Moving what to do???

[hrdkndy]

I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions on how to move an 80 gallon reef tank. I am in the process of moving and havent a clue what to do first. Was just wondering if anyone else has come across some good advice on the best way to handle this situation. do's and don't. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! :help:

 

[schadiest1]

I'll be moving my 40 and 16 gallon reefs and just wanted to jump on board.

 

[michelle l]

How far will you be moving?
We moved a 125 gal FOWLR, so my advice may not be totally fitting for you if you have corals and anenomes. I think they'd be OK though.
We went to Wal-Mart and bought about 10 of the 21 gallon Rubbermaid tubs. On moving day, I drained as much water as I could into those tubs and saved it. I also removed the sand and placed it in the tubs with enough water to cover it. Some live rock and all of the inverts went into one tub (I don't have much live rock...I'm working on getting more, so it all fit into two tubs.) and the fish and the rest of the live rock went into another. I took the powerheads and placed one into each tub containing animals. While I was working in the tank I also placed my hang on the back power filter on the side of the tub to filter the water that the fish were in, and it worked great.
We had rented a U-Haul just for the occasion, so we loaded up the tank, water, and sand tubs in the back and placed the fish and inverts in the car so that they could be in the air conditioning with me. (It was very hot that day) We were only moving about three miles away, so it was a quick trip.
Once at our new place, we took the fish and inverts indoors right away and started the pumps and the power filter again. Then we moved the tank in, set it up, replaced the sand, and put the water that I had saved back in the tank. Then I mixed new water to replace what I had to discard. I left it to circulate and heat overnight while the animals stayed in their temporary homes. Be sure to drip acclimate the animals in a bucket before you put them back in the tank, just as if they were new to the environment.
The only thing that happened was that the tub water temp dropped quite a bit by the next morning...something that I didn't think about. You may want to consider buying several small heaters if you can and heating each tub that contains live creatures. Everything survived with no ill effects except for an emerald crab who was hidden in a piece of live rock. I didn't see him and I plopped him into the new tank water without acclimating him. He didn't do too well with that and died the next day.
Good luck!

 

[maeistero]

we just moved a 135 reef into a 90 this last weekend, about a mile away from one another. it took about 8 or so 5gal buckets for sand and such and we moved the corals in rubbermaids. it'll take a day or so for your tank to settle, so keep your stuff in the rubbermaids with heaters and flow. stirring up your sandbed causes problems so you won't want to put everything back in right away. we scooped the top inch of sand and put that on top of the other sand in the new tank. be sure that your corals and whatnot don't contact each other. after our drive we had to separate them out as the roads suck here. we also used the same water as luckily we had local access to 55gallon plastic barrels. planning out a pumping system and 50-100feet of hosing makes things a lot easier also. we drained and refilled in probably 15-25minutes. i would definitely recommend mixing up extra saltwater if you have the containers. we were short about 15gallons and that's going to a smaller tank.
so far everything seems to be going good.

 

[pfitz44]

Moving??? Pefect time to upgrade... hehehe....
get the new tank set, then bring the livestock over as stated above!
good luck!

 

[hrdkndy]

Thanks everyone that replied! I was very stressed and hearing your stories really eased my mind!
Wouldnt I just love to upgrade!! Soon...very soon!
I will keep everyone posted that is interested in hearing how it all went! Thanks again!

 

[gamedawg]

I just moved my 55 into another room to make room for my new 135. It was prett much what you all did, but on a smaller scale. I also emptied all the sand out of it, because that's being sold. I have new live sand that will be going into the new 135, along with the live rock from my 55. Now I have to start filling up the 135, with enough room for the water from the 55 to go in it. That's gonna be a chore!

 

[mrstwig]

I moved a 29 gallon and all of its contents in November about 90 miles and then last month, my 90 gallon set up, about 50 miles. Both times we moved everything(rock,sand, fish,critters) in large buckets and containers and then set it back up when we got it safely home. Big job, but neither time did I lose any livestock, even though this second time the water temp got down in the 60's. It would have been impossible to keep or warm 100 gallons of water (including the sump water) so I just set it back up and added an extra heater for a few hours. I know it wouldn't be recommended, but the three fish came through it fine. I was told but the guys at the LFS not to do any water change right away to let it all settle and so I waited a couple of weeks. The tank has been here for 4 weeks+ and it couldn't be better. I think if you move everything, meaning water , it should go ok if it's within a reasonable amount of time.
Just my experience!

 

[dogpoor]

Moved my 90g reef and a several other tanks from Missouri to Arizona last August. Put all live rock in a 75 gallon rubbermaid tub I picked up at the feed store, covered with a screwed down plexiglass cover. Livestock went into bins set inside of a couple of large coolers that had an aerator for live fish bait in it. My bf drilled holes in the containers and plumbed them for water movement with battery operated pumps. Live sand in covered buckets with water. Extra aged water went into more buckets. Drove straight through. Set up tank on arrival. Livestock went in next day. Lost 1 Anthias and 1 coral from stress.

 

[gamedawg]

Wow, that's a big move, and so little die-off. Awesome job.

 

[dragracer]

I've moved a 75 FOWLR.........my advice to you......hire someone else to do it.