Long distance transporting

[kook1e]

Might be getting a new job and will need to travel from Virginia to Massachusetts, so about 9 hours. I've had my clowns for 5+ years now and some coral as well. Do you think they would make the trip (Mainly the fish. The coral I could see myself getting rid of if need be?
I used to take it back and forth from college no worries (about 3.5h). I would use a cooler mostly and some spare 5 buckets. I know the stress that comes with it, any tips? What's the farthest you guys have traveled for yee crew? 

[Michael_Price]

I have thought this through myself. And it could be rather simple, depending on the size of your system. 

 

I have a 30 Gallon, with only three large chunks of Live Rock all of my coral is on, as you can see in my sig. I recently moved my stand, and I put the three live rocks, and my fish all in a clear plastic 17 Gallon tub. And I put a Power Head in with a magnetic foot to the side, and it ran like a regular system! just no lighting or heater. So in theory (If you have a small enough system) you could put all your coral and fish in a tub together, and with a power inverter hook up a power head and be fine with flow and oxygen for 9 hours vs bags for every one. And put all your extra live rock and extra water in 5 gallon buckets. 

 

Option two, Bag all your fish Separately so they are not using all the oxygen out of the bags or buckets together. and put your corals in buckets or tubs. Either way, it will not be a fun process for you or the tank .  but i would think the best way to do it is hook up a power head in a tub with your fish and coral so at least they have some type of life support system in place. 

[aviator300]

I moved my 8 gal IM Nuvo 1200 miles and 2 days. It was full of coral, a clownfish, 2 anemonies, a crab. I just took 2/3 of the water out into a 5 gal bucket, Moved the tank on a sturdy plank of wood to my car, placed it on the passengers seat beside me, put water back in to about 3" from the top and hit the road.

 

Used a battery powered airstone (which ran for 48 hrs with one battery change) and kept the temp stable in the car. I spent one night in a motel and took it into the room with me the same way I loaded it up to begin with.

 

When I arrived at my destination I put it all back together and got it up and running in about an hour. The water was grungy, the coral and livestock were a little unhappy but within 48hrs you couldn't even tell it was moved.

 

I've seen others that take everything out of the tank and into jars or buckets but with the way I did it, nothing was disturbed (other than a little sloshing around).

[Clown79]

It can be done. 

 

You can get the Styrofoam coolers and use heating packs to maintain temp if its during cold weather.

 

Battery pack airstone pumps to keep the fishes water oxygenated. 

 

Your rocks and corals should be fine in containers of water. I'd use new sand.

[tam]

 

[kook1e]

2 hours ago, tam said:

Yeah ive read this thread (back in 2009 actually lol) His drive is only 2.5h though. I used to do 3.5 from home to college and vice versa. I know how to break down everything and transport, I just wasn't sure if it was possible for everything to make it 9 hours not including break down and resetup. 

 

14 hours ago, aviator300 said:

Used a battery powered airstone (which ran for 48 hrs with one battery change) and kept the temp stable in the car. I spent one night in a motel and took it into the room with me the same way I loaded it up to begin with.

 

I'll have to look into the battery powered ones. Could be a game changer.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

18 minutes ago, kook1e said:

Yeah ive read this thread (back in 2009 actually lol) His drive is only 2.5h though. I used to do 3.5 from home to college and vice versa. I know how to break down everything and transport, I just wasn't sure if it was possible for everything to make it 9 hours not including break down and resetup. 

 

I'll have to look into the battery powered ones. Could be a game changer.

 

Another option is to buy a cheap $20 inverter and just run a powerhead. Depending on how much power the pump uses, you could potentially run a heater off it as well. Although you'll want to be careful with the small water volume and inconsistent temperature in the car that things don't get too hot.

 

Whichever method you choose (Rubbermaid tote, bagging up everything, etc), I think you'll be fine. Livestock is sometimes bagged up for 16+ hours when it comes from the retailer to our homes. Heck, the ride from Fiji or other remote tropical countries could be even longer and more stressful.

