*StevieT's Guide to Moving a Tank*

[StevieT]

 

It is small enough. Just run tons of filter floss after the move.

[Clavius85]

Great guide Stevie, very helpful. But I was wondering, did you throw out your sand and start with new because you were moving your tank so far? I ask because I'll be moving my Solana 15 minutes across town soon and I'm torn on whether or not I should throw out the sand that is in it.

[StevieT]

I just didn't want to risk the new set up with dirty sand. Part of me thought that all that detritus disruption wouldn't be good. I think most start new, but a lot still use the old sand. If you do decide to keep give it a good rinse in saltwater and try and save all the good critters you can find.

[Msigler]

I have read over this thread about thirty times over the last couple of days. I am still nervous as hell.

I went and mixed up the water yesterday and I'm moving tonight. Actually I am in the middle of moving right now. I already made a couple of mistakes. First mistake, I mixed up the water and turned the heater all the way up and left. Second mistake, I purchased 40 gallons of distiller water an two large rrashcans but only took 1 heater and pump with me. So I'm gonna have to make more when I get there. I purchased two bags of live sand and do you think I can get away with not rinsing it? This is sooo stressful.

[StevieT]

How did the move go?

Turing the heater up all the way will not heat the water faster, only over heat it after you reach than pass your desired limit. They are on/off devices.

I do not think I rinsed the new sand when I did the move, if I remember I just dumped out all the nasty water and threw it in the tank.

 

 

I am moving my tank, again this coming weekend

[Spilo26]

After all that hard work your moving it again lmao.

[StevieT]

No kidding right. When I moved it to my current office I did not have anywhere else to put it. I purchased a house last October and it is time to finally bring it home. I see the tank for about a minute a day and don't have the time to care for it properly let alone actually look at it!

 

It will give me a great opportunity to kill this

[StevieT]

2nd Move Pictures

 

Last pictures of it's April 2009-September 2010 location.

 



 



 



 



 

 

Take Down:

 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 

 

Packed in the Truck:

 



 



 

Let's roll in the drug dealer truck:

 



 

Promotional pictures took, this is literally the first time I have been able to do this for the RSM. One shot:

 



 

Kalkwasser paste put on all the turf algae. So far so good here applied to about 10 rocks:

 



 



 

 

 

Sneak peak pics, more to come after it clears up. Sad to see white rock, again:

 



 



 



 



 

 

[Deleted User 6]

in front of the window?

[StevieT]

Only spot, window is totally un-used faces the driveway doesn't receive direct sunlight.

 

It looks pretty slick where it is, set back in this little nook of the living room. The window was never used much anyway and doesn't get direct sunlight. Now I have to play around with the lighting schedule so I can enjoy it after work a little, don't know how much day light will effect everything we have a HUGE bay window in that room. This was much easier to figure this out in the office.

[Jacobnano]

Ha! I knew I wasn't the only one thinking that at first lol. Stevie has good reasoning though.

[StevieT]

It is odd so the question is valid. I would love it in my home office but no room and will be viewed more in the living room.

[Rocket]

I lived in Milwaukee for a few years. It gets cold. And that was next to the Lake.

 

 

I would be more concerned of heat loss with it next to the window. The Department of Energy says this is an area of heat loss within a home.

[StevieT]

I lived in IL for three years, it is flat

 

I have good windows but I am hoping that it cools the tank a bit in the winter. This way I can run a lower temp and have the heater do the rest.

[SeanK]

im going to switch tanks and i read this thread for help

the only thing that is bothering me is if my tank goes through a cycle and kills all of my fish and coral

[StevieT]

Make sure you rock is not out of water and it won't be a problem. Do biweekly water changes the first few weeks, if there is a small cycle it is easy to soft cycle it by doing those water changes.

[pprice01]

Hi everyone,

 

This was a good read, as I am about to embark on moving my JB28 within the next month. I'm thinking of starting from scratch, but maybe I'll just refresh the sand instead. I'm curious about the pros and cons of keeping vs. replacing the sand, any thoughts?

