Wish me luck on my move!
- Thread starter Rytek
- Start date
I moved my reef system to a new house 5 years ago. Had to move it all in rubber maids, I think I had like 20 of them, was the last thing I moved. Had about a 20 percent water change ready to go when I got there. You can spread your fish out in them depending on how many you have. It was a pita but everything survived. Then moved 400 miles the next year and sold the setup because that move wasnt going to happen. Left sand in tank moist, didnt want to stir up that time bomb. Tank was heavy but was able to move. 75 gallon! Good luck
Rytek
New member
Thanx guys.
Yea, I got a 34 gallon tank, a 30 gallon sump (don't laugh
and a 10 gallon top off and a 10 gallon fuge. I have 40 gallons of fresh saltwater waiting at new house. 100's of the bags the LFS use for when they sell live stock. I have 2 big rubbermade coolers to put the bags of live stock in with digital thermometers on them. I have 8, 5 gallon buckets with sealing lids for taking the aquarium water with me that comes from the sump. I have an extra 5 gallons RO for cleaning stuff. I bought 50 lbs of new live sand, will vacuume old sand out and toss it. New 200 micron filter socks ready to go, moving blankets to wrap the gear and tank in, and a guy to film me doing it all! Hope I am ready!!!
Yea, I got a 34 gallon tank, a 30 gallon sump (don't laugh
and a 10 gallon top off and a 10 gallon fuge. I have 40 gallons of fresh saltwater waiting at new house. 100's of the bags the LFS use for when they sell live stock. I have 2 big rubbermade coolers to put the bags of live stock in with digital thermometers on them. I have 8, 5 gallon buckets with sealing lids for taking the aquarium water with me that comes from the sump. I have an extra 5 gallons RO for cleaning stuff. I bought 50 lbs of new live sand, will vacuume old sand out and toss it. New 200 micron filter socks ready to go, moving blankets to wrap the gear and tank in, and a guy to film me doing it all! Hope I am ready!!!Why do you want to get rid of old sand? You can move with it in tank with some water on it and not really disturb it so it stays the same. When you add new water it wont cloud up as much because it already been through all that, and your bacteria bed is established. JMO, sure there is counter to it
LaOtIn
New member
moving 22 miles and changed tanks from a 40g to a 90g
when i did my move 3 months ago i bagged every coral individually, in ziploc bags. i put all the bags in buckets. removed all the water down to the sand. took out all the rock and put it in the buckets with the water. during this entire process i was catching my 4 fish and putting them in small buckets separately. i left the sand, got to the house with the new tank, put new sand in the tank from the bag, carbisea "live" sand. placed my base rock in. put all my old water in, got the rest of the rock in, filled the rest of the tank up with new ro/di saltwater (been mixing for a day with pumps in my garage). last i put my fish in and let everything settle. i lost zero fish, zero corals
when i did my move 3 months ago i bagged every coral individually, in ziploc bags. i put all the bags in buckets. removed all the water down to the sand. took out all the rock and put it in the buckets with the water. during this entire process i was catching my 4 fish and putting them in small buckets separately. i left the sand, got to the house with the new tank, put new sand in the tank from the bag, carbisea "live" sand. placed my base rock in. put all my old water in, got the rest of the rock in, filled the rest of the tank up with new ro/di saltwater (been mixing for a day with pumps in my garage). last i put my fish in and let everything settle. i lost zero fish, zero corals
not moving to bigger tank, therefore why not keep the sand you got? Other than have any problems with algae, the sand you have is good if not better then whats in the bag since its cycled, aged, and working! And your wildlife is used to what you have, new sand can bring in new problems.
Rytek
New member
moving 22 miles and changed tanks from a 40g to a 90g
when i did my move 3 months ago i bagged every coral individually, in ziploc bags. i put all the bags in buckets. removed all the water down to the sand. took out all the rock and put it in the buckets with the water. during this entire process i was catching my 4 fish and putting them in small buckets separately. i left the sand, got to the house with the new tank, put new sand in the tank from the bag, carbisea "live" sand. placed my base rock in. put all my old water in, got the rest of the rock in, filled the rest of the tank up with new ro/di saltwater (been mixing for a day with pumps in my garage). last i put my fish in and let everything settle. i lost zero fish, zero corals
Thanx for sharing that. That's what I did and IT ALL SURVIVED :mixed:
Rytek
New member
As I said above, just wanted to update and let all know that my tank move went well and I will post pics later. Thanx for your help guys. If you look to my other thread up right now and help with my fuge I will, -for a limited time only- be offering 10 cool points to those that help. Thread is titled: fuge help -4 u smarties-
Ps. I went with new sand as it was crushed coral and was the worst mistake of my reef keeping career. Went with some fine grain and loving it.
Ps. I went with new sand as it was crushed coral and was the worst mistake of my reef keeping career. Went with some fine grain and loving it.
tkeracer619
New member
Good luck. Just take your time, don't take short cuts, but don't lollygag.
NatureNerd
New member
Glad to hear it worked out for you. Give us an update in a day or two, if you would. I am going to swap out tanks next month, I hope. Not moving but upgrading. Except for the car trip it is almost the same thing. I moved 16 yrs ago and moving a tank is a ton of work.
The only other comment I have is: Why didn't you get a bigger tank at the same time? If you have to tear down a tank, make it worth your time...
The only other comment I have is: Why didn't you get a bigger tank at the same time? If you have to tear down a tank, make it worth your time...
PistolShrmp
New member
Moving a tank is a huge task, grats on success.
ReefBeforeGirls
New member
Every time I choose my tank over gf I have to move my tank. Lol jk, but I did have to move one time.
Definitely plan ahead, I thought the move would take a few hours but it actually took me a good 6 hour to put together (40 gallon also) aquascaping took the longest time because I wanted the same look and had to epoxy all my corals
I used new sand because I was afraid to disturb my old sand bed
Everythig made it! It was hard work but I'm sure you'll be fine! Best of luck and keep us updated
Definitely plan ahead, I thought the move would take a few hours but it actually took me a good 6 hour to put together (40 gallon also) aquascaping took the longest time because I wanted the same look and had to epoxy all my corals
I used new sand because I was afraid to disturb my old sand bed
Everythig made it! It was hard work but I'm sure you'll be fine! Best of luck and keep us updated
ReefBeforeGirls
New member
Oops was to excited to share advice, didn't realize the move was successful! Congrats
zigzag1
New member
I've always used it as a good excuse to upgrade too. So have the new, larger system fille up with new saltwater and running at the new place, and just transfer the liverock and livestock. Then go back later and clean up the old system after the livestock has been settled in the new tank.
Another thing that helped me was to plan a separate day for the tank move. So move the furniture, household, and everything one day, then the tank the next day. The tank always takes longer than you think it will. And that way, my wife would be satisfied that everything important to her was moved for the house, she could be working on putting those things away, final cleaning of the old place, etc. And I could be left in peace to do the tank after having gotten the rest done.
Another thing that helped me was to plan a separate day for the tank move. So move the furniture, household, and everything one day, then the tank the next day. The tank always takes longer than you think it will. And that way, my wife would be satisfied that everything important to her was moved for the house, she could be working on putting those things away, final cleaning of the old place, etc. And I could be left in peace to do the tank after having gotten the rest done.
