I'm moving - what now?

[Wjcastiglione]

Ok guys,

 

On Saturday I'm moving about a half hour away. I plan to make a trip to my old place just specifically for tank break down - and right back to my new place for tank set up.

 

It's a biocube 29g.

 

Contents:

• 2 clown fish
• a ton of snails
• 4 hermits
• 15-20 lbs live rock
• 20 lbs of sand
• NO coral

 

My plans for transport:

 

• fish in bucket with water by themselves
• rock in bucket with water
• leave a gallon or two of water in the tank for snails/hermits/sand

Plans for set- up:

• Put rock in
• Put water in
• Put fish in
• Turn all hardware on

 

Am I missing anything? Should I be concerned with the temperature change of the water? (it's winter in michigan)

 

Thanks for the input.

 

 

 

[buckeyereefer]

ammonia spike with stirring sand up is very possible.

[Spiderguardnano]

Start with new sand use a cup or 2 from your old sand bed

[Wretched]

I moved a 45g tank about 20 minutes away, I just bought half new sand and used half of my old sand. I placed all coral and fish into as many tupperware as it took and everything made it A-ok.

 

Edit: I'm in southern california so my temp didn't fluctuate much. You can pour heated water into a water bottle, or some plastic and seal it tight... add it to the tupperware. 30 minutes shouldn't be too drastic.

[Wjcastiglione]

ammonia spike with stirring sand up is very possible.

 

Tank has been set up for approx 2 months - maybe a lil more - should this still be a cause for concern? Fish have only been in it a month or so. Could there be that much ammonia in the sand with a lot of nassarious snails stirring it up on the regular?

[RK_tek]

Definitely can still have ammonia issues even this early. I would have extra SW on hand at the new place as some is invariably lost during the move and stirring things up can make the tank pretty nasty.

[Wjcastiglione]

Definitely can still have ammonia issues even this early. I would have extra SW on hand at the new place as some is invariably lost during the move and stirring things up can make the tank pretty nasty.

 

There's a LFS right down the street from the new place - so, I can always run to get some RO/DI or SW depending on how big of an emergency it is.

 

All in all - I think this is going to be alright. Hopefully.

[shawnriv]

I would recommend Mr. Saltwater Tank's guide to moving. His 50% off sale ends tonight.

 

https://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/move-upgrade/

[mrBananas]

When I moved my 12gal last summer (read 97 F at the end of August North FL at about 12pm) I used a similar procedure. Fish, rocks, and coral into separate Tupperware and stuffed into a cooler. Water emptied into two 5 gallon buckets. I left about 2 inches of water, the sand bed, and base rock in the tank so that it didn't stir up the sand too much. There was also a pistol shrimp that I couldn't catch before moving so it traveled in the tank. I laid paper towels over the tank and atop the water which reduced the splashing and helped to shade it. All of this was transported in the back of a truck with no temperature control. I immediately added all the water back and got the pumps circulating. I did a 15 minute temp acclimation for the fish/corals. Everything was back together in about 1 hour. The Xenia was ticked off but my zoas were open in an hour. The shrimp was missing for a couple days, but I found the shrimp tumbling in the surface skimmer alive and well. So 0 losses. I did do a water change later that evening once everything got comfortable again. I didn't notice any spikes in my parameters either. Good luck with the move!

[Halo_003]

When I moved my 10G I got 2 5G buckets. Rock went in one, corals were bagged and floated in the other. I filled both buckets to about the 3G point. I then put the fish in the coral bucket and let them swim freely. In the fish/coral bucket I also put my heater and my Nano 425 powerhead.

 

The tank I drained all the water I could. Put it all in the car, drove 3 hours. I had an AC power adapter in the car so I kept the heater and power head plugged in the whole time. Arrived at new location, got new 20G tank on stand and filled, mixed and heated etc, added rocks and the water from the rock bucket, temp acclimated corals, drip acclimated fish, put fish in.

 

I ran BB for a few days while I cleaned the old sand and added 2 cups a day of it. No ammonia spikes, nothing died, all was well. I used 10lbs of sand in my 10G and still only have that same 10lbs in my 20 long.

[Deleted User 8]

Tank has been set up for approx 2 months - maybe a lil more - should this still be a cause for concern? Fish have only been in it a month or so. Could there be that much ammonia in the sand with a lot of nassarious snails stirring it up on the regular?

 

I think you will be amazed at the crap that is in your sand, even after a couple months. Not saying that you have ammonia in there, but I bet a bunch of stuff that will easily turn into ammonia will be stirred up. I would be interested to know if you do actually notice a bunch of detritus in the sand. Please let us know.

 

Buzz

[Wjcastiglione]

All moved you guys. Been monitoring water levels and everything - no nitrate spike, no ammonia present, no nitrites. It was only about a half hour move. Fish seem happy as can be. They ate today.

 

I even added my first coral today - a hammer. It's been in there about 6 hours now and it's about half open.

[ajmckay]

I would recommend Mr. Saltwater Tank's guide to moving. His 50% off sale ends tonight.

 

https://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/move-upgrade/

I'm sorry but this looks sooooo shady... I typically don't buy anything that claims a 100% success rate or includes the phrase "The #1 thing you MUST...." I've watched a few of his videos and they don't strike me as particularly beneficial. I sent him a question several years ago, but never heard back...

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/205722-steviets-guide-to-moving-a-tank/

I would recommend you check out a guide that was posted here on nano-reef some time ago that contains some excellent advice. I followed that advice for the most part and had a simple and quick move.

 

Really, moving a tank isn't that big of a deal. The most important concept is only put back in what you took out. In other words don't use a tank move as an opportunity to add a bunch of new livestock. You can set up a new larger/smaller tank, but only put back in what you took out. Replacing or rinsing sand is fine. Have lots of 5g buckets (the home depot ones with the rubber gasket) and lots of new water mixed and ready.

 

Good luck with the move. Also, if you know you're going to be moving the tank soon, try not to mess with it too much like adding a bunch of new livestock or corals. Just a suggestion.

 

EDIT: Hahaha okay so I started the post, walked away for a while, and came back and finished it up and looks like you already moved... Well check out StevieT's guide anyways, maybe you can add your experience to it.