Advice Needed on Moving Tank
- Thread starter gemmy
- Start date
flower
Well-Known Member
IMO..Sell or give away livestock except snails and such ..the rest can be moved safely. I think it's too long for fish or corals because once you reach your destination they still have to have everything set up before they can go into the tank.
Snails and such would be happy for days in a tub with the liverock.
gemmy
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354162
What if I upgraded to a larger tank and setup up about a month or two before the move? Would it be feasible then?
I would set up the large tank in Florida and have someone maintain it and test the water and add a CUC.
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354162
What if I upgraded to a larger tank and setup up about a month or two before the move? Would it be feasible then?
I would set up the large tank in Florida and have someone maintain it and test the water and add a CUC.
meowzer
Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354162
What if I upgraded to a larger tank and setup up about a month or two before the move? Would it be feasible then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354163
I would set up the large tank in Florida and have someone maintain it and test the water and add a CUC.
Of course it would.....90% of my fish spend 24 hours in baggies and styrofoam containers......so why wouldn't yours be okay
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354162
What if I upgraded to a larger tank and setup up about a month or two before the move? Would it be feasible then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354163
I would set up the large tank in Florida and have someone maintain it and test the water and add a CUC.
Of course it would.....90% of my fish spend 24 hours in baggies and styrofoam containers......so why wouldn't yours be okay
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354164
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354162
What if I upgraded to a larger tank and setup up about a month or two before the move? Would it be feasible then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354163
I would set up the large tank in Florida and have someone maintain it and test the water and add a CUC.
Of course it would.....90% of my fish spend 24 hours in baggies and styrofoam containers......so why wouldn't yours be okay
You know what, that isn't a bad idea...Pack up your critters like you are shipping them to yourself. The biggest hurdle is set up after reaching your destination. With that already done you just acclimate...have some extra water on hand for an emergency water change..Because of adding everything back at once, it isn't the slow build you normally would do.
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354164
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354162
What if I upgraded to a larger tank and setup up about a month or two before the move? Would it be feasible then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354163
I would set up the large tank in Florida and have someone maintain it and test the water and add a CUC.
Of course it would.....90% of my fish spend 24 hours in baggies and styrofoam containers......so why wouldn't yours be okay
You know what, that isn't a bad idea...Pack up your critters like you are shipping them to yourself. The biggest hurdle is set up after reaching your destination. With that already done you just acclimate...have some extra water on hand for an emergency water change..Because of adding everything back at once, it isn't the slow build you normally would do.
dmanatee
Member
this may be a different case but I have known of one or two people who had tanks and when they tryed to move to florida had to send back their fish and plants because of the stringent feral alnimal laws down threre (that being said it was peranas and house plants). make sure you double check. Never hurts. Best luck thought
2quills
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a lot of work, but i'm sure it could/would be possible. Moving my salt and freshwater tank this last summer was quite a bit of work but fortunately I was able to set up 2 seperate tanks ahead of time at the new place when we moved last summer. Fish all turned out just fine, I didn't have corals at the time but I did lose most all of my inverts because they were exposed to the summer heat a little longer than planned as I brought them over on a seperate trip.
I agree with selling off as much as you can. If you're moving the extra cash would be nice and you can always rebuild again. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we'll be moving again here in the next couple of weeks. Wife has a better oportunity that she wants to take but it requires us to give up our free townhouse and move pretty quick. She looked at a house today that we want to rent with option to buy, she says it's nice and would be good for us and has a big garage and I like the sound of that. Not looking forward to moving my 50G or my 120 (yikes). I think I'll try to save everything though since we'd only be going 5 miles down the road.
I would think that if they can ship livestock from one side of the country to the other and have it survive then I'm sure it could be done if you're dedicated to making it happen. I'd maybe think about using some large coolers instead of plastic totes for the long ride to help regulate temperature.
I agree with selling off as much as you can. If you're moving the extra cash would be nice and you can always rebuild again. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we'll be moving again here in the next couple of weeks. Wife has a better oportunity that she wants to take but it requires us to give up our free townhouse and move pretty quick. She looked at a house today that we want to rent with option to buy, she says it's nice and would be good for us and has a big garage and I like the sound of that. Not looking forward to moving my 50G or my 120 (yikes). I think I'll try to save everything though since we'd only be going 5 miles down the road.
