Moving a 120 gallong tank, opinions?

[lemon drop]

Well I bought the tank in Salem. Yeah!!!!!
4x2x2, 120 gal tank with over 150lbs of live rock, 125lbs of live sand, 1 15inch rose anemone and tons of corals and some fish. It has 2 mh lamps (350 w & 400w) and a aqua medic needle wheel protien skimmer, sump, dual internal waterfalls, digital temp control, furniture grade oak stand and hood and all.
Now I need to prepare for the move. I have had the basic suggestions; bring buckets/garbage cans/coolers to keep 1/2 to 3/4 of the water and keep live rock and sand subersed, move quickly (less than 6 hrs?), get transport bags for the critters.
Any other thoughts or tips will be helpful!
Thanks in advance.

 

[keith burn]

What you have is good
may try 10gal or buckit for critters/fish bags not good for more than 1 to 1 1/2 h at the most no air !!!
but outher than that cool
JMO

 

[lemon drop]

Any other advice?

 

[fishy7]

Do not feed the fish 24 hours prior to move. This will preserve water quality.

 

[bkh_sd]

I've moved 7 times and never lost a fish.
Bought 20 buckets from Lowes (thicker paint buckets) with lids. 5$ a piece. Bought 50$ Sump pump. (Can use trash cans too. I recommend the ones that they make for holding water with sealable lids).
2 days - 1week before move do 10-20% water change. This way you can have maximum water to reuse and not have to do a water change right away when you move.
I drain half of tank into buckets. Then I start netting fish and split them up between the buckets. Then I drain the rest of the water into buckets. Make sure each bucket is filled within an inch of the top so the car/truck driving motion doesn't cause tidal waves inside the bucket.
Emtpy CC or Sand into bucket with tank water of course. Same with Live Rock (can leave out of water but only for a few hours tops at most... Its still best to leave in buckets with tank water (not in buckets with fish though). Try to keep bio stuff (wheels or balls) in tank water too.
Never move tank with anything inside it, or you chance cracks / leaks down the road.
I've swapped out my substrate several times during this process and its fine. Never noticed any tank cycling. You definitely do not want to change substrate while while all your water is in the tank... Thats just a disaster waiting to happen.
Anyway then just put it all back together. The only concern is if you live somewhere really hot or cold, then you might need a generator and heater or chiller. I myself have always moved locally and it takes about 5 to 8 hours to tear down tank, drive it, resetup it up and there's usually isn't much of a temp change in the water.
You can however do one other option. I've done this for when i've upgraded to bigger tanks which I sometimes do during a move. You can get one of those water trashcans and make your water in it. It'll cycle soon enough. Put a piece of live rock or two and like 5 or 10 gallons from your current tank of water and it'll cycle in a few weeks. Keep a heater in it and a light on 6-8 hours a day. Test the water and you can use that as soon as you move in instead of your old water which worked well for me when I did serious jump in tank sizes. I personally feel its better to add 100 gallons of new water thats been cycled than add 50 gallons of cycled water and 50 gallons of brand new water that day together.

 

[lemon drop]

Thanks for the step by step advice. A few questions though.
You put the fish directly into buckets of water, not in individual fish bags?
You recommend removing the substrate from the tank as well? Would it be ok to leave the substrate with a little water in the tank? I guess it would be lighter to remove it all.
Thanks again!

 

[stanlalee]

you could leave the substrate in the tank with water if you dont mind the risk of water and possible minor tank scratches ect. when I moved I put my substrate in 5 gallon buckets with lids (also from lowes), put in enough water to submerge the substrate and put the lids on. I did the same for the liverock. The livestock I put in bags but the move was only a 35 minute drive (the time it took to remove everything, put it in the car and set up the new tank at the new place was several hours). when I got to the new place I stuck a few airlines in the water of the substrate and liverock water to aerate the water while I set up the tank. I didn't use any of the old tank water, acclimated the livestock and went without a hitch. No new cycle at all.

 

[bkh_sd]

I would not leave the substrate in the tank, especially if its glass because you could chance microscopic cracks or more and or risk leaks in the future. Acyrlic is more safe but I still don't like to do it. The best thing about moving the substrate is when you dump it in the water, it basically removes the crap from the sand as the sand goes to the bottom to settle. Plus it releases the gases that build up in the sand without causing harm to fish. The other thing is that if you have live sand all your good bacteria will die if you move the tank with the substrate in it. If you have some other kind of substrate, I'm sure there will be some bacterial die off too, but probably not as major as it would on the live sand.

 

[bkh_sd]

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
you could leave the substrate in the tank with water if you dont mind the risk of water and possible minor tank scratches ect. when I moved I put my substrate in 5 gallon buckets with lids (also from lowes), put in enough water to submerge the substrate and put the lids on. I did the same for the liverock. The livestock I put in bags but the move was only a 35 minute drive (the time it took to remove everything, put it in the car and set up the new tank at the new place was several hours). when I got to the new place I stuck a few airlines in the water of the substrate and liverock water to aerate the water while I set up the tank. I didn't use any of the old tank water, acclimated the livestock and went without a hitch. No new cycle at all.
Stan,
Mine and most people's opinion on here is not to cycle is extremely crazy and too risky for the fish. And your tank is going to cycle if you use all new water. Dude thats just like cruel and unusual punishment for your fish. You got very lucky everything survived.

 

[bkh_sd]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop
Thanks for the step by step advice. A few questions though.
You put the fish directly into buckets of water, not in individual fish bags?
Thanks again!
Yes, into the buckets of your tank water. Fill the water to about 1 inch from top to leave some air and so that crazy waves don't throw fish around during transport. Fish bags are more risk I think. Plus they could always get a hole punctured in the them or leak... Bucket much more safe .... since this is a moving process of everything, not one a couple fish at a time like when you buy them at the store..

