MOVING TANK 3 HOURS AWAY

[fishmaster78]

Alright saltwater team, i'm moving my 40 gal hex next weekend and need some helpful tips. i've read the past forums but haven't really gotten anything concrete for my situation. I have one large piece of live rock as the center piece and have a numerous amount of corals attached to it. Do i take as many corals off the rock as possible and bag individually or can i take the one large piece of rock out of the tank and put in a 10 gal tote with water covering it? Also i understand that i need to remove the sand and then replace it back in the tank upon arrival. Can i just move it with the sand in it then add some new water syphon it all out and then put new water over it again? Also during the trip i'll have to have the heater plugged in to the car but what about water movement do i need to put in a water mover eventhough these things usually ship without water movement? Thanks for the help team.

 

[geoj]

If you can get the tank back up and running in one day with out any big temp swing you will be OK. I use an Ice chest in short moves. You should move the bubble coral separately as they are easy to damage. Do the same for any others that you feel need it. If your corals are on plugs remove them from the rock without damaging them. Do not smash, crush, physically abuse, or other wise harm them. Temp and water movement would only be needed if you are going to the extremes, or you plan on leaving them over night.

 

[geoj]

I would use this move as an opportunity to clean the sand with a siphon and then keep the sand wet for the move.

 

[fishmaster78]

Thanks Geo, i'm fully intending on having this reset and running within 6 hours but we'll see. yeah definitely going to be cleaning the top layer of sand. so you really think during the drive i won't need heat or water movement.. its a three hour drive plus the 1-2 hr breakdown and reset?

 

[geoj]

You will be fine. If in a cold or hot part of country I would say to be more concerned. I am down here in San Diego and have just went through a power outage and all is fine. When they ship corals they only put the heat packs in because they will likely be sitting in a unheated warehouse over night. I would keep an eye on temp but would be more worried that a heater in a small moving container would be more trouble waiting to happen.

 

[fishmaster78]

just an update....i was able to move the tank and only lost my toadstool....sad but at the sametime i'm happy that i didn't lose any of the more expensive corals....also to update my clownfish has now decided to host my duncans and attack my hand everytime i put my hand in the water...lol

 

[reeferchief]

My clown attacks my hand every time too... Pretty cool set up you have with coral attached to one rock. I will have to be moving my 65 in about 6 months, not looking forward to that...