Have to Move :(

[rasguedo]

Well my building got sold and I have to move to a new apt and take my tank. I have a small 28 gallon tank, sand, of course LR.. 2 Black Peruculas, 3 snails, 2 cleaner shrimp and thats it.. Never wanted to over do it.. Anyway I have to move it and im moving it to my new apt about 5 blocks away. Have to go downstairs here, then upstairs at my new place. Well I cant lift it as is, too heavy. The only thing I can think about is buying a small tank, putting some of my LR in there then draining about half the water in to it and putting the fish, snails, shrimp in there for the time being.. Then Maybe putting the rest of the rock and water in a hmm, cooler... or who knows. then bringing the water down to about 4 inches or so above the sand so the sand never gets dry. Any thoughts? Will the fish be ok in a new tank without the skimmer? While the tank settles again? Who knows how much the stirring around of the water will casue Undesirable levels.. Argh. It sucks I dont want to inconvenience my fish, I want to do this the best way possible for them!

 

[rs1831]

I would buy some rubbermaid containers and put the live rock in one with some water and then put the livestock in the other. I would drain the tank down to just covering the sand. Thats how I would move it. Make sure that you have other saltwater ready at the new place. Once there you can put live rock and water back in the tank and get it back to temp. I would leave the livestock in the rubbermaid with a heater and ph until the sand settles.
Good luck.

 

[vicegrip]

Originally Posted by rs1831
I would buy some rubbermaid containers and put the live rock in one with some water and then put the livestock in the other. I would drain the tank down to just covering the sand. Thats how I would move it. Make sure that you have other saltwater ready at the new place. Once there you can put live rock and water back in the tank and get it back to temp. I would leave the livestock in the rubbermaid with a heater and ph until the sand settles.
Good luck.

I also learn not to distrub the sand. full of nitrates
I've helped move two tanks just as rs1831 said
worked great and the second one was a 75G with
LR, coral inverts and ten fish. everthing was in the tank by the next morning no problems.

 

[ninjamini]

I use 22 gallon rubbermaid tubs for moving tanks. I have done it several times. There 5$ at home depot.
1. take out corals and put it in a tub with water.
2. Take out rocks. check each rock as you take it out for critters. I have seen blennies go with the rock. Do this trying not to stir up the sand. fill with water.
3. Take out the fish. put them in another bucket. Do i need to say to put water in here too?
4. Take out the inverts and put them with the fish.
5. Drain the tank so that the sand is wet but the tank is not full o' water. If you have a DSB then you will want to take the sand out. Watch out the sand stinks.
Now to reassemble.
Put the sand back in the tank and then the rock. Or base rock, sand, ricks. Now wait 3-4 days with the corals and fish in there tubs. Test the water. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. I have never had a cycle from moving a tank, even when I moved the sand from one tank to another. But you might. If 3-4 days later testing is good put in your corals and reintroduce your timid fish. Wait a day and introduce the dominany/territioral fish. Watch the water for another week just in case.
Have lotsa water ready for water changes. Have enough heaters for all the tubs. Put a light over the fish, even if its just a reading light. Put your lights over the corals. If you have jumping fish then keep the fish covered. You will be surprised what will jump. Be prepared for some loss. In the last move I lost one fish to jumping and one just disappeared.

 

[renogaw]

great advise so far, only thing i can add is if you keep the sand in the tank, try to use some 2x4's or something else that will allow you to lift the tank by anything else besides the tank. with all that weight, you can twist the glass and mess up the seals. if you carry the tank on some 2x4's it is less pressure on the sides of the tank

 

[kingfish8302]

I have moved 3 times with my 46 gallon in the past 3 year and did the same steps that ninjamini told you about.

Yeah watch out the sand does sink! I just use homedepot buckets with lips so i dont lose a drop in the process.

 

[rasguedo]

Originally Posted by rs1831
I would buy some rubbermaid containers and put the live rock in one with some water and then put the livestock in the other. I would drain the tank down to just covering the sand. Thats how I would move it. Make sure that you have other saltwater ready at the new place. Once there you can put live rock and water back in the tank and get it back to temp. I would leave the livestock in the rubbermaid with a heater and ph until the sand settles.
Good luck.
Thanks! When you say with PH should I be monitoring the ph in the bucket if my tank ph is ok? I assume I will be using the same water from the tank to the bucket. One thing im kind of upset about bothering is all the life on the LR. Let me make sure I understand. I dont want to put the fish in to a bucket with new salt water, so I want to drain some of the tank into a bucket, then fish out the live animals, and put them in there... Then Take my rock and put it in a different bucket and drain the rest of the water until the top of the sand and place the rocks in the bucket. Once in the new apt, put rocks and water into the tank.. let settle for a while.. then replace fish snails and shrimp with the rest of the water. Also do I need some kind of filtration in the bucket while they are in there waiting? Shouldnt I put a LR in with the animals? To help them feel more comfortable? And how much water do they need realistically for the move? Thanks everyone for all your help so far!!

 

[gmford1979]

he is talking about a PowerHead. gotta keep the water moving