Moving a toxic tank help!

SimplyAnchored

SimplyAnchored

New Member
Hi everyone!
I used to be on this site a few years back when my 55g tank was up and running. I got married 3 years ago and moved, but I left my tank at my mothers house since I wasn't able to take it to my apartment. We have since built a house and it's time to move it.

I have severely neglected my tank while getting married, having a baby, and well... life in general. I have 2 clown fish and a chromis left in the tank. How they are still alive, I am not sure!

I want to move the tank to my new house but I am terrified. How do I go about this?

Do I buy a 75g and just move the LR and fish?
Salvage what I have in the tank and save the money and upgrade later since $$ is tight? BUT adding a protein skimmer since all there is on there are 2 HOB filters and 2 power heads?

I am in need of help. I want to get my tank back up and running and beautiful again!

TIA!
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
If it were me I'd gone new 75 gal route. In early March I upgraded my 55 to. 125. The 55 had only been up and running since November and had been well maintained. I opted to save the sand. Have regretted it ever since been fighting some sort of brown stuff all over the sand. I can't imagine all the problems you'll have moving a neglected tank then starting to get control again. I suppose you could just break down the old system and sterilize everything in it then start back up with the old tank and equipment. .
 
SimplyAnchored

SimplyAnchored

New Member
Thanks for the input! I'm leaning towards doing the 75g with a HOB protein skimmer. I do t have a lot of money to reinvest at this moment but it seems so much easier to just buy a new system and salvage my heater and power heads.

I was wondering about the sand, and I agree. Who knows why kind of crap is in there.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
SimplyAnchored said:
Hi everyone!
I used to be on this site a few years back when my 55g tank was up and running. I got married 3 years ago and moved, but I left my tank at my mothers house since I wasn't able to take it to my apartment. We have since built a house and it's time to move it.

I have severely neglected my tank while getting married, having a baby, and well... life in general. I have 2 clown fish and a chromis left in the tank. How they are still alive, I am not sure!

I want to move the tank to my new house but I am terrified. How do I go about this?

Do I buy a 75g and just move the LR and fish?
Salvage what I have in the tank and save the money and upgrade later since $$ is tight? BUT adding a protein skimmer since all there is on there are 2 HOB filters and 2 power heads?

I am in need of help. I want to get my tank back up and running and beautiful again!

TIA!
Click to expand...
Hi,

I have moved my tank many times.

First...make up enough new saltwater, be sure to use RO water not tap, at the destination point, let it churn for 24 hours. Swish the sand around in the old water once everything is removed, that will release any toxins. You can also put new mixed saltwater in the tank and swish it around even more to "rinse" it. Remove the sand to buckets, do not move the tank with anything in it. Put the rock in a tub with damp paper towels. Put the fish and inverts in bags like if you got them from the fish store. Move the tank...now is NOT the time to clean things up, there is no point in saving the water as there is very little good bacteria in it. However, save the HOB media, and don't wash any power heads...just move it, and set it right back up, refilling it with the new saltwater. You can run carbon just to be sure all toxins are gone, the carbon will take care of any residue.

Acclimate the critters once the rock, sand, filters, and water is in the tank. As time passes you can change or clean up one thing at a time each week so that you don't unbalance things. That means that after you get everything moved...next week swap out one of the HOBs media, then do the same next week with the other one... clean a power head the week after that, wait a week then clean up the last one.

You don't need a skimmer with a fish only system, and very few fish at that...so take your time, and if you want a skimmer, get one when you can afford it. You can upgrade now or later, but remember that the good bacteria you have is balanced with the fish you have. Adding new rock to a larger tank means making very sure it's cured. You can add sand to what you have, but moving is not the time to replace the sand, there is a great deal of good bacteria you would lose if you do.
 
SimplyAnchored

SimplyAnchored

New Member
Flower- that is all great advice! Could I do basically the same thing but move it all to a new tank? If I were to move all my stuff to an upgraded 75g tank, would I take my old sand? Or would I have the new tank all set up, except the rocks, and have new sand put in? OR do I have a new set up, empty, swish my old sand like you mentioned, put it in the new tank, place rocks in, then acclimate the fish?

Thanks so much for your input!

ALSO - because it is absolutely disgusting, should I get the HOB skimmer now and have it start working on the old tank to get it semi non-toxic before moving the fish so they don't get shocked by a clean tank? Then just move the skimmer to the new tank?
 
reefkeeperZ

reefkeeperZ

Member
clean water isn't going to shock fish. only if the SG or temp is way off will it shock fish. Think of it this way, if you're in a house fire and you move directly to clean air from a smoke filled room is it going to kill you? no it's probably going to increase your chances of survival. because something is tolerating a bad environment doesn't mean its good for it.

the sand you can do either way.

if the sand was super neglected the phosphates and nitrates will be saturated into the sand, no amount of swishing will remove it because aragonite sand and rock has a high CEC capacity (cation exchange capacity) the ability to capture then release nutrients easily. so you may wind up fighting an algae bloom in a brand new set up. Swishing will remove the organic waste.

