need help... moving soon!!!

zero1870

zero1870

Member
I’m going to be moving in the next couple of weeks and I need to know how to move my 75 gal sw fish tank. I have snails, clams, and crabs. Livestock include a hippo tank, two clown fish, three neon gobbies and 1 cleaner shrimp and lots of LR… what is the best way to move this without having to recycle the tank and losing any livestock… any help is greatly appreciated.
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
I think what joker is asking is what is the estimated time your tank will be broken down until it is set back up?
How far do you have to move it?
Can you start setting up any equipment at your new apartment before you actually move?
Do you have a QT? A friend with a cycled QT?
You might be able to start breaking down your tank into smaller rubbermaid tubs with PHs and heaters for your LR.
We need more input from you to better help you move.
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
If you treat everything that filters your water as if it were alive then you probably wont have to recycle. What are you using as filtration? If its just LR with ph's for circulation, just keep the LR and substrate wet and at temp. If you have anything else as far as biological filtration ,bioballs or whatever, put them in with the LR. I like to use plastic picnic coolers for livestock, they will keep the temp steady during transport better than regular containers. If you go to an icecream store they might sell you buckets with lids for a couple bucks. They're real good for water transport. It's a pain but try to save at least 20 gallons or so of the water, fish really hate those massive water changes.
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Dont try to move the tank with any water in it. They twist very easily, it doesn't take much to loosen a seal.
 
zero1870

zero1870

Member
:help:
ok... i guess i was kind of vague on my move... i'm moving to a new apartment. i'll have the keys to it starting today. I have until the 17th of october to be out of my current apartment. so i have roughly a month and half to move all of my stuff out of here and into the new place. As for my tank, i have a wet/dry (with bio-balls) filtration system with a protein skimmer. It is a 75 gal tank and i have a three 5 gallon buckets that i use for my water changes. What is the best way to transport all of my fish and inverts, the live rock, the live sand, and the 75 gallons of water, to my new apartment.
i'm concerned about killing the cleaner shrimp and the clams and snails and crabs that i have currently in my tank. i also do not want to muck up the cycled water. so how should i go about doing this in a painless way... oh ya, i did mention i currently live on a second floor apartment so weight is a factor on our backs. luckly, our new apartment is two story with the tank going on the first floor. anywho, i hope this helps with your questions... anymore and i'll answer them.
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Plenty of time. Your water isnt whats cycled, its the bio-balls and live rock. Treat them as if they were livestock, 'cause they are. You dont need all your water. Put the LR and bio-balls in 1 container of tank water, and the fish and verts in a seperate 1. Both containers need airstones. Fill up your buckets with tank water. Syphon out the tank, DO NOT TIP IT TO GET THE WATER TO RUN TO THE END WITH THE HOSE this is how seals come loose. Make sure your livestock is aerated, warm and covered. Take everything to the new place in 1 trip if you can. Put your substrate, the buckets of water and LR in the tank. If you lay a newspaper on the gravel and pour the water onto that it will stir up less. Dont use a garbage bag because they are treated. Put the bio-balls in the WD and cover them with tank water. Put the heater in the tank but dont plug it in for 20 minutes. Mix up some new water. Put a PH or airstone in the tank and plug in and adjust your heater. Add maybe 20 gallons of the new water when warm and SG is ok. Acclimate your fish and get them in there even if water is still low. IMO with your ammount of livestock they should be ok for at least a day or so. make up whatever water you need to top off. If its gonna be a while before you can crank up the filter, put some more tank water in with the bio-balls.
 
n2theblue

n2theblue

Member
You could also make up water at your new place a day ahead of time so that you will have it on hand to replace lost water and in case of any emergencies. When I moved the first time I made up 50g ahead of time (for my 90g). I was able to bring alot of the old water with me so I didn't need it all, but it was nice to have it on hand. I moved all the live rock, filter media, and water in big rubermaid tubs from Wal-Mart. The other option, if you don't have a vehicle large enough to do it at once would be to set up a small temp. tank at your new place, seed it with stuff from your old tank to reduce cycle time, then move your fish and move the rest of the stuff in multiple trips. Get main tank all set up and the water tested, then add fish back to it and dismantle temp tank or keep for future quarentine tank.
 
brucewrs

brucewrs

Member
Go to your local pet store and see if they loan out 5 gallon jugs.The one by me does and I used 20 5 gallon jugs(100 gallons) to take half the water with me.Use a big cooler with an air stone and as soon as you get to your destination pour one of those 5 gallon jugs into the cooler.That will give you more time to set up.I just got done moving a 210 with 25 fish and everything lived.Also it was a 2 1/2 hour ride home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top