Relocating corals from one tank to another

sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I'm purchasing a used tank tonight that comes with everything, including live rock, water, fish, and some corