Anybody ever moved a 300 gallon reef tank?

[tableforglasses]

So I am intersted in setting up a new tank and I found one used that I wanted to purchase the problem is that it is still currently setup and is being sold with all the livestock, (live rock, coral, fish). Also another factor is it is about 3 hours away not to mention that it is a 300 gallon tank. I have the vehicle to move the tank and transport everything but I am not even sure how I would do it. Would I need to drain all the water to take with me and put in the tank when I get it setup in my house? I am sure I can bag up the livestock as you would any other way you purchase fish but just thinking about tearing down and setting up the new tank and reestablishing with the current livestock. Anyone ever attempt this? Any thoughts on how I would do this or how much water I would need to transfer?
Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[beth]

I have never done it with a 300, only a 72. It's a chore but with planning out each step it can be done. I made the move without a hitch. I did not reuse sand. I did use a good deal of live sand to re-set up and kickstart the new setup. I didn't move fish nor corals immediately into new setup. That occurred about a wk later, giving the new tank time to settle in. I did move over the live rock at the same time as tank setup. In the meantime corals and fish stayed in rubbermaids using the tank water. I only moved the tank 20 miles away so the time they were out of filtered water was short. Since that isn't the case in your situation, you will need to find a means keeping the water aerated. If you bag everything, then maybe you have access to o2 tank as that is best for shipping. You can bag each animal with just enough water so the fish can move a bit and upright, then most of the bag will be for the o2. You will also want to use heat packs if you're doing this where it's cold. If you're traveling in a van that is heated then this will be less of an issue.

 

[tableforglasses]

Thanks Beth,
Did you place any of the old water into the tank when you did the new setup or was it all new water with all new sand?

 

[beth]

No. That was new RO water I have to say the tank never needed an actual cycle. Using live rock and live sand, ammonia and nitrites stayed at zero both times I set up that tank. I didn't have that many fish though. I think allowing the tank to settle in for a few days, while keeping corals and fish in rectangle rubbermaids was a good decision and acclimation went smoothly.