Novice Moving His New Tank. Advice???

areijin

Member
Hello all. So I just won a new tank from that place where you bid on things. I don't know why we can't name it but I'll do as you all do. # 4300809985 incase you want to check it out. I think it's a great deal. Anyway it's my first tank. I've done some reading but am still nervous about the move. It's ten or so miles but the setting up and keeping stuff alive worries me a bit. Any advice would be great. Thanks and I hope that I get to know everyone better.
 

robchuck

Active Member
Welcome to the board and congratulations on the new tank!
Plan on setting aside an entire weekend for the move. My best advice is to visualize the move over and over beforehand to try to predict what problems may arise.
Before you leave to pick up the tank, make sure that the space where the tank will go is ready and that you have enough electrical service for the tank. Also, have enough saltwater premixed and aged for at least 24 hours, so you won't have to mix an emergency batch in case it's needed later on (some water might get spilled during the move, you'll probably loose some water due to sloshing on the way back, you also might not have enough room to bring back all the water you anticipated, etc...). It would be ideal to mix this water to the same parameters as the water from the tank you are purchasing.
As far as the move goes, purchase seperate Rubbermaid containers to house the live rock, sand, corals, and fish, along with two or so trashcans to haul the water in. When you pick up the tank, disassemble and load all of the equipment first, so the livestock is the last thing taken out of the tank. Load the livestock into seperate Rubbermaids, along with enough water to keep it submerged. Put the tank into your vehicle last, so that it's the first thing you unload when you get home.
When you get home, set the tank on the stand right away. Then put some water, the sand, and LR into the tank, followed by the rest of the livestock. Be sure to add enough water so that the livestock stays submerged. Place the heater and any powerheads or circulation devices in the tank at this point to keep the water warm and oxygenated and to keep the inhabitants alive.
Now you will have time to set up the rest of the equipment, and from the looks of the auction, you'll be spending the better part of a day setting up the Ca reactor, the sump, skimmer, etc.
Between now and then, just keep reading and ask away if you have any questions come up.
 

zotl

Member
Couple things I learned when I moved my tank:
1. Save as much water as possible from the original tank.
2. Make up twice as much saltwater as you think you will need. (make sure you try to match the SG and tempature of the current water.)
3. I would leave the sand in the tank and not try to remove it.
4. While the tank is broken down, clean out areas like the overflow, sump, refug, etc. It's also an excellent time to replump your system if it has bad calcium build up.
5. MAKE SURE YOUR TANK IS LEVEL!!!!!
6. Your corals are going to do all sorts of funky things for the first couple weeks, relax and let nature take its course.
7. You just got a whole bunch of new stuff. Don't buy any new inhabitants for at least a month or two.
I too got into the hobby by buying an awesome reef tank worth about 6 grand for 1000 bucks. Read much and ask questions and for the love of all thats good, use a protien skimmer and scoff at the rest:)
 

saltywhit67

Member
This is an awesome thread, it has answered many questions i had brewing in my head for weeks now. I will be moving my 75 gallon sometime within the week and this has eased my stress a little. i do have a few questions though...
So are u guys saying that you should put all of ur fish into a rubbermaid tub for a day. And put them and everything back into the tank as soon as you get it full again after the move. by keeping all of the sand in the tank as you are moving it will it crack? wont a trash can full of water be too heavy to move?
 

zotl

Member
The tank should not crack by keeping the sand in it, I'm assuming you have a 3-4" DSB and not like filled half way up the tank:)
We put the trash cans in the back of the van then filled them up with a long hose connected to the tank.
I bagged my fish seperately like they do in the store. They'll be good for several hours which will let your sand settle down some.
Keep in mind that a tank move is a very traumatic event for a reef and stressful on the inhabitants. It's not going to go perfect and you can plan on losing a couple things. As with life, plan for the worst and hope for the best. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Here's a pic of my tank 4 months after a 30 mile move. Its a 125.
 

areijin

Member
So I think that I might have to go with my LFS and have them help me move. I'm happy that this thread might help a few others and ask for more people to write so when others look up this thread they will have a great idea on what to do.
So my LFS puts the fish and coral in bags and then into a styrofoam box. But this is assumng that they will have a ten mile move done in four hours tops. Also for sure you don't want to fill the cans all the way. Keep in mind that it will slosh around a lot and be heavy. The rectangular ones for clothes looked better both for being less likely to tip over and for the serface area you have to put LR, Coral, Fish, ect.
Anyway I still need the help for the mechanics and for speed. I'm sure I could do everything and figure it out but how long would that take me??? Everything is sensative to temp change so I don't want to risk it. So look at that wedsite under number 4300809985 and tell me what you guys think of my new tank. Keep the replies coming.:joy:
 

rjc

New Member
I moved a 55 gal Reef tank from Chicago to SW florida. Biggest problem I had seeing how it took 2 days was the tempature. I put all corals and fish inside an a/c van but had to put the water in an non-a/c trailer. I bought a lot of battery operated airpumps they're cheep about 8-10 dollars apiece. It was rough but everything did survive.......Good Luck
 

saltywhit67

Member
I am about to move my whole tank and i set up a 15 gallon eclipse tank sw to house my 3 fish (Yellow tang, perc clown, damsel) while i re-set up my 75 gal. do u guys think this would be a good idea or should i just leave them in bags?
 

zotl

Member
More props to the guy I brought it from. He set it up perfect. I may post more pics on another post.
 

areijin

Member
Has anyone heard of the sudstate becoming a solid mass on a five year old tank? Will I also find a lot of really dead zones where gunk has collected? If so will the water be bad? I was thinking that the last few inchs of water I might through out. I'll left the last pieces of LR and then syphon that gung out.
One of my LFS that is helping me move sounds like they just want to sell me a bunch of stuff that I don't need and is saying the opposit to what everyone else is; and it always has a $ sign at the end of it. I believe they have the best fish, LR, and coral in the area but I hate the feeling that they just want me to by stuff. Anyway I'm tring to get a kid from another LFS to help me on his day off with some tax free cash under the table. I hope he is able to help me out.:nervous:
 

michael7979

Member
Like someone said earlier plan the move the best you can ahead of time and have PATIENCE!!! I moved my 100 gallon tank with sump/fuge about 20 miles and it took longer than I thought it would, so give yourself plenty of time. Get as much muscle as you can it will save time and your mental health if you do run into a problem. Hope all goes well let us know.
 

zephyrlily

Member
areijin,
That's a beautiful tank you got! Let us know how the move went and don't get discouraged if you lose some inhabitants, like zotl said any move is stressful on an ecosystem.
Congrats on your buy and good luck! :cheer:
 

areijin

Member
Thnaks. I was hoping to use one of my LFS. They have teh niocest stuff butr the owner that was going to help me move was trying to sell me a bunch of stuff that I didn't needl. It was to a point that he was saying everything wrong to what everone else on SWF was telling me and the $$$ signs just keep on adding on. Not that some things wouldn't be good but as we all know, we can always find a bigger and better thing to add for twince teh price. Anyway a little cash for onw of the kids at another LFS wont hurt anyone. I'll take nice pics when it's all done. MY girlfriend's bro works at a camera store so he can get his hand s on some ncie stuff for a day. Thanks again.
If anyone else has ideas the big move is June 3rd so let me know before then. Thanks...Alex:jumping:
 

zotl

Member
If you leave your sand in during the move it will llok like mud after you move it. I dug a hole in the DSB to the bottom on one side and tilted it a little. Then I siphoned as much water as I could out to get all the stuff out. It'll help it settle faster.
 
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