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by bkh_sd
Stan,
Mine and most people's opinion on here is not to cycle is extremely crazy and too risky for the fish. And your tank is going to cycle if you use all new water. Dude thats just like cruel and unusual punishment for your fish. You got very lucky everything survived.

Please explain to me how you are going to start a cycle in an established tank where the substrate and liverock were transported submerged in tank water and rocked around in a vehicle for a few hours? You havent killed a significant amount of nictrifying bacteria so how are you going to get an ammonia spike? Your biological filter hasn't been broken and your bioload hasn't increased.
Tank water itself has nothing to do with starting a new cycle, the water itself isn't a significant part of the biological filter. If you want higher nitrates, phospates and nutrients than you have to have go ahead and keep the old water. The only possible result of using all new water is shock to the fish from different parameters from the old tank water (pH, salinity, temp) hence the acclimation. However by the time you've transported your fish in old tank water in a plastic bag by the time they get where they are going that transport water no longer matches the old tank water either. That is the reason we dont do 100% water changes under normal circumstances (tank X has a pH of 8.0, dKH of 12 and sg of 1.25 and you put in all new water with a pH of 8.3, dKH of 8 and sg 1.23 without any re acclimation to livestock), it has nothing to do with the cycle.
I'm not lucky at all, it happened exactly as I expected and new it would go.

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by Lemon Drop
Well I bought the tank in Salem. Yeah!!!!!
4x2x2, 120 gal tank with over 150lbs of live rock, 125lbs of live sand, 1 15inch rose anemone and tons of corals and some fish. It has 2 mh lamps (350 w & 400w) and a aqua medic needle wheel protien skimmer, sump, dual internal waterfalls, digital temp control, furniture grade oak stand and hood and all.
Now I need to prepare for the move. I have had the basic suggestions; bring buckets/garbage cans/coolers to keep 1/2 to 3/4 of the water and keep live rock and sand subersed, move quickly (less than 6 hrs?), get transport bags for the critters.
Any other thoughts or tips will be helpful!
Thanks in advance.

I know you are saving the water, but you need to have about 30G+ extra at the right sal,Temp and PH ect.... Reason being is that I assume you will use alot of water to hold the fish and corals prior to entry into the tank. This extra water will be used to fill the tank. Usually the water with the LR and LS water is not usuable again (too cloudy). I found it best to get the LS and LR in and get the water level right and get filtering. I also run two extra hang on filters to clear the water up some before I put everything in.
You probably thought of that but I wanted to make sure?
GG

 

[lemon drop]

Wow,
I have been out of town for a few days, but it sounds like the discussion went on without me.
So is the consensus that I should get smaller buckets, 5 gallon, vs. larger 50 gallon? That is a lot of buckets at least 24....
I plan on having new water mixed and ready to go at home. It is a great idea to put air lines into the fish holding buckets, that will increase the time I have to get set up.
I am concerned about a temperature drop, but it no one on the boards seem worried and it has been about 70 degrees here lately.
Any other thoughts?

 

[bkh_sd]

5 gallon buckets are just way easier to move than the 50 gallon buckets. Much lighter
Temp shouldn't be a problem. Biggest thing will be to acclimate the fish with the new water. Make sure its cycled. Unlike what Stan said above, new water will cycle even without fish in the water, no matter if you have cured live rock / substrate, although that will help speed up the process.
Good Luck.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by bkh_sd
5 gallon buckets are just way easier to move than the 50 gallon buckets. Much lighter
Temp shouldn't be a problem. Biggest thing will be to acclimate the fish with the new water. Make sure its cycled. Unlike what Stan said above, new water will cycle even without fish in the water, no matter if you have cured live rock / substrate, although that will help speed up the process.
Good Luck.
I'm going to have to disagree with you having moved 3 times in the past 2yrs! if it cycles it has nothing to do with the water, its because steps werent taken properly to prevent a cycle. A tank ONLY cycles when there isn't enough nictrifying bacteria to support organic breakdown. you CANT cycle if you dont cause an ammonia spike. Fresh ammonia free, nitrate free, phospate free water itself has no way of starting a cycle. the whole purpose of transporting the liverock and substrate in tank water to begin with is to NOT start a cycle. the majority nitrifying bacteria are not free floating in the old tank water its on the rocks and substrate.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

think of this as a three stage process:
1. Breakdown
2. Transport
3. Re-install
1. Breakdown -
a. the fishes don't need to be in bags - the lids and the less than 1" concept is great for water movement on less than 6 hours turn around - longer than 6 I'd think about a pwoerhead that you could rotate from bucket to bucket during transport to aerate the water.
b. keep LR and substrate submerged in your tank water
c. transport enough buckets of water without animals to fill tank 3/4 full.
2. Transport
a. buying a cheap DC to AC converter unit and some powerheads for your animal buckets will allow you to travel longer distances.
b. the tank needs to be EMPTY and ready to move
3. Re-install
a. put some of the water in the empty buckets first
b. Heater unit
c. Substrate
d. LR
e. rest of water without animals
f. animals and the powerheads
g. If you are using a sump filtration system you most likely cannot bring it online until you fill the tank close to full - which would be a 25% water change and could cause a cycle.
h. the following day (24 hours) with no ammonia spike start refilling the tank with fresh water - about 3/4 of what you need to finish the tank. the next day fill it all the way back up and you should avoid the algae bloom, and stress on your environment.