Moving 350 Miles (7 Hour Drive) In 2 Days!!! Help???

[nikkifro8994]

I'll be moving 350 miles away, about 7 hours drive, on Thursday. I'll be taking my 10 gallon saltwater tank with me. In the process I'll be upgrading to a 12 gallon tank. This tank has 5 pieces of live rock, 1 small ocellaris clownfish, 1 red hermit crab, and 10 turbo snails. I have an aquaclear 20 filter and a heater. I'm adding a DIY refugium made from an aquaclear 30 filter case when I set up the new tank.
I did read that I should either throw out the old sand or clean it very well. I'm thinking I'll toss the old sand and just purchase new sand. Much easier and much less time consuming.
The current plan:
Mix 10 gallons of water before the move (I'm using 2 5 gallon buckets. 5 gallons are done, the other 5 will be mixed as soon as I can get some more salt. Store opens at 10 am)
Fast fish for 2 days before move (Done)
Place an airstone in the tank for 24 hours before the move (More oxygen in the water = less stress on the fish, right?)
Get 5 gallon bucket and lid from the hardware store
Put rock and livestock in bucket with old tank water and an internal filter (already on hand)
Plug equipment into car adapter (internal filter in livestock bucket and airstone in all 3 buckets)
Drive to the new house
Set up the tank (stand, filter, heater, lights, refugium)
Add most of old water (leave enough for fish to swim ~6 inches)
Add rock and new sand
Fill with new water
Drip acclimate fish/inverts
Add fish/inverts after minimum of 2 hours of dripping
Feed fish
Go to bed!
The tank will be the last thing in the car and the first thing in the new house. That way the fish/inverts are in the buckets for the least amount of time possible. I'm leaving around 12 pm and will arrive around 7 pm. I should have the fish in their new home between 10 and 11 pm.

 

[flower]

Hi,
10 turbo snails in a 10g tank??? I have done lots of moves over the years. 7 hours drive, and you think you will want to deal with a fish tank from the moment you walk thru the door of you new digs?
1 clownfish...I would give it to the LFS along with the hermit and snails. It isn't worth all that hassle. Water is heavy...REAL HEAVY, and the added bother of trying to circulate it. The rock doesn't need to be kept like fish and corals would, some damp towels and it should be good to go. It's a 10g tank, and you plan on going to a 12g...the smaller the tank the harder it is to stabilize, and the less wiggle room for error...so bothering to move it, and trying to keep it, and the critters alive is a huge undertaking. You have an $18.00 clownfish and $5.00 worth of inverts.
I would just plan on doing the tank after I reached my new destination, and had some time to settle in, the rock in a tub with wet saltwater soaked paper towels or news paper, will be easier to manage. The little 12g tank and the live rock shouldn't take too long to cycle, and then you can rebuild your little piece of the ocean, Quick and easy.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I'm kinda with Flower on this one. I'd give the live stock to the LFS and set up the new tank with new water, new sand and old rock and then properly cycle it for a few weeks. It's a 10g tank move, not like the 240's that I've moved in the past. Especially since this tank doesn't have much in the way of livestock and no coral.
Hermits have done pretty well moving for me and staying in a cycled tank for the duration, but I have had tank crashes after a complete change before. I would say it's better to go ahead and give the little clown a chance at a new life by giving him back to the LFS rather then making him go through a potential cycle again.