all of the livestock/rock/water into the uhaul or truck it's a good idea to order a pizza for whoever you roped into helping you!) After I level my tank and stand in the new location I add the substrate/rock, fill with old+new water, check for leaks and flow dynamics, lastly adding my livestock. For the next week or so I feed lightly, gradually lower the lights toward the tank and watch how the new flow patterns affect the inhabitants. I also add new carbon and polyfilter.

 

[Raven1645]

Alright thanks for sharing guys.
I was just wondering because in a month or two I'll have a 200g, but in about 3-4 years I'll be moving to England (I live in the Netherlands now). And I wanted to see if it is doable to move it, because otherwise it'd be silly to get an aquarium at this time.

How long can you keep fish in those bags?

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Two suggestions for DIY moves:

1) Have plenty of friends.
2) Keep the beer hidden until the move is done.

Jeff

 

[Raven1645]

Two suggestions for DIY moves:

1) Have plenty of friends.
2) Keep the beer hidden until the move is done.

Jeff

Oh... I was thinking of giving the beer in advance and then make some 'before' and 'after' pics of the tank...

 

[deangelr]

I have moved cross country 2x. Colorado-Texas and Texas-Washington.. There may be a 3rd in my future.

All I can say is it takes a dedicated reefer.

 

[chasedasea]

We have moved our tanks (90g and 55g) every two years since 2002, the furthest move was 400 miles but we had to wait for the stands and tanks to be delivered with HHG for at least three days. We usually set up coolers for livestock and 5g buckets for rock, substrate and established water. I have never lost corals, it is usually the fish and shrimps. I have never attempted to move any of my large fish such as groupers far as they foul the water fairly quickly. We use battery operated air pumps to keep movement while in transit and hook on Aqua Clear hang on filters to the coolers while we wait for tanks to arrive. Basically keep as much of the water, rocks and substrate that you possibly can.

How long of a move would it be? How do you plan to move from A to B? Truck, car or van? I wouldn't recommend anything with an open bed for anything but water and possibly substrate. As far as the bags it all depends on the critter and how the bag is packed. There are a ton of articles concerning moving aquariums so doing your research now would be a plus.

 

[arentspowell]

I just moved about two weeks ago. I moved my 75 Gallon from Tallahassee, Fl to Tampa, Fl so about a four hour drive. I tried to save most of the water and jut used a few brute trash cans for the water.

I also sold my fish back to the LFS and only transported corals which made it a lot easier. I bagged up as many as i could and left the ones that were totally encrusted on the rocks. All of the bagged up corals I put in a big styrofoam cooler I got from the LFS from one of their shipments.

Everything made it and looks great. Didn't even put a dent in my pod population. No cycle. I just added the first fish again today. I got a Midas Blenny.

 

[chasedasea]

I just moved about two weeks ago. I moved my 75 Gallon from Tallahassee, Fl to Tampa, Fl

Ha! My last move was from Tallahassee, FL. Well actually Panacea/Alligator Point. Glad your move went well.

 

[slief]

I moved my 480G display 15 years ago. It went like "clock work" but was very well planned.

My escrow closed on a Friday which is when we began tearing into the walls at my new place in order to build the stand to support the tank. We also dug a trench around the backyard so my chiller lines could be run through the wall, under ground and around the house (50') to the garage.

On Sunday I rented a uhaul and set kitty pools up in it. I also set kitty pools up at my new house. Water was pumped from the tank to the uhaul where all the live rock and corals were moved to. I also pumped water into trash cans where the fish went into. Once I got the truck to the new house, water was pumped to the pools in the garage and everything was emptied from the truck into those pools. This included most of my water. I then finished tearing down the rest of the tank at the old house. The tank had a wetdry at the time and I was careful to make sure that the bio balls remained wet while they were out of service.

On Monday morning, the tank manufacturer arrived at the house to pick the tank up and bring it to their shop for a complete polishing. Meanwhile the construction continued at the new house. Water was also delivered by Catalina water company which I had pumped into more trash cans. I spent a good part of the day wire brush scrubbing the rocks.

Tuesday afternoon around 4PM the tank was delivered to the new house all clean and scratch free. By that time the stand was ready for the tank so it was put into place. At that point the marithon of re-plumbing the tank began. By 2AM Weds morning/Tuesday night the tank was up and running with everything in it. A total of 4 days between escrow closing to setup complete. Not only did it go without any hitches but I never had a cycle due to the fact that I kept most of my water, live rock and bio balls without letting anything go dry.

Here are a few pics of the install back in 1997.

Tank just after it was delivered

Done setting it up.

After the water cleared.

 

[chasedasea]

Wow slief, I am exhausted just looking at all that work and looking at the final product warrants a drink. Like deangelr said, it takes a dedicated reefer.

 

[slief]

Wow slief, I am exhausted just looking at all that work and looking at the final product warrants a drink. Like deangelr said, it takes a dedicated reefer.

Thanks Chase.. I will add that my move was only a mile or so which made my situation pretty easy logistically speaking. If I had to move hundreds of miles away, I am sure I would have reconsidered my options. That said, when I was looking for and purchased my house, I had 3 criteria that HAD to be met. Space for my tank tp be built in which is 4'x8'x2' tall, space for my home theater which like my tank, I am eccentric about. Last was the 3 car garage. Going into my home purchase was a reasonable amount of thought as there needed to be a place for everything before I made my purchase decision. The waiting time during escrow left plenty of time for planning.

All said and done, I sit here 15 years later in my home office typing this respose next to the tank and its as happy as ever. Granted its gone through some changes and progression over the years but I couldn't be happier looking back at the move. I was nothing short of amazed at how smooth everything went.