only I wouldn't just swish, here is how I wash used sand. Step one. fill fish net with sand. Step 2 hold fishnet full of sand over container with salt water in it. Step three use powerhead with a hose to run salt water through the sand using your second hand to push up on the bottom of the net to "flex" the sand so you wash out as much gunk as possible. keep rinsing until it wont run clearer. dump sand into clean bucket.. repeat until all sand has been rinsed. grab more used water and do it again..... as many times as it takes for the water to be as clean as you think its going to get (or you run out of patience) . Or if you dont care about keeping bacteria alive you can just do this in the sink with clean tap water, it goes way faster to get it totally gunk free but you will kill any bacteria or microfauna in the sand.

to be honest I have sand in my tank that has gone through probably 10 different setups, including the worst crash imaginable from when it was in my 125 full mixed reef and EVERYTHING died. I have the patience to fight out the residual phosphates and nitrate that are stored in the sand. the question is do you want to deal with it or spend money for new sand.
 
D

deejeff0442

Active Member
Sorry didnt read all the posts.very easy get 5 gallo buckets put the fish and tank water in them.have more water ready .when you move the tank just wash the sand and rock then put it back together. If you need to know how to wash the sand let me know.fish arent that fragile if they are healthy.
 
SimplyAnchored

SimplyAnchored

New Member
Thank you everyone for the tips!!!
Okay I have decided to move everything from my 55 to a 90. Might as well upgrade while I have the chance.

I obviously have to add More new sand, how do I do this? I'm going to take all of your advice and wash my sand, do I get new live sand to add or dry sand?
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
SimplyAnchored said:
Thank you everyone for the tips!!!
Okay I have decided to move everything from my 55 to a 90. Might as well upgrade while I have the chance.

I obviously have to add More new sand, how do I do this? I'm going to take all of your advice and wash my sand, do I get new live sand to add or dry sand?
Click to expand...
That is kind of up to you. I added dry. I figured most of the sand was from the old tank and it was live then added two bags of new (dry) to the top. I think I would have been better off adding mostly new sand with a few scoops of old to the top of the new. Live and learn. Every body had different experiences.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
I love my 90g, it's the perfect size for me, and it's the same length as the 55g so it fit right in the same space.

I would go with the bagged live sand...it's just loaded with good bacteria. So it isn't really LIVE sand, but it is helpful to keep things stable, or go with live reef sand.

I have moved many times without a loss...It's just my opinion, but I wouldn't wash the old sand, it isn't the phosphates and nitrates you need to worry about...it's the loss of the good bacteria. By moving and upgrading the tank, you are resetting it completely already, the bacteria that is in the tank right now is perfectly balanced with the life in it... if you remove any of the good bacteria, it will be unbalanced. That's why when you move a tank, and you want to keep the livestock you have... don't clean it up, and certainly don't completely wash the good bacteria from the sand. An ammonia spike is far worse for your critters then the nitrates and phosphates, which will be eliminated as you add new saltwater, and keep up the maintenance from that point on.
 
SimplyAnchored

SimplyAnchored

New Member
flower said:
I love my 90g, it's the perfect size for me, and it's the same length as the 55g so it fit right in the same space.

I would go with the bagged live sand...it's just loaded with good bacteria. So it isn't really LIVE sand, but it is helpful to keep things stable, or go with live reef sand.

I have moved many times without a loss...It's just my opinion, but I wouldn't wash the old sand, it isn't the phosphates and nitrates you need to worry about...it's the loss of the good bacteria. By moving and upgrading the tank, you are resetting it completely already, the bacteria that is in the tank right now is perfectly balanced with the life in it... if you remove any of the good bacteria, it will be unbalanced. That's why when you move a tank, and you want to keep the livestock you have... don't clean it up, and certainly don't completely wash the good bacteria from the sand. An ammonia spike is far worse for your critters then the nitrates and phosphates, which will be eliminated as you add new saltwater, and keep up the maintenance from that point on.
Click to expand...
That's all great advice! Sorry for all the questions. If I add new wet sand to my old sand will it cause a cycle?

Can I move my sand, add new sand, new water, then the first in the same day?

OR should I get the new tank all set up, put the new sand/water in and grab just a few cups of the old sand and have sit for a while?
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
There is a good chance you'll have a mini cycle no matter how you do it. At least be prepared for it. If it were me, I'd go with the set up new tank seed with a few cups of old sand. Move live rock then the 3 fish. If it is possible I'd give it a day or so till the water clears to move fish. Monitor your ammonia levels until they fall to 0 and stay there and have salt water mixed for water changes. I used seachem Prime everyday for a couple weeks. It detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for 24 hours. Don't add any more fish until nitrite and ammonia are stable at 0. It doesn't sound like you have to move everything fast so you can make the move a bit slower. Once you stir up your sand bed you do need to get things moved as all kinds of nasty stuff will be released.
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Yes, just keep them wet. Leave a couple for the fish to hide in until they move. I'd feed lightly to keep the bio load down. Maybe a small clean up crew for the new tank if you don't have one already.
 
SimplyAnchored

SimplyAnchored

New Member
ALSO I have aiptasia all over my rocks. I'm assuming from neglect. Should I try and get rid of it now or move the rock with it then get a peppermint shrimp in the new tank to eat it?
 
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