1250 miles and perfect

ian

ian

Member
Thanks to all of the great things I have learned on this site I have managed to move a 215 gallon tank and loose nothing but a few crabs and snails. The move was from the Washington D.C. area to South Florida (over 1250 miles) and I am honestly amazed that everyone lived. I kept the fish alive in a half full 25 gallon rubbermaid for 4 days of moving and over 3 weeks in my new home. In fact the only thing I haven't been able to answer is why my tank is doing so well. I have a coral plate that has nearly doubled in size, it has been 6 weeks, and the same with an anenome. All my fish look perfect and they never even slowed down their eating habits. I anyone ever needs any advice I am happy to help. Thanks to all of you for the different ideas. Isn't saltwaterfish.com a great place?
 
cadbury

cadbury

Member
Hey Ian, I'm also doing a big move in a couple of weeks, did you save over half of the water? Just curious, and what did you pit it in if you did?
 
ian

ian

Member
I went to Home Depot and purchased rubbermaid containers, I believe they were 25 gallon or 30 gallon. They are about $4.50 each. I filled them all with water and let them soak, then I rinsed them. Despite what Rubbermaid had told me this is very important as I have had problem in the past with "suds" from something in their containers. If you rinse and soak them well you should be fine. I then filled each container a little over half full, I would guess I had almost 200 gallons when I started. I placed live rock and sand in all the containers covered them with plastic wrap, taped it down and then put the lids on. I would say that of the 215 gallons I only had about 125-50 left by the time I reached Florida, no matter what you will loose some. I had one conatiner with the fish in it which went in the front of the Uhaul with me. I did my best to keep the temperature consistent which was pretty easy. As for air I strapped a battery operated air pump to the side of the container.
I think the biggest help was the fact that I had most of my water. Not for the obvious reasons but so that I could do two water changes a day for all the fish in the one container. I think this helped keep the water levels normal in there too. Eventually I started using tank water to get them acclimated and the rest is all good news!
 
cadbury

cadbury

Member
Sounds good Ian, thanks for the info. I'm only moving a couple of miles, but it being a 180 Reef will be tough enough. I'm hopeing to salvage most of the water so I could add the fish right back in.... We moved my friends Reef a few weeks ago, it was a 120. We had it doiwn and up and running in 4 hours, alot of work, but we did'nt miss a beat and everything looks great. Good luck with yours!!
 
jpawson

jpawson

Member
Ian,
I am moving from Raleigh, NC to Jacksonville, FL in March. Glad to hear your move was successful. My LFS wants $1800 to move everything for me. Hopefully my wife's company will pay this as part of relocation. Congrats
 
guppy slayer

guppy slayer

Member
Sorry to hear you left the area but am glad that the move went well for you:) Was there any good LFS you use to visit around here. Were you in MD or VA?
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
congrats
Have heard horror stories with a much less involved move. Maybe our little fishes and corals are heartier than we think.
Again congrats.
 
ian

ian

Member
Thanks for all the feedback, I never thought it would go as well as it did. In fact, everything is doing far better now than ever before and I have no idea why (knock on wood).
As for good LFS the most amazing one was in PA and was called that fish place. They actually have a website, www.*************.com, but it doesn't do it justice. The place is about the size of a home depot with a fish room about 25% of that size and a room with just inverts that is about twice the size of most fish rooms in any given LFS. It is about 2 hours from No. Va but it is well worth the trip.
I will say this about Florida, the fish are beautiful and about half the price. :)
 
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