I would think that if they can ship livestock from one side of the country to the other and have it survive then I'm sure it could be done if you're dedicated to making it happen. I'd maybe think about using some large coolers instead of plastic totes for the long ride to help regulate temperature.
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354181
Sounds like a lot of work, but i'm sure it could/would be possible. Moving my salt and freshwater tank this last summer was quite a bit of work but fortunately I was able to set up 2 seperate tanks ahead of time at the new place when we moved last summer. Fish all turned out just fine, I didn't have corals at the time but I did lose most all of my inverts because they were exposed to the summer heat a little longer than planned as I brought them over on a seperate trip.
I agree with selling off as much as you can. If you're moving the extra cash would be nice and you can always rebuild again. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we'll be moving again here in the next couple of weeks. Wife has a better oportunity that she wants to take but it requires us to give up our free townhouse and move pretty quick. She looked at a house today that we want to rent with option to buy, she says it's nice and would be good for us and has a big garage and I like the sound of that. Not looking forward to moving my 50G or my 120 (yikes). I think I'll try to save everything though since we'd only be going 5 miles down the road.
I would think that if they can ship livestock from one side of the country to the other and have it survive then I'm sure it could be done if you're dedicated to making it happen. I'd maybe think about using some large coolers instead of plastic totes for the long ride to help regulate temperature.
+1
That's why critters are shipped in Styrofoam containers. Plastic totes for the rock is best because they are stronger.
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354181
Sounds like a lot of work, but i'm sure it could/would be possible. Moving my salt and freshwater tank this last summer was quite a bit of work but fortunately I was able to set up 2 seperate tanks ahead of time at the new place when we moved last summer. Fish all turned out just fine, I didn't have corals at the time but I did lose most all of my inverts because they were exposed to the summer heat a little longer than planned as I brought them over on a seperate trip.
I agree with selling off as much as you can. If you're moving the extra cash would be nice and you can always rebuild again. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we'll be moving again here in the next couple of weeks. Wife has a better oportunity that she wants to take but it requires us to give up our free townhouse and move pretty quick. She looked at a house today that we want to rent with option to buy, she says it's nice and would be good for us and has a big garage and I like the sound of that. Not looking forward to moving my 50G or my 120 (yikes). I think I'll try to save everything though since we'd only be going 5 miles down the road.
I would think that if they can ship livestock from one side of the country to the other and have it survive then I'm sure it could be done if you're dedicated to making it happen. I'd maybe think about using some large coolers instead of plastic totes for the long ride to help regulate temperature.
+1
That's why critters are shipped in Styrofoam containers. Plastic totes for the rock is best because they are stronger.
gemmy
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354181
Sounds like a lot of work, but i'm sure it could/would be possible. Moving my salt and freshwater tank this last summer was quite a bit of work but fortunately I was able to set up 2 seperate tanks ahead of time at the new place when we moved last summer. Fish all turned out just fine, I didn't have corals at the time but I did lose most all of my inverts because they were exposed to the summer heat a little longer than planned as I brought them over on a seperate trip.
I agree with selling off as much as you can. If you're moving the extra cash would be nice and you can always rebuild again. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we'll be moving again here in the next couple of weeks. Wife has a better oportunity that she wants to take but it requires us to give up our free townhouse and move pretty quick. She looked at a house today that we want to rent with option to buy, she says it's nice and would be good for us and has a big garage and I like the sound of that. Not looking forward to moving my 50G or my 120 (yikes). I think I'll try to save everything though since we'd only be going 5 miles down the road.
I would think that if they can ship livestock from one side of the country to the other and have it survive then I'm sure it could be done if you're dedicated to making it happen. I'd maybe think about using some large coolers instead of plastic totes for the long ride to help regulate temperature.
Thanks for the advice and good luck with the move. I'm still not sure if I'm going to move to Florida, but I want to have a realistic expectations of what I would be getting myself into.
