Moving a 55???

[mopardwh]

Well I have to move across town (anout 25 miles). I've been dreading it, but the time is come, I have to move the tank.

So I'm looking for any pointers that might help me out with this. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[blazehok68]

Buckets With Lids.....lots Of Them.
Seriously, When I Did It, I Put Everything In Multiple Buckets And Had A Powerhead In Each One. Once The 55 Was Epty Clean And Ready To Move, I Covered Up All The Buckets And Moved Them.
Also, Make Sure The Tank Is The Last Thing That You Move. So Nothing Else Is In The Way. Actually It Would Make It Much Easier If You Had A Different Tank At The New Place That You Could Put Everything In Once It Was All At The New Place.

 

[polarbear1]

I agree with Blaze buckets with lids. Try to keep as much water as possible. I dipped my coral and rock in a differnt bucket of water before adding it to the dt.

 

[mopardwh]

I bought a few containers with lids already (35gal). I plan on getting some more though. I don't know about having powerheads for each though, a little much for me. I also plan on doing a thorough clean, and brushing down each rock with a toothbrush in a seperate container basically (hair algae). My question is, should I bag the fish first, or last? I'm not sure if it would be better if they were out of the tank longer, or if I didn't put them through more stress demolishing thier home? How long can everything go without current/filtration? Obviously I'm going to do everything as fast as possible, but what would be a safe amount of time?

 

[tx reef]

Here is a thread I started when I moved my tank from the bar between my living room and kitchen to a stand. Same guidlines apply, you just have to transfer everything to a location further away.
Make a list of everything you need to do and create a step by step plan. Believe me, it helps.
Anyway, here is how I did it....
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/226888/the-move

 

[ninjamini]

I moved the contents of 4 separate tanks (a 6, a 12 and 2 55 gallons) into a 90 taking the sand of the 6. 12 and one 55 and mixing them together. I did have a rise in nitrates not not in ammonium or nitrite which surprised me . Also the nitrate increase was by no way as big as could be and was not at a dangerous level (ok any amount is dangerous but you know what I mean). I did have a bad case of the brown sand that got bad and then got better. Now it is completely gone with out anything used. I just have a fair amount of Nassarius snails.
Get yourself a few 20 gallon tupperware buckets. First take out any corals and put them in a bucket. Then take out the rocks and put it in a bucket or two. Next take out the fish, snails, hermits and put it in with the corals. You will need heaters and power heads for each bucket. Also you want to fill the buckets with water. Yes even the rock bucket. Put the sand into a 5 gallon bucket and cover with water. I did not use a heater here although you should. Have a light ready for the bucket with the corals and fish. They can live in these buckets for weeks if need be as long as they have heat, and water movement and light for the corals. If you are going to leave the fish in there for more than a day or two then put a few rocks in with the fish for the process of removing ammonia.
Note do not move the bucket with rocks it it they will smash together and kill stuff. Also if your going far then bag up your corals so they do not smash together.
I put in the base rock first so that there were stable. When I moved it I got a plastic cup scooped it up and put it in a bucket. I took the bucket to the new tank and turned it over.
What I was surprised with was how long it took for the sand to settle. So be prepared to hold your fish and corals for 24-48 hours in buckets with heaters and power heads.
Last word of advise make a check list of your fish. and keep an eye on them. I lost my gloden head goby...and I mean lost. I have no idea where he went. I looked everywhere. Poof gone.
Also just cuz I did not get a spike does not mean you wont. Have some water ready for changes.

 

[cannonman]

I found that the really big heavy duty laundry "tubs" with the heavy rope handles really worked well. (Never used them for laundry or anything else of course) I moved a 75 gal complete set up about 20 miles with the help of one friend and my wife and it took from about 2:00PM to about midnight so be prepared to spend a while doing it.

