Moving reef tank

[ellingtj]

I am moving about 5 miles down the road i was hoping for some tips about the moving process. I have a 65 gallon reef tank with about 40 lbs of live rock and 35ibs live sand. two black percs a wrasse and a tang. I plan on putting the rock and the clean up crew in a tub with tank water and all the fish in seperate bucket with tank water, keeping as wmuch as the original water as I can. My question is what should I do with my live sand bed if I Leave the wet sand in my tank it might be too heavy to move correct? If I take it out will it mess with the bacteria in it and cause a spike..thinking of taking sand out and cleaning it rinsing it is this a good idea?? as for my mud in my refu i was just going to leave it in the fuge with a little water and let it settle in the new location before running the fuge with the display.
any advice on the move would be great just plan on putting everything back together at new location so anyway to avoid a spike or mini cycle would be great. should i leave the fish out for a few days in a seperate container??
THanks

 

[t316]

I moved a 55 glass tank about 1/2 hour away and left the sand in. It was a little heavy, but was able to do it with only 2 people. I put the lr in buckets, with tank water, put the fish and inverts in another bucket with tank water, and put the corals in another bucket with tank water. Then drained the tank down to only keep about 1/2" of water above the sand line. It sloshed around during the move, but a few of the snails that I had overlooked even survived.
I think you are going to have a spike though, either way. I was putting the fish, inverts and corals in another tank anyway, but the lr went right back into the moved tank, and there was no die off. But I would have a plan to do something with the fish and inverts for awhile until your test show stabilization.

 

[ellingtj]

Thanks T3 I appreciate the input does any one have any details on how to hold the fish for a period of time in a tub or how to prevent the spike I really wanna wash my sand because it is not white like it use to be it is very dirty.. any ideas??

 

[ellingtj]

Any one help??

 

[fraggle_a]

I have moved my 55g tank 4 times!!
Dont feed your fish the night before you move!
I got myself some 5gallon gas cans and put as much water in those as I can. (i used 3 in all - 15 gallons)
I got some plastic tubs from wal-mart or a DIY store (with the lid) and use those to keep water and fish in.
I used about 3 tubs. one for fish, one for inverts and snails and such, and one for anenomies.
(thats another 10 gallons or more)
The tank I drained down to almost nothing. Just left enough (stinky) water to keep the sand moist.
The live rocks I put in buckets and covered with towels I had soaked in the tank water.
So I took about 25 to 30 gallons of my water with me. I never put all of it back, i sub some RO water.
On arriving at the new property I did the following......
Removed the sand from the tank and gave the tank a quick clean and rince.
Replaced the sand and then set it on its stand.
Added the water and then the rocks.
While the dust settled I ran off to the LFS and got some RO with Salt to top off the tank.
(if worried, ad a simple 5 or 10g whisper filter to your buckets. they cost about $10 from wal-mart)
I let the water settle for about an hour then started up the pump and let that run for an hour.
Then I add the fish carefuly. They have been in the tub for about 3 hours. 2 hours with the cheap filter running.
Let them settle for a while, then add the inverts and anenomies.
Put the corrals in and get light on them.
Let things settle for a few hours and then arrange your Liverock.
When your dont with arranging the rock and placing the corrals in a final positin, go ahead and give the fish a little food. Not a regular dose though.
If they are over stressed, they wont eat and the food will be left to rot.
As far as cleaning the sand.
Id do it a little bit at a time.
If you clean it all at the same time your going to cause some seriouse problems for yourself. Remeber, the sand is live, just like the rock!.
So pick sections, suck it out, clean it and put it back. Wait a few days and do another section..