yearofthenick
Active Member
Hello,
I've seen a number of people over the last few months ask about how to move their tank. I've moved 5 times in the last 18 months. I've moved a Red Sea Max twice, 14g Biocube three times, a 120g once, A 10g AGA, a 20g AGA, and tomorrow will be moving a 12g Aquapod to my office. Next week I'll be upgrading my 20aga to a 28g Nano Cube Quad CF. The 20g AGA will become a new home for a frog fish - my wife loves them!
I have moved hundreds of miles - I swear I'm a gypsy. But in all these moves, I have not lost a single fish, coral, or invert. I can say honestly and without reservation that this method works if done right.
Here's how I do it.
First, you need these things:
1. Buckets/Rubbermaid Bins for Live Rock
2. Buckets/Trash Cans for Water (KEEP YOUR WATER!)
3. An insulated cooler or Styrofoam container (see pic #1 below) for your inhabitants. Something about 25% the size of your tank.
4. LOTS of THICK (3mm minimum) trash bags
5. Nut/Bolt Organizer (see pic #2). You can get them at Home Depot. Get as many as you need, depending on how many corals you have.
6. Power inverter for your car ($30 at Target)
7. Powerhead
8. Heater
9. Airstone (Not required, but a good idea)
10. Extension Cord
11. New Saltwater on-hand - 20-30% of the total volume of your tank (e.g. for a 40g tank, have 8-12g's available)
Note: Line ALL your buckets/bins with at least two 3mm trash bags. Water may still leak, but at least it's manageable - the trash bags help break up the water movement during travel
Step 1:
Start moving your live rock into the buckets/bins. Make sure there are no snails, inverts, or sixline wrasses hidden in the crevices of this rock. Siphon the water out of your tank and fill these live rock buckets/bins with tank water. Make sure the live rock is completely submerged in the bucket/bin. Close the trash bags over the top and set them aside.
Note: If you're moving in the winter months, make sure not to keep these live rock bins in cold areas. Although your live rock is capable of handling temperature changes, It would be best to keep your live rock bins in the cab of your car during transport. The rock can handle 65-70 degree temperature, but any further below and the live rock could die from the cold, causing your tank to cycle when you return your rock to your tank.
Step 2:
Set up your insulated cooler or styrofoam container. Your fish and other live inhabitants will be transported in this container. If you feel weird about transporting your corals and your fish in the same container, separate them using two coolers. However, having smaller tanks, it always worked best for me to keep them all together.
Step 2a:
Take the bolt organizer and rip the top off it. If you want, you can remove some of the partitions inside this bolt organizer as well.
Step 2b:
Place two garbage bags inside your cooler and fill the cooler about half way with tank water. Submerge the bolt organizer in the cooler and place at the bottom. (See pic #3)
Step 2c:
Take all your corals and lay them down inside this bolt organizer. The corals will be heavy enough to keep this container still during transport. The plastic partitions help keep the corals from touching/stinging each other. Because there's no lid on the bolt organizer, they'll still get circulated water.
Note: I've never had a problem with the bolt organizer squishing any of my inhabitants, even my hippo tang who loves to nudge himself into any crevice he can find. I think because it's pitch black, it doesn't motivate him to dig himself into anything.
Step 2d:
Place your snails, inverts and fish inside this container.
Step 2e:
Place your powerhead, airstone, and heater inside the cooler, letting the cords dangle out. I placed my powerhead inside one of the partitions in the bolt organizer so it wouldn't move around. The heater can go anywhere. the airstone doesn't need to be completely submerged, but just make sure it has contact with the water.
Step 2f:
Fill the cooler a little more, about 2/3 full, and knot the trash bags, letting the cords hang out (See pic #4). I used an extension cord to plug in the heater, powerhead, and airstone pump. Keep this extension cord plugged in to your house as long as you need. I also taped the lid of my cooler shut. If you do this, make sure you don't crimp the line for your airstone. Once you're ready to go, move your cooler to the car and plug the extension cord into the power inverter. Your tank inhabitants have heat, air, and water movement. They'll be fine for up 24 hours like this. I've only kept them in there for that long once, and still want to stress that the less time they spend in there, the better, but they can handle extended periods of time like 24 hours.
