Help! How do I move an aquarium?

[tirtza]

Hello!
I'm about to finally move into our new house in 3 weeks. I currently live in an apartment, and our new house is about 10 minutes away. I have a 29 gallon BioCube aquarium. It's been running for almost a year now.
It has
live sand/live rock
3 fish ( 2 Clown Fish & a Fire Fish),
snails
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Peppermint Shrimp
Candy Cane Coral
Several Kenya Trees
a bunch of mushrooms
How do I move the aquarium without killing everything? I contacted an LFS in my area and they provide a 'relocation' service. I was given a quote of $300.
I'm torn between doing this myself and saving the money or hiring the professionals. What should I do?

 

[meowzer]

10 minutes......I wouldn't pay $300 to move a 29G tank 10 minutes away
make it your last thing to move.....get some totes.....put tank water in one and cover the rock.....put tank water in another (small one) for the fish
I would make up new SW to have on hand.......A lot of people replace the sand, BUT you don;t have to......just rinse it so you don't stir up a lot of GUNK
NOW personally I have NEVER moved a tank, but many here have, and this is what I have read that most have done

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/391914/help-how-do-i-move-an-aquarium#post_3477746
10 minutes......I wouldn't pay $300 to move a 29G tank 10 minutes away
make it your last thing to move.....get some totes.....put tank water in one and cover the rock.....put tank water in another (small one) for the fish
I would make up new SW to have on hand.......A lot of people replace the sand, BUT you don;t have to......just rinse it so you don't stir up a lot of GUNK
NOW personally I have NEVER moved a tank, but many here have, and this is what I have read that most have done.
I would do as Meowzer has stated.

 

[stdreb27]

I've moved a few tanks, realistically you need to be setup to experience a full cycle. As much as I tried I never was able to move a tank without it cycling...
30 minutes in a few buckets shouldn't be an issue, separate out your inverts, toss your softies together, and separate out your lps's.
If you can set up a tub or find a pos 10-20 gallon tank. And set up some sort or filtration on it, like a whisper filter etc. most of that stuff can be picked up used for cheap, (and double as a qt tank for later...)
Have that tank/tub full and ready to go. Levels wise, then drip the fish over.
For the dt
Keep your liverock in a bucket submerged.
And just reset it up, wait for it to cycle. If you minimize the exposure to air, the only death waste should come from the sand, that is impossible to avoid, whether with new sand to trying to save what you got.
Remember you gotta babysit the temp setup, be ready for a water change on a moments notice and checks the ammonia Trites and trates a couple times a day.

 

[acrylic51]

I don't think there would be a full cycle, but a spike.....Why not minimize the sand issue with leaving the sand just barely covered in water and move the tank......Tank won't be that heavy and the sand would stay covered.....10 minute ride is nothing......

 

[stdreb27]

I guess in my mind an ammonia spike, and then reduction = a cycle.
Not saying it will take a month, but the quickest turnaround I had was a week. Before I could stock the tank again. (keep in mind these were 75-200 gallon tanks) where covering the sand undisturbed was not possible. Either way you need to be prepped for worst case scenario. And ethically you're not gonna be able to drop the fish in the tank, unless you get the sand stabilized before hand.

 

[2quills]

The couple of times that I've relocated I made dedicated trips for my tank and livestock. Fist time was like a 8 mile move and the second more like 16. Both times I transferred my rock, fish, inverts and corals separate. Battery operated air pumps running on the live stock containers. Sand still in the tank (tried to keep from churning the hole thing up) with barely covered with water
Got everything set up at the new place with all fresh pre mixed water that I brought with me. Rinse/cleaned all my rock before placing it back in the tank. Let things settle while temps and pH stabilize out between the containers and tank. Hooked up power heads and air pump on my containers of livestock (totes in my case, inverts in a bucket). I had some ammonia detoxifyer on hand and started mixing a new batch of water the first night at the new place so I would have it on hand for the coming days.
I tested and whatched. Performed some 10% water changes for the first few days. Never really saw a significant spike in the following weeks did see a small hit on trites though.
We're talking like a few hours give or take an hour or two that that the livestock was in containers. They were kept in an air conditioned environment at all times accept for the short 10-20 minute rides. If I were going longer distances I'd thinking about transferring livestock in coolers in the hot summer or cold winter.