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383472/advice-needed-on-moving-tank#post_3354181
Sounds like a lot of work, but i'm sure it could/would be possible. Moving my salt and freshwater tank this last summer was quite a bit of work but fortunately I was able to set up 2 seperate tanks ahead of time at the new place when we moved last summer. Fish all turned out just fine, I didn't have corals at the time but I did lose most all of my inverts because they were exposed to the summer heat a little longer than planned as I brought them over on a seperate trip.
I agree with selling off as much as you can. If you're moving the extra cash would be nice and you can always rebuild again. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we'll be moving again here in the next couple of weeks. Wife has a better oportunity that she wants to take but it requires us to give up our free townhouse and move pretty quick. She looked at a house today that we want to rent with option to buy, she says it's nice and would be good for us and has a big garage and I like the sound of that. Not looking forward to moving my 50G or my 120 (yikes). I think I'll try to save everything though since we'd only be going 5 miles down the road.
I would think that if they can ship livestock from one side of the country to the other and have it survive then I'm sure it could be done if you're dedicated to making it happen. I'd maybe think about using some large coolers instead of plastic totes for the long ride to help regulate temperature.
Thanks for the advice and good luck with the move. I'm still not sure if I'm going to move to Florida, but I want to have a realistic expectations of what I would be getting myself into.
btldreef
Moderator
I have driven home a functioning 55G from Pennsylvania before, and it was NOT easy. it was only a 9 hour drive, but still a long time for fish to be in coolers.
I drained almost all of the water out into colors and placed fish/snails/crabs/shrimp with the tank water. I placed corals in water that I brought with me from my own tank and rock went in plastic tubs with freshly made saltwater. I used a power inverter for water movement and a small skimmer in the fish cooler. There was also an anemone to deal with, and that got placed in a specimen container and put in the cooler with the fish. What little water was left in the tank stayed in there with the sand (the water was barely visible).
Once I got home, I kept the fish in the cooler overnight with a powerhead and skimmer running, put a powerhead in the totes with the rocks and put corals in my QT. I added new water to the tank with the sand in it, as well as some Prime and let it sit overnight. Next morning I did a 50% water change. (I had to make gallons and gallons of water ahead of time for this move). Placed all rock and corals in the tank and moved all fish to the QT. I waited til the next day, did another 30% water change and in went the fish. No issues. About a month later I upgraded the filtration system to add a sump and had that system running for about 2 years.
I moved two Percula clowns, a BTA, a ton of LPS frags, no SPS, 1 Coral beauty angelfish, 1Golden head sleeper goby, 1 scooter blenny and 1 flasher wrasse (never did get it identified, but looked like a Carpenters). All the fish survived the move.
From experience, I can tell you it was a lot of work and I would not do it again. I'm dreading just moving to the house next door now. If I were to move any distance, I'd probably break down my tank, sell my fish, put the corals and rock in totes and move that way. I wouldn't take fish or finicky corals.
I drained almost all of the water out into colors and placed fish/snails/crabs/shrimp with the tank water. I placed corals in water that I brought with me from my own tank and rock went in plastic tubs with freshly made saltwater. I used a power inverter for water movement and a small skimmer in the fish cooler. There was also an anemone to deal with, and that got placed in a specimen container and put in the cooler with the fish. What little water was left in the tank stayed in there with the sand (the water was barely visible).
Once I got home, I kept the fish in the cooler overnight with a powerhead and skimmer running, put a powerhead in the totes with the rocks and put corals in my QT. I added new water to the tank with the sand in it, as well as some Prime and let it sit overnight. Next morning I did a 50% water change. (I had to make gallons and gallons of water ahead of time for this move). Placed all rock and corals in the tank and moved all fish to the QT. I waited til the next day, did another 30% water change and in went the fish. No issues. About a month later I upgraded the filtration system to add a sump and had that system running for about 2 years.
I moved two Percula clowns, a BTA, a ton of LPS frags, no SPS, 1 Coral beauty angelfish, 1Golden head sleeper goby, 1 scooter blenny and 1 flasher wrasse (never did get it identified, but looked like a Carpenters). All the fish survived the move.
From experience, I can tell you it was a lot of work and I would not do it again. I'm dreading just moving to the house next door now. If I were to move any distance, I'd probably break down my tank, sell my fish, put the corals and rock in totes and move that way. I wouldn't take fish or finicky corals.