Moving a Nano - My Experience

[Joxer the Mighty]

Does everyone else hate moving as much as I do?   Phew, am I glad it's over. Anyway, just thought I'd share the details of how I moved my 12 gal. nano this past weekend.  I hope this posting is of  help to someone in the future.

 

The method I used may not work for everyone.  My new abode was just a few miles from where I used to live, there's no way I would have been able to go about it this way if I was moving somewhere far. Not sure if this is the 'correct' way to move a tank, but it worked for me.

 

The first thing I did was buy a big Rubbermaid type plastic tub at Home Depot. Not sure of the capacity but it measures about 30L X 20W X 24H. I filled it up with freshwater and let it 'cure' for a couple days. I honestly don't know if it was something I needed to do, but figured I best play it safe. Then came the big day.

 

I started off by putting some 4 gallons of saltwater in the tub. I then syphoned water from my tank into the tub until the tank was about half empty. At that point I had enough water in the tub to cover my live rock completely. I moved the rock and corals from the tank into the tub. I then syphoned some more water out of the tank into the tub until the tank  had only about two inches of water  left in it. The fish were then transported into a container of their own.

 

The tub went in the back seat of my car, I secured it with a seatbelt. Luckily my car has the type of seatbelt that will remain locked in place if you first pull it out all the way. I highly recommend doing this as opposed to relying on the seatbelt to lock  automatically if the car comes to a sudden halt. The tank went in the front passenger seat where it was also buckled in. It had enough water in it to keep my live sand 'live', but not so much that it would put undue stress on the tank seams. I then drove VERY carefully to keep the water  sloshing to a minimum. Again, I didn't have far to drive so this worked out just fine.

 

At the new house, I set up the stand and tank, filled up the tank about halfway and started moving the rock back in. Once all the LR was in place, I began introducing my  corals and fish back into the tank.  That was pretty much it. The best part: everything survived just fine!

 

Anyway, I hope someone finds this info useful someday!

[Drysocket]

Thanks Joxer!  I'll be moving in the end of July.  I'm kinda nervous about moving my tank.  I've got a 12G as well.  I've got an eclipse, so there's really no seams.  I think I'm going to try and leave my rock and corals in it with just enough water to cover them.  I hadn't figured out, yet what to put the rest of the water in.  Did you use the lid on the rubbermaid tub?  Did it help keep the water in with the sloshing and all?

[eferna]

what about moving a tank within the constraints of one house..i.e. like from the living room to the bedroom.

[Toyfreek]

Wow I thought I had a rough move,

I picked up my seven gallon nano and put it in the back of the Jeep and drove it slowely the two blocks to my new apartment:) Then I put it on my desk. My 35 was alittle more difficult though, we drained it into buckets and coolers and reassembled it at the new place. that was not as fun/easy.

Toy

[eferna]

toyfreek:

You carried the entire 7 Gal with rock with water and all the inhabitants!!!

[Toyfreek]

yepp

It wasn't that heavy really like 80lbs or something

Toy

[Sahin]

Hmmm...I have to move my 75G Mbuna tank and 24G Reef tank soon so that I can decorate my room...I know its going to be a pain in the ass to do.

[jdiver]

For anyone moving a tank within a room, or to a different room on the same level with carpet throughout, you can buy teflon coasters to place under the four corners of the stand (or 4 legs, or whatever). With the teflon coasters, it will slide very easily and smoothly on any carpet. Of course, there are still limits to this with weight, but I have moved a completely full 37 gallon that way across a 20-25 ft room with no problem. Just be sure to push/pull from the bottom or middle of the stand, move it slowly, and 2 people are recommended. HTH.

[Joxer the Mighty]

Drysocket:

 

I did have a lid on the plastic tub but have a feeling some water would have still spilled out if I had made any quick starts or stops. As mentioned, I drove very carefully, and when coming to red lights slowed down quite gradually. Another thing, at one point I had to stop and place some wooden boards under the tub to level it out. It had been leaning back slightly and I could tell the water was sloshing dangerously close to the top edge that was lower than the rest.  It of course goes without saying that I had plenty of towels all over the back seat.

 

Good luck with your move! Sounds like you shouldn't have any problems leaving your rock and coral in the tank. I also have an Eclipse but it's glass, no way I could have done that.  Just make sure all your rock is firmly in place, you don't want a piece falling on any of your critters during the move. I almost crushed a slug that way  when I was moving rock around in the tank one day.