 

[mr. limpid]

I use to move my 30gal long its easy (3 times all about 1/2 hour away). First you'll need 3 people that can lift 200lbs between them. Step 1: bag all your fish, corals and inverts, one per bag like inverts can go in same bag, with just enough water to cover creature. Step 2: wrap all LR separately in wet news paper and bag them. Step 3: Use clean 30gal plastic garbage can remove as much water as you can into can, leaving sand barley covered (if there is a sump remove enough water so it can be moved). Step 4: place all items on truck together stand; tank; fish; inverts; corals; LR and pumps (bag creatures can ride over in tank, but do not move tank with them in tank). Step 5: Set up tank in place it will stay (have this plan out in advance). Step 6: fill tank with water from can. Step 7: add live rock (have it arranged b4 adding fish) Step 8: add pumps and sump. Get it all running. Step 9: float creatures in bags in tank while the dust settles (this will allow any fluctuation of temp. to go back to tank water. Step 10: let creatures free (no need to acclimate because it is same water). Step 11: after an hour or so test prams. (like Meowzer recommended have a fresh batch of salt water waiting at new house in case needed. Also a bottle of Amque+ or Prime is always good to have around). Good Luck
Gratz on new place.

 

[deejeff442]

i have moved so many tank i lost count.never a small 30 gallon though.i have moved my 250 a few times. i just get buckets add water from the dt put the fish and coral in. another bucket for the rock.i always buy new dry sand .just empty the tank put new sand in(wash it first) or you can quickly wash the old sand.there will be enough good bacteria in the rocks .i dont feel using new or washed sand will hurt. try to use as much of the dt water 50% or more then top it off with new water. just put it back together.the cloudyness in the tank wont bother the fish.i have never lost a fish moving.well none that i remember

 

[tirtza]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice! I'm embarrassed to admit it....but I eventually found a company that will move it for me for $150. After reading every ones responses, I came to the conclusion that I simply didn't have the equipment and manpower needed to do it on my own.
The employee I spoke with said that they already have all of the equipment that they need for the move. The equipment is one thing I was definitely lacking (a large vehicle for all of the stuff, large tubes, battery operated pumps (plus the manpower!!). I was just afraid that if I even attempted it myself, I'd make a mistake and kill everything, or crack the glass. I checked around and the company has a really good reputation. I decided to put in a new sand bed. When I first set up the tank (close to a year ago) I used a combo of (poor quality) live sand and dry sand. The sand was really fine, and I've had some trouble with it. I regretted not having used aragonite the first time, so this is my chance to change all of that. I ordered 20 pounds of 'CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand'.
I'll have fresh water mixed and ready for any water changes that are needed. The company said that they'll provide everything including new water, but I'd like to have extra ready just in case.
The aquarium is being moved in 1 day ahead of everything else. The previous owners are out on the 25th. The aquarium moves in on the 26th, and my husband and I plus all of our stuff move in on the 27th.
My only concern now is: When the company prepares the water that they are going to use in the aquarium, will there be a negative impact if they use a different salt mix than what I've been using? (I currently use Kent Reef Salt Mix)

 

[novahobbies]

I've moved my 37g seahorse tank 3 times now. If I had found a company who did it for as low as you were quoted, I would have shelled out the clams to have it done. Just to avoid the hassle of doing it myself.
I did as others have mentioned here....left the sand in place with a very thin layer of water, then I used the plate trick to keep the sand from being kicked up when I refilled. If there was a spike, it wasn't even long enough to register. Of course, I don't keep a DSB either...just a thin 1 inch layer for "looks." I also discovered that I could keep the rock live (with some softie corals on it!) simply by soaking a new clean towel in saltwater and covering any exposed bits of rock. Make sure your wash the towel in a load of non-detergent wash before you do this, of course.

 

[tirtza]

Thanks novahobbies! I don't feel quite so guilty now about not doing it myself. I really don't trust myself to do it the right way. Thankfully this will be the last move for a very very long time!
Quote:
I also discovered that I could keep the rock live (with some softie corals on it!) simply by soaking a new clean towel in saltwater and covering any exposed bits of rock.
I have some coral (just a baby Kenya Tree) that's spread onto my live rock. Would keeping the live rock submerged in a bucket of water keep it alive?

 

[shine01]

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[tirtza]

 

[novahobbies]

 

[tirtza]

 

[2quills]