[kook1e]

19 hours ago, chipmunkofdoom2 said:

 

Another option is to buy a cheap $20 inverter and just run a powerhead. Depending on how much power the pump uses, you could potentially run a heater off it as well. Although you'll want to be careful with the small water volume and inconsistent temperature in the car that things don't get too hot.

 

Whichever method you choose (Rubbermaid tote, bagging up everything, etc), I think you'll be fine. Livestock is sometimes bagged up for 16+ hours when it comes from the retailer to our homes. Heck, the ride from Fiji or other remote tropical countries could be even longer and more stressful.

 Very true. Thanks for the link, I think I will be purchasing the inverter. I will keep you guys posted on the move!

[jservedio]

I moved my 20g and 2g cross country twice in the past 3 years (NC to WI and WI to NC) and I went with a 400w inverter with all of my corals/fish in 2 big styrafoam coolers with an airpump running to both, each had a small heater, and I had a hydor pump in the cooler with the acros.I put my entire 2g pico inside of a big tupperware and ran the entire thing (lights and all!)

 

 

[dandelion]

On 2/20/2017 at 10:46 PM, aviator300 said:

I moved my 8 gal IM Nuvo 1200 miles and 2 days. It was full of coral, a clownfish, 2 anemonies, a crab. I just took 2/3 of the water out into a 5 gal bucket, Moved the tank on a sturdy plank of wood to my car, placed it on the passengers seat beside me, put water back in to about 3" from the top and hit the road.

 

Used a battery powered airstone (which ran for 48 hrs with one battery change) and kept the temp stable in the car. I spent one night in a motel and took it into the room with me the same way I loaded it up to begin with.

 

When I arrived at my destination I put it all back together and got it up and running in about an hour. The water was grungy, the coral and livestock were a little unhappy but within 48hrs you couldn't even tell it was moved.

 

I've seen others that take everything out of the tank and into jars or buckets but with the way I did it, nothing was disturbed (other than a little sloshing around).

How did you prevent the water from spilling out when you press the pedal or hit the brakes?

[smeagol108]

What everyone has said is correct, buckets, or containers with powerhead or heater and inverter is easiest.  Coolers are great due to their insulation.  One thing not to forget: Bring extra newly mixed saltwater. this will allow you to deal with any issue you may encounter.

[dandelion]

1 minute ago, smeagol108 said:

What everyone has said is correct, buckets, or containers with powerhead or heater and inverter is easiest.  Coolers are great due to their insulation.  One thing not to forget: Bring extra newly mixed saltwater. this will allow you to deal with any issue you may encounter.

Make sure the new water is at similar temperature though. That may mean keeping the car at say like 75°F if you can't run that many heaters.

[jservedio]

2 hours ago, dandelion said:

Make sure the new water is at similar temperature though. That may mean keeping the car at say like 75°F if you can't run that many heaters.

No need to be uncomfortable if it is in styrafoam - it'll keep it's temperature. Over the course of 14 hours, I lost about 4 degrees with the cabin around 63 and lost less than 2 degrees over 12 the hours the second day with the cabin around 72 with no heaters.

 

When you get to where you are going, just leave everything in the coolers and heat things back up - once your temperatures match then start transferring back to your tank. The last time I moved, I went on a 2 week vacation just a week after I moved, so I left my coral and fish in a 10g temp tank sitting on my floor for a month.

 

If you try to rush it or do it quickly, you will screw things up. Coral can live a really long time in a cooler.

[aviator300]

10 hours ago, dandelion said:

How did you prevent the water from spilling out when you press the pedal or hit the brakes?

I kept the water level about a full 3" below the rim and put a towel over it with string tied around the rim. I also was on the interstate most of the time where accelerating and braking weren't much of an issue. When I was in stop and go traffic, I just drove like I was on snow and ice and ignored the honking Hahah. It sloshed around a little and got some water on the seat (but I had that all covered in plastic wrap).  I have to admit, it was a constant job doing it this way but it was worth it to me.