Need advice on how to move a tank and fish...

blueram

blueram

Member
Am going to buy a 29 gallon biocube
that has been running for 3 months. It is a pretty good deal, the whole set up for $700 dlls Canadian.

It includes:
29G OCEANIC BIO-CUBE, WITH matching Oceanic stand, set up 3 months ago, includes heater,
31 lbs live rock (24 lbs Fiji premium + 7 lbs Jakarta), 20 lbs aragonite sand, heater, tank bred percula clownfish, yellow watchman goby, feather duster, cleaner shrimp, 2 red scarlet hermit crabs, 5 astrea snails $700.00. .
Im very interested in this set up but I wonder how I can transfer everything to my apartment without starting a cycle again. :thinking: The tanks comes with fish and a couple of soft corals and am afraid that they would die as the tank might go into a cycle again. :help: :help: :help:
I really apprecaiate your help.
cheers
Daniel
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Take all of the rock out and put it in a bucket or Rubbermaid container that has a decent lid and fill it with enough tank water to cover the rocks. Put all of the corals in another bucket or Rubbermaid container and add tank water to cover all the corals. Place the remainder of the tank water in another bucket or Rubbermaid container, but leave about an inch of water in the tank to keep the sandbed covered and leave the fish and inverts in there as well. Move the cabinet and set it all back up as quickly as possible.
:joy:
 
K

kimc

Guest
Originally Posted by Bonebrake
Take all of the rock out and put it in a bucket or Rubbermaid container that has a decent lid and fill it with enough tank water to cover the rocks. Put all of the corals in another bucket or Rubbermaid container and add tank water to cover all the corals. Place the remainder of the tank water in another bucket or Rubbermaid container, but leave about an inch of water in the tank to keep the sandbed covered and leave the fish and inverts in there as well. Move the cabinet and set it all back up as quickly as possible.
:joy:
That's pretty much how I moved my 90gal when I bought it used, except I removed all fish & inverts. Congrats!! I was so scared when I moved my tank, but everything made it. Temperature could be a problem... How do you plan to maintain temperature?? Please post pics when you get it set up!!
 
1knight164

1knight164

Member
I moved a 55 reef about an hour away. Did the same, I just put the fish and inverts in a cooler. Yours should be fine in a the 29. It was summer and temps were close to 100 when I moved my fish and didn't want fish soup when I got home. And instead of transporting 100% of the water, i dumped 20% and when I set up the system added 20% new water. If your concerned about weight, you may want to do the same. A lot of the coralline on the back galss didn't survive, though. But it's coming back nicely. Your 29 should be a snap.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bonebrake
Take all of the rock out and put it in a bucket or Rubbermaid container that has a decent lid and fill it with enough tank water to cover the rocks. Put all of the corals in another bucket or Rubbermaid container and add tank water to cover all the corals. Place the remainder of the tank water in another bucket or Rubbermaid container, but leave about an inch of water in the tank to keep the sandbed covered and leave the fish and inverts in there as well. Move the cabinet and set it all back up as quickly as possible.
:joy:
Yep, pretty much.
Only thing I would do different is to remove the sand/fish/inverts/last bit of water. Put all that it it's own bucket/rubbermaid and move the tank empty. Lots of these all-in-one tanks have a history of cracking, so I'd want as little weight as possible in the tank when I moved it.
 
M

microlady

Guest
Originally Posted by jacksonpt
Yep, pretty much.
Only thing I would do different is to remove the sand/fish/inverts/last bit of water. Put all that it it's own bucket/rubbermaid and move the tank empty. Lots of these all-in-one tanks have a history of cracking, so I'd want as little weight as possible in the tank when I moved it.

I agree. Remove as much water from the tank as possible. If the sand stays moist, it should be fine.
I'm moving in a couple of weeks too! Wish me luck!!

Heather
 
bkh_sd

bkh_sd

Member
I would take the sand out too and put it in a bucket of the tank water... I would also suggest putting in a little calcite or some other small to medium grade reef sand. 100% live sand can harden and expand over time. I've heard of tanks breaking from it. Mixing it with another substrate apparently helps stop that.
Home Depot and Lowes sell thick paint buckets with lids for like 5$ for a 5 gallon... Just buy a bunch of those and you'll be good to go. After all my moves i'm up to 20 buckets, 2 45gallon heavy duty brute trash cans and 1 32gallon heavy duty brute trash can.
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Disturbing the sandbed by removing it from the tank can stir up a lot of nastiness and potentially pollute your water when you set the tank back up. Good luck if you decide the remove the sand.
:joy:
 
newbie77

newbie77

Member
I agree with bonebrake leave the sand and fish in there with a enough water to cover. You can get rid of some of the water like 10% to 20%. Just mix up a 5 gallon bucket worth of new water. IMO you're less likely to have a problem doing it this way.
 
bkh_sd

bkh_sd

Member
Actually moving tank with sand / water in it can lead to cracks and breaks now or later...
As far as the sand goes, when taking the sand out and putting into bucket of tank water, you'll notice that all the crap comes to the surface, so when you put your sand back in the tank it will actually be cleaner...(don't use the water from that bucket of course) Of course there is some loss of bacteria... but not devastating. If you read books like Conscientious Marine Aquarist it will even tell you that you should replace 1/3 of your live substrate every 6m-1y... and this is the easiest time to do it too.
 
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