Moving a Tank
- Thread starter eskimo44
- Start date
beckto
Member
I moved my 75g FW tank a month ago, everything went perfect. It could be a little more difficult with SW but the general Idea stands.
Leaving the fish in the tank I took 30gal out and put them in 5gal buckets. Then put the fish in the buckets. Drained the rest of the tank leaving the substrate in. In a quick fashion moved the buckets and tank to the new home. Put the 30gal in and topped it off with new water. With using the same filters and 30 gal of old water everything went fine, it never cycled. It was a risk because the water in the buckets dropped from 80F to about 50F. (January in upper Michigan) But its been a month and they all seem great. Hope this helps a little.
Leaving the fish in the tank I took 30gal out and put them in 5gal buckets. Then put the fish in the buckets. Drained the rest of the tank leaving the substrate in. In a quick fashion moved the buckets and tank to the new home. Put the 30gal in and topped it off with new water. With using the same filters and 30 gal of old water everything went fine, it never cycled. It was a risk because the water in the buckets dropped from 80F to about 50F. (January in upper Michigan) But its been a month and they all seem great. Hope this helps a little.
eskimo44
Member
I am talking about a 75gal SWA, I would have about 75lbs of live rock, and a DSB + 30 gal of water. How do you even move/lift something that heavy? If i have corals how do you move them. How does the cycling work? will the tank re-cycle killing everything? Do i have to add salt again or just more RO water?
turningtim
Active Member
I moved a 50 gal SWA just about 3 weeks ago. Live rock w/mushroom coral, fish and filter the whole shabang. The worst part was the tank was in awful condition.
First all the mechanical stuff was removed and cleaned. Hoses, overflow, simmer, power cords etc. NOT THE FILTER!!!
Buckets, buckets and more buckets (5gal). I filled several buckets about half way with tank water and carefully placed all the live rock and small critters (crabs, snails) in them, then topped off until everything was covered. I tried not to fill them up all the way b/c of weight. I covered them w/lids but I didn't snap them down until it was time togo. Once all the easy stuff was out I filled buckets for each of the fish, netted them and in they went. then I drained the water down to substrate and moved the tank carefully on to a pc of 3/4" plywood that I cut several inches oversize for easier handling and not rack the tank. I had two others helping me and as I was dealing with the tank they were loading my nice warm (heater on full) SUV. First was just water then live rock, fish, tank, stand and lights.
When we reached the new local I leveled the stand, placed the tank and slowly added the water, fish and the rock. the move took only about 1 12 hrs from time we started until the fish were back in the tank. It took several more hrs to put everything to working condition but everthing went well.
I purchased 15 5 gal buckets (used them all), a very strong power head (rigged as a pump) that I used to move the water from tank to bucket and back. I had an extra heater and purchased another for new water that went in for water change.
It wasn't a whole lot of fun but it worked.
Be prepared, have help, move quickly
Good Luck
First all the mechanical stuff was removed and cleaned. Hoses, overflow, simmer, power cords etc. NOT THE FILTER!!!
Buckets, buckets and more buckets (5gal). I filled several buckets about half way with tank water and carefully placed all the live rock and small critters (crabs, snails) in them, then topped off until everything was covered. I tried not to fill them up all the way b/c of weight. I covered them w/lids but I didn't snap them down until it was time togo. Once all the easy stuff was out I filled buckets for each of the fish, netted them and in they went. then I drained the water down to substrate and moved the tank carefully on to a pc of 3/4" plywood that I cut several inches oversize for easier handling and not rack the tank. I had two others helping me and as I was dealing with the tank they were loading my nice warm (heater on full) SUV. First was just water then live rock, fish, tank, stand and lights.
When we reached the new local I leveled the stand, placed the tank and slowly added the water, fish and the rock. the move took only about 1 12 hrs from time we started until the fish were back in the tank. It took several more hrs to put everything to working condition but everthing went well.
I purchased 15 5 gal buckets (used them all), a very strong power head (rigged as a pump) that I used to move the water from tank to bucket and back. I had an extra heater and purchased another for new water that went in for water change.
It wasn't a whole lot of fun but it worked.
Be prepared, have help, move quickly
Good Luck
cowfishrule
Active Member
just my opinion ,
but if your know for fact that you're going to be moving several times, perhaps should go smaller with tank or even hold off for a few years?
but if your know for fact that you're going to be moving several times, perhaps should go smaller with tank or even hold off for a few years?