Continued on second post....
I've seen a number of people over the last few months ask about how to move their tank. I've moved 5 times in the last 18 months. I've moved a Red Sea Max twice, 14g Biocube three times, a 120g once, A 10g AGA, a 20g AGA, and tomorrow will be moving a 12g Aquapod to my office. Next week I'll be upgrading my 20aga to a 28g Nano Cube Quad CF. The 20g AGA will become a new home for a frog fish - my wife loves them!
I have moved hundreds of miles - I swear I'm a gypsy. But in all these moves, I have not lost a single fish, coral, or invert. I can say honestly and without reservation that this method works if done right.
Here's how I do it.
First, you need these things:
1. Buckets/Rubbermaid Bins for Live Rock
2. Buckets/Trash Cans for Water (KEEP YOUR WATER!)
3. An insulated cooler or Styrofoam container (see pic #1 below) for your inhabitants. Something about 25% the size of your tank.
4. LOTS of THICK (3mm minimum) trash bags
5. Nut/Bolt Organizer (see pic #2). You can get them at Home Depot. Get as many as you need, depending on how many corals you have.
6. Power inverter for your car ($30 at Target)
7. Powerhead
8. Heater
9. Airstone (Not required, but a good idea)
10. Extension Cord
11. New Saltwater on-hand - 20-30% of the total volume of your tank (e.g. for a 40g tank, have 8-12g's available)
Note: Line ALL your buckets/bins with at least two 3mm trash bags. Water may still leak, but at least it's manageable - the trash bags help break up the water movement during travel
Step 1:
Start moving your live rock into the buckets/bins. Make sure there are no snails, inverts, or sixline wrasses hidden in the crevices of this rock. Siphon the water out of your tank and fill these live rock buckets/bins with tank water. Make sure the live rock is completely submerged in the bucket/bin. Close the trash bags over the top and set them aside.
Note: If you're moving in the winter months, make sure not to keep these live rock bins in cold areas. Although your live rock is capable of handling temperature changes, It would be best to keep your live rock bins in the cab of your car during transport. The rock can handle 65-70 degree temperature, but any further below and the live rock could die from the cold, causing your tank to cycle when you return your rock to your tank.
Step 2:
Set up your insulated cooler or styrofoam container. Your fish and other live inhabitants will be transported in this container. If you feel weird about transporting your corals and your fish in the same container, separate them using two coolers. However, having smaller tanks, it always worked best for me to keep them all together.
Step 2a:
Take the bolt organizer and rip the top off it. If you want, you can remove some of the partitions inside this bolt organizer as well.
Step 2b:
Place two garbage bags inside your cooler and fill the cooler about half way with tank water. Submerge the bolt organizer in the cooler and place at the bottom. (See pic #3)
Step 2c:
Take all your corals and lay them down inside this bolt organizer. The corals will be heavy enough to keep this container still during transport. The plastic partitions help keep the corals from touching/stinging each other. Because there's no lid on the bolt organizer, they'll still get circulated water.
Note: I've never had a problem with the bolt organizer squishing any of my inhabitants, even my hippo tang who loves to nudge himself into any crevice he can find. I think because it's pitch black, it doesn't motivate him to dig himself into anything.
Step 2d:
Place your snails, inverts and fish inside this container.
Step 2e:
Place your powerhead, airstone, and heater inside the cooler, letting the cords dangle out. I placed my powerhead inside one of the partitions in the bolt organizer so it wouldn't move around. The heater can go anywhere. the airstone doesn't need to be completely submerged, but just make sure it has contact with the water.
Step 2f:
Fill the cooler a little more, about 2/3 full, and knot the trash bags, letting the cords hang out (See pic #4). I used an extension cord to plug in the heater, powerhead, and airstone pump. Keep this extension cord plugged in to your house as long as you need. I also taped the lid of my cooler shut. If you do this, make sure you don't crimp the line for your airstone. Once you're ready to go, move your cooler to the car and plug the extension cord into the power inverter. Your tank inhabitants have heat, air, and water movement. They'll be fine for up 24 hours like this. I've only kept them in there for that long once, and still want to stress that the less time they spend in there, the better, but they can handle extended periods of time like 24 hours.
Continued on second post....
