Rubbermaid Tubs?

[alextheromanian]

this is just a HYPOTHETICAL question...but bare with me.

if i were to tare down the tank i currently have (75 gal) so i can move it downstairs into its own fish room (not built yet) could i just separate everything like live rock and some of the fish into rubbermaid tubs with heaters and skimmers both still having a cycled substrate.

how long do you think i could keep them in tubs...?


im asking this because i plan on doing a major overhaul on the 75 i own as in drill it add a sump create a textured background....


any ideas? suggestions?

 

[Tswifty]

As long as you like :lol:

Assuming the bins are HDPE or LDPE grade materials.

I forget how long NanoGurl had all her corals and livestock in Rubbermaid bins before she transfered them to her new setup. I remember it being a long time though.

 

[Salamander]

I would ditch the substrate. You'll just be releasing all kinds of gunk into the water and will likely have a nitrate problem after scooping it all up.

But I think you'd be fine or a few weeks if not more. You might want to get a rubbermaid stock tank which is much more sturdy than a normal tub. If you use other rubbermaid tubs don't fill them all the way or you could risk splitting.

I'd try to get the fish room etc built before you tear anything down.

 

[Tswifty]

+1 on the substrate... I missed that somehow... As stated above, you'll be releasing trapped toxins back up into the water column.

 

[pledosophy]

I used to use rubberaids for coral propagation. Had corals in there for years. You can drill a bulkhead into the bottom too.

I'd ditch the substrate myself as well.

I didn't use a skimmer on mine.

HTH

 

[Salamander]

But before ditching the substrate, I would try to get as much of the fauna out as possible. Pull/suction out as many worms and pods etc that you can. They'd be fine with just the rock.

 

[alextheromanian]

wait wait guys AWESOME INFORMATION AND THANK YOU! but youre saying ditch the sand in it...so just keep rocks in there with fish?

i own a couple of 20 gal rubbermaid tubs and a 45 gal tub...the 45 i had to wrap duct tape around because it bowed when i filled it.


so other than fish and rocks...should i hook them all up and use of the smaller tubs as a bucket sump where i throw in heater skimmer?


i also run my 75 off of two canisters at the moment...those would be hooked up aswell. could that keep my fish alive? lets say a month at most since ill take into consideration running out of money....having no time to work on it and having difficulty building it JUST incase?

i dont want to say oh hey ill build a fish room in a week and ill be done and it will be amazing...the fish will only have to spend a day in a tub at most...

im trying to prepare for the worst building experience but hope for the best

thank you for the help any other advice is greatly welcomed

 

[Gold Stripe]

Ditch the sand.

If you want to keep it then you will have to commit enough time to rinsing it which is not as hard as it sounds but time consuming. I reused mine from my 180 when I switched to 75 just to save money but it took a good week and a few destroyed powerheads. I would put it in fresh water and then put a powerhead in there and let the sand storm begin. Then when it was good and stirred up I would drain off the water and start again. Did this about 5 times and it worked out well. When I transferred the sand into the 75 with rock from the 180 I didnt have any spikes.

I re-seeded it with some sand from my LFS and a couple of reef buddies.

Looking back I probably only saved about $50 once you figure in the water used to rinse. Didnt count the cost of the powerheads because they were old junk ones I had laying around but boy did the sand chew them up.

As far as the fish and rock in the rubbermaids, there is no difference in them and your tank. As long as you have the LR in there for filtration along with the same canisters and you have heaters in there to keep the temp regulated, they should be fine for as long as necessary. I would use the water from the tank to fill up 2/3 way and then add the other 1/3 new water.

 

[griss]

Depending on the size of your tank, you may want to look into a rubbermaid stock tank (used for watering livestock).

When we moved to our new house years ago, I had to tear down my 200 gallon tank. I had plans to set up a 450 gallon tank sometime down the road. So, I purchased a 300 gallon stock tank. The person we were buying the house from was kind enough to let me move the stock tank into the house a couple weeks before our move. So, I set up the tank, filled it with RO/DI, mixed in salt and added heaters and Streams.

On the day of the move, I put everything into tubs and simply moved everything to the stock tank. Then, hooked my CA Reactor and Skimmer up to the stock tank. I kept everything in the stock tank for over a year until I bought my new tank.

Now, keep in mind, I monitored the parameters in the stock tank to make sure they were right in line with my 200. There were NO losses due to the move.