 

How could I cycle new sand before the move, put it in a bucket of salt water with a pump or something?

 

Thanks everyone.

[xtlosx]

Very nice job... Impressive planning, and even more impressive is the execution! Good work, and will use this as a guide should I ever have to move my tank.

[kayl]

eek-

My move is coming up this Saturday!

Thanks for the guide StevieT!

[StevieT]

eek-

My move is coming up this Saturday!

Thanks for the guide StevieT!

 

good luck! It is stressful I won't lie about that but you get a fresh start and the reward is at the end.

 

Don't call me for help either but do enjoy a beer afterward

[rO.oster]

Thanks for the write-up Steve.

 

Question for ya'll. My move is comming up next month, it will be 45 mins across town.

 

My plan is as follows: My scape is puttied together into 2 layers, top, and bottom. I would drain some tank water into a few 5 gallon buckets (half full) and place my top chunk, and island chunk into these (with airbubble packing maybe to prevent shifting). Then completly drain the rear chambers, and drain the display down to maybe 20% full, just enough to cover the bottom level, sand level rocks.

 

For my BC29, can we comment on the structural integrity of the tank in relation to moving it with the sandbed, and 25% water in it? With help I believe It would be light enough to lift, but how stong is that bottom glass panel?

 

Relocate, and have 10 gallons fresh premixed waiting, place islands back (I am hoping for minimal sand disturbance) and fill into a bowl to prevent disturbance.

 

Thanks for any advice!

[fewskillz]

I don't like moving tanks with anymore water in them than needs to keep the sand wet. It's even better if you're ditching all of the sand then you can get the tank as empty as possible.

[doppelganger]

For my BC29, can we comment on the structural integrity of the tank in relation to moving it with the sandbed, and 25% water in it? With help I believe It would be light enough to lift, but how stong is that bottom glass panel?

 

Just a thought on this... I don't have a BC but I moved my standard 10 gallon (albeit like 5 min away) not too long ago. It had less than 1/2 of the water in it and it was HEAVY. I'm by no means huge but I'm not small either. 6'1 210 lbs... but it was quite a struggle for me carrying it more than a few feet. Just be VERY careful with it as it's surprisingly much much heavier than it looks. Lots of help is always good as it's awkward to hold as well. If possible I'd suggest something like a dolly to wheel it or something flat and strong. I actually used a laundry basket with handles. It held up surprisingly but it was always on the ground being dragged when it could just incase.

 

With that being said, take as much water out as you can as I wouldn't tempt fate with the weight of the sand bed plus water. It can be done just be very careful.

[rO.oster]

I don't like moving tanks with anymore water in them than needs to keep the sand wet.

 

Can you expand on why please?

 

 

Just a thought on this... I don't have a BC but I moved my standard 10 gallon (albeit like 5 min away) not too long ago. It had less than 1/2 of the water in it and it was HEAVY. I'm by no means huge but I'm not small either. 6'1 210 lbs... but it was quite a struggle for me carrying it more than a few feet. Just be VERY careful with it as it's surprisingly much much heavier than it looks. Lots of help is always good as it's awkward to hold as well. If possible I'd suggest something like a dolly to wheel it or something flat and strong. I actually used a laundry basket with handles. It held up surprisingly but it was always on the ground being dragged when it could just incase.

 

With that being said, take as much water out as you can as I wouldn't tempt fate with the weight of the sand bed plus water. It can be done just be very careful.

 

thanks for the advice. wet water is heavy! especially with roughly 30 lbs sand and maybe 10 lbs rock to boot. I was thinking of useing those movers straps that move the weight to your forearms rather than relying on fingers/hands to grimp the tank.

 

Any more comments on the structural integrity please? Thanks!

[fewskillz]

Can you expand on why please?

Why chance it? A new tank is a lot more expensive than an extra 5 gallon bucket. There are too many negatives and the only positive is it saves you a couple seconds. Not worth it.