 

[mopardwh]

Good advice so far, thanks. So heres the plan.
1. Remove roughly 1/3 of the water and put into 2 35gal containers. (For LR). I figure I would divide the 80# of LR into 2 containers to reduce the weight.
2. Remove the rock individually, and clean into a third container. Dispose of water when finished.
3. Capture Purple Lobster as soon as visible, before WWIII happens vs. CBS.
4. Remove another portion of water and put in 2 10gal container. (For fish and verts, 2 groups).
5. Capture group 1: Brittle stars, CBS, crabs, and corals.
6. Capture group 2: Cleaner shrimp (2), and fish (4).
7. Clean equipment, sand and tank, leaving sand and a few inches of water in tank.
8. Load tank, and containers (with lids) into SUV, load stand and remaining containers if any, into car.
9. Travel 25 miles to new location.
10. Setup stand, aquarium and equipment.
11. Put everything back; rock, coral, verts then fish.
Anything I should change? Acclimate into thier own water if all I do is top it off?

 

[ninjamini]

Dude. 35 gallons of rock and water is frekkin heavy.
I would use a bigger than 10 gal for the fish and critters.
Tank, sand and a little water will weigh a lot. You also might stress and crack the tank under the weight. Not that I would not do it but its risky. You would hate to get the tank set up and find that a seam is leaking.
Put back the base rock 1st then the sand. That way you have a stable base rock. Wait for the sand to settle. Then replace the rock and wait for the sand to settle again. Then add the corals then the fish. Remember wimps first. give them time to find there way in the tank. then add the bullies.
Aclimate corals, fish and inverts as though they came from a store.
This whole process could take a week. So be prepared with heaters and lights and powerheads. ITs not hard but it is time consuming.
O yea. Make a fish, coral check list b4 you start. Check them off as you go so you dont loose anyone in the rocks. Some critters like to hide.
Take pics b4 the move and after to compare.
Originally Posted by MOPARDWH
Good advice so far, thanks. So heres the plan.
1. Remove roughly 1/3 of the water and put into 2 35gal containers. (For LR). I figure I would divide the 80# of LR into 2 containers to reduce the weight.
2. Remove the rock individually, and clean into a third container. Dispose of water when finished.
3. Capture Purple Lobster as soon as visible, before WWIII happens vs. CBS.
4. Remove another portion of water and put in 2 10gal container. (For fish and verts, 2 groups).
5. Capture group 1: Brittle stars, CBS, crabs, and corals.
6. Capture group 2: Cleaner shrimp (2), and fish (4).
7. Clean equipment, sand and tank, leaving sand and a few inches of water in tank.
8. Load tank, and containers (with lids) into SUV, load stand and remaining containers if any, into car.
9. Travel 25 miles to new location.
10. Setup stand, aquarium and equipment.
11. Put everything back; rock, coral, verts then fish.
Anything I should change? Acclimate into thier own water if all I do is top it off?

 

[mopardwh]

Yeah even if there is only 20g and 40# of LR, that's gonna be about 200#'s. I think I'll get another 35g container.
For the tank, that's gonna be 60# of sand that I leave in. Plus, however much water it takes to keep the sand under water. I'm not to worried about it holding up.
I really don't have the time or money to drag this out a week. No offense but that seems kind of rediculous anyway. I am going to do this in an afternoon. I have the whole day prepared if need be, but I've got too many other things to do. Not to mention $ for extra heaters/filters. I have 1 extra filter, and 1 extra heater. Hopefully I won't even have to use them.
Also, I don't think I have enough stuff to get lost really. Should be easy to keep track of if I know where I put everything.

 

[triga22]

My parents used coolers that were new.

 

[mopardwh]

Also, any specific reason I need to acclimate? Are the water parameters going to go crazy? I plan on trying to keep as much water as possible.

 

[mopardwh]

Any more thoughts? Today is the day...

 

[ninjamini]

good luck

 

[poniegirl]

I'm moving my 20 long today and have to follow up with the 55gal next weekend. :scared:
I wish you luck and smooth sailing!

 

[mopardwh]

All done. 7 hours total. I ended up only using 2 18 gallon rubbermaid containers for 80# of LR in water. And I did empty the tank. Used 3 different containers for sand and water, 2 5gal buckets for critters, and a couple tubberware containers for misc. NO DEATHS!!!!!!! Yet.

 

[ninjamini]

Good now just monitor ammonium, nitrate and nitrate closely for a week and have water ready just in case a emergency water change is needed. You probably wont need it but its better to be safe.

 

[mopardwh]

Everything looks great, and test good. Only problem I have is the fish won't eat yet. They still seem pretty shaken up. I hope they come out of it soon.