Temporary Tank Move Question

[Abbysmom]

We are going to put tile down in the room our tank is in so we obviously have to move it for several days in order for the tile to set, to grout and to seal it before putting the tank back where it goes. Any suggestions on which way to approach this?

My thought -
I thought about emptying it into a large stock tank in our living room (My husband will love that!! :lmao: ) and putting 2 x 4's on the ends of the stock tank and setting my lights on them. I was only going to empty the fish, lr, water and corals into the stock tank and leave the sand. What will i need to do to keep the sand alive?

Thanks for your help and input in advance!!

 

[chaderic26]

How old and deep is the sand. Might be worth it to replace or wash for all the crap that's gonna get stirred up.

The stock tank is pretty much what everyone I know has used in the past. If it were me I would probably just use my clip on sump light over it for a few days. Corals would be fine. Just use your powerheads and heater like normal.

Also don't let any kids eating ribs dip greasy ribs in the tank.( inside Joke.)

 

[Abbysmom]

Haha... I will keep all kids away!! : ) Our's is in my belly so that won't be too hard. It is a 150 gallon tank. I have had the sand for about 4 years and its about 3+ inches deep. Does it go bad after time??

 

[chaderic26]

Not really bad. Just when you start taking water out. I would pump out as much of the clean water as you can before you start moving rock around. As soon as you start taking the rock out the remaining water is going to turn thick with detritus, and you don't really want to transfer all that over.

So not bad just gets really dirty over the years. But it depends on tank maintenance. If you vacuum sections of the sand bed periodically yours might not be as dirty as mine has been in the past.

 

[lauremf2002]

I would vacuum the surface of the sand only and dont mess with the sand itself. Stirring or "washing" the sand is going to harm benificial bacteria i.m.o. And you will lose tons of beneficial bacteria if you replace it. Leave enough water to cover the sand and a heater if your house is cold and it should be fine for a few days.

 

[cody6766]

The biggest thing you have to worry about with the sand bed is churning up a bunch of waste and other nasties trapped in the bed. This can cause spikes throughout the nitrogen cycle and cause issues with your critters. If you can move the rock w/o churning too much up and fill with water avoiding the same, I'd say you'd probably be okay.

as for the rock/livestock, your plan sounds pretty solid

 

[dugg]

A 150g tank by it's self is a load to move. With a 3" sandbed and 3" of water it's gonna be impossible to move. I would move the sand to buckets and either just keep it wet or rinse it completely. Personally I would rinse it and start fresh. Just keep a few pounds to seed the rinsed sand when you set back up.

I would also give that tile about a week before I set the tank back up on it to give everything time to cure good and harden.

 

[lauremf2002]

Okay, didnt realize your tank was 150g's. I agree with dugg and everyone else then. If you could have avoided moving the sand that would have been ideal.

 

[Abbysmom]

Sounds good. Does anyone have a stock tank i could borrrow? I was gonna go buy one but i thought i would check on here first. We are going to start the floor next week.