Hi,
My trepidation notwithstanding, my reef move (to new home) went very well last weekend. Here are some notes about it in case anyone is interested or is planning a move.
For my 75g acrylic, I used five Rubbermaid (not a plug for the company) tubs. I put water into each of the tubs, then added rock, inverts, and fish to the tubs (segregated). To preserve the LS, I left enough water in the tank to cover it.
Among the things I was worried about were:
- too much time in handling and transit
- leaving too much weight in the tank and breaking it
- temperature changes for the animals
- chemical problems (release of bad chemicals from the substrate, ammonia, etc.)
- stress and disease
I had one able-bodied helper and myself; a couple more would have been beneficial. The breaking down procedure took about 45 minutes, then loading the Astro (I'm not affiliated with Chevrolet, General Motors, or any subsidiary, but I recommend Astro vans if you like/need truck-like features and want to carry a lot of people!) another 30 minutes. The drive was 90 minutes, then setup to the point of the animals being back in the water was about 45 minutes more. Total time about three and one-half hours.
The tank did seem to want to "belly" in the middle when lifted (it's 60"l x 15"w x 18"h), so I removed a little more water (some of the sand was exposed). Fascinating all the life that shows up when the tank is dismantled.
Living in California has the advantage of pleasant temperature. I took a few readings, and the temperature went from 76 at the start (before my lights come on in the morning) to 74.5 when the electrics were restarted. In the last three days I haven't seen any ick on the fish, but I'm probably not out of the woods yet on that.
While carrying the tank and during the drive, the LS and water sloshed around a lot. I was concerned about releasing hydrogen sulfide and other bad chemicals from the LS. It may have happened to an extent, but I haven't seen any effect from it. I have not tested for ammonia since the move because I've been so busy, and everything looks well. But I will do a larger than normal water change this weekend.
I noticed a drastic color change on my Yellow Tang. When it went into the carrier, it was its usual brilliant yellow, but when I opened the container at the destination, there was a lot of deep brown color along the sides and toward the tail. It wasn't transported with rock, just other little fish. The marks resembled bruises on bananas, and I thought it would surely die. But, within 15 minutes of me opening the container, the normal color was back. I was not aware that they changed color so dramatically when stressed.
There were not any breakages, motor vehicle breakdowns, or unexpected mishaps. Just an awful lot of work! It went as well as I hoped.
My trepidation notwithstanding, my reef move (to new home) went very well last weekend. Here are some notes about it in case anyone is interested or is planning a move.
For my 75g acrylic, I used five Rubbermaid (not a plug for the company) tubs. I put water into each of the tubs, then added rock, inverts, and fish to the tubs (segregated). To preserve the LS, I left enough water in the tank to cover it.
Among the things I was worried about were:
- too much time in handling and transit
- leaving too much weight in the tank and breaking it
- temperature changes for the animals
- chemical problems (release of bad chemicals from the substrate, ammonia, etc.)
- stress and disease
I had one able-bodied helper and myself; a couple more would have been beneficial. The breaking down procedure took about 45 minutes, then loading the Astro (I'm not affiliated with Chevrolet, General Motors, or any subsidiary, but I recommend Astro vans if you like/need truck-like features and want to carry a lot of people!) another 30 minutes. The drive was 90 minutes, then setup to the point of the animals being back in the water was about 45 minutes more. Total time about three and one-half hours.
The tank did seem to want to "belly" in the middle when lifted (it's 60"l x 15"w x 18"h), so I removed a little more water (some of the sand was exposed). Fascinating all the life that shows up when the tank is dismantled.
Living in California has the advantage of pleasant temperature. I took a few readings, and the temperature went from 76 at the start (before my lights come on in the morning) to 74.5 when the electrics were restarted. In the last three days I haven't seen any ick on the fish, but I'm probably not out of the woods yet on that.
While carrying the tank and during the drive, the LS and water sloshed around a lot. I was concerned about releasing hydrogen sulfide and other bad chemicals from the LS. It may have happened to an extent, but I haven't seen any effect from it. I have not tested for ammonia since the move because I've been so busy, and everything looks well. But I will do a larger than normal water change this weekend.
I noticed a drastic color change on my Yellow Tang. When it went into the carrier, it was its usual brilliant yellow, but when I opened the container at the destination, there was a lot of deep brown color along the sides and toward the tail. It wasn't transported with rock, just other little fish. The marks resembled bruises on bananas, and I thought it would surely die. But, within 15 minutes of me opening the container, the normal color was back. I was not aware that they changed color so dramatically when stressed.
There were not any breakages, motor vehicle breakdowns, or unexpected mishaps. Just an awful lot of work! It went as well as I hoped.
