I'm moving, need some advice.

[michika]

Are you going to be able to do most of the upgrades, aside from plumbing I guess, before the move? If the fish are going to be out of their "home" for longer then a couple of hours then I would probably tell you to go for the temporary set up. If all you will have to do is plumb everything then I would probably suggest that you just move everything.

Does that make sense?

I usually try to keep as much of my old water as possible, however if its super dirty I will toss it. I wait until the end though to toss the old water, just in case. Also make sure you have new salt water on hand for the move.

As for the sand, there are lots of methods so I don't really want to comment. In the past I have always left some water to cover the sand if I'm just moving the tank. Otherwise I just keep a few cups and start a new sandbed.

Good luck!

[christyf5]

Heres what I did when I moved.

Siphon half the water out to save to the new tank (if possible, you could use less if you had to). Siphon more water out to rock tubs (this water will be disposed of later). Take water down as far as you can (remove any rock that isn't sitting on the sandbed as the water lowers but leave the rock that is on the sandbed until last). Siphon water to about 4 inches or so. Remove last of rock to rubbermaid tubs. Catch fish and either put them in a tub/bucket by themselves or with a few corals. Don't put the fish in with any larger rock or you risk dead fish with a landslide.

At this point, really I would plan on ditching the sand. No matter how old it is, its full of crap and the amount of rinsing you'll have to do to even get it reasonably clean is immense. If anything is going to cause you problems down the road it will probably be the sandbed (JMO).

So move everything to your new destination, get the tank on the stand and plumb it to the sump. Put your sand in and place a large black garbage bag overtop and put a bowl in the middle, fill your tank pouring water into the bowl until the garbage bag and bowl start to float. Then continue to pour water in on top of the garbage bag. This reduces the cloudiness of the water since your sandbed isn't getting stirred up. Put your rock back in when the water is full by half. Get the tank filled, then make sure that the temperature is all about the same as the tubs/buckets before you put your corals and fish back in. You may have to stick a heater in and wait a bit (or alternatively you could heat up some RODI water and add salt to it and pour it in if you're in a hurry).

Et voila! That should take up about 10-12 hours of your day.

[Whatigot]

be very carefull.
I had a horrible experience moving my tank and apparently did damage to the seams of the tank in the move as it's leaking now.
None of the inhabitants I had ever seemed to be happy after the move, even after upgrading flow, skimming AND lighting.

I'm pretty much going to have to start from near scratch again....
so really be careful to make it as stress free a process as you can.
save yourself the shame....

[Funkytone]

Originally Posted by Whatigot

be very carefull.
I had a horrible experience moving my tank and apparently did damage to the seams of the tank in the move as it's leaking now.
None of the inhabitants I had ever seemed to be happy after the move, even after upgrading flow, skimming AND lighting.

I'm pretty much going to have to start from near scratch again....
so really be careful to make it as stress free a process as you can.
save yourself the shame....

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely be taking my time with this. I even booked Friday off of work so I can move the tank separate from everything else on Saturday.

-Tony

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Funkytone

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely be taking my time with this. I even booked Friday off of work so I can move the tank separate from everything else on Saturday.

-Tony

Good thinking, theres nothing like being rushed while you're trying to move a tank.

[mark]

Here's what I did (cut from another post of mine). Would just add I put heaters in the tank just after setting up so was heating while acclimatizing the fish:

I moved my FOWLR 75g across town and had no problems but had the advantage of being able to have 80-90g of fresh heated SW available at the new house. Another plus, I was able to do it a few days before the house move so had lots of time. Really would have complicated things if I had to pack the couch etc at the same time.

Drained about 25g of the original tank water into 5g pails (one for fish). Put the LR into large plastic tubs, covered with tank water. Caught the fish and placed into one of the 5g pails. Was going to scoop up the top inch of the DSB to re-establish the new but decided to go BB so didn't bother. Drained and cleaned out the rest of the tank.

Once at the new place, set the tank back up, got it leveled then added the water from the pails, placed the LR, topped up with the SW I had waiting. Drained quite of bit of the water from the one pail with the fish then added water from the tank to acclimatize. Once acclimatized, added fish to tank. Topped the tank back up with the remaining mix.

[michika]

I used rubbermaids and garbage cans to store my livestock in when I tore down my 230g. Just make sure to clean them before use, a vinegar solution usually works. They would be a fine choice.

[Funkytone]

Originally Posted by christyf5

Heres what I did when I moved.
Siphon half the water out to save to the new tank (if possible, you could use less if you had to). Siphon more water out to rock tubs (this water will be disposed of later). Take water down as far as you can (remove any rock that isn't sitting on the sandbed as the water lowers but leave the rock that is on the sandbed until last). Siphon water to about 4 inches or so. Remove last of rock to rubbermaid tubs. Catch fish and either put them in a tub/bucket by themselves or with a few corals. Don't put the fish in with any larger rock or you risk dead fish with a landslide.

Is there any risk to using all new saltwater?

Originally Posted by christyf5

At this point, really I would plan on ditching the sand. No matter how old it is, its full of crap and the amount of rinsing you'll have to do to even get it reasonably clean is immense. If anything is going to cause you problems down the road it will probably be the sandbed (JMO).....

Think the sand is bad even if its only 6 months old and looks pretty clean? I'd rather not buy another 60 pounds.

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Funkytone

Is there any risk to using all new saltwater?

No, but make sure the SG and temp are exact (or darn close). Its just that the used saltwater has already been conditioned/has various good bacteria in it etc. Might be a bit easier on corals and fish. You can always just acclimate corals/fish to the new water as well. Or you could go with using like 10-20% or something.

Originally Posted by Funkytone

Think the sand is bad even if its only 6 months old and looks pretty clean? I'd rather not buy another 60 pounds.

I'd put it in a bucket or two, fill with water, stir with your hand or a stick or something, get the crud to rise to the top, then pour off the water and repeat this as many times as it takes to get the water less murky looking. Odds are the water will be a disgusting greyish brown. Try to get it just light grey or white.

[Funkytone]

Originally Posted by christyf5

No, but make sure the SG and temp are exact (or darn close). Its just that the used saltwater has already been conditioned/has various good bacteria in it etc. Might be a bit easier on corals and fish. You can always just acclimate corals/fish to the new water as well. Or you could go with using like 10-20% or something.






I'd put it in a bucket or two, fill with water, stir with your hand or a stick or something, get the crud to rise to the top, then pour off the water and repeat this as many times as it takes to get the water less murky looking. Odds are the water will be a disgusting greyish brown. Try to get it just light grey or white.

Thanks Christy, great advice! I'm going to go with cleaning the sand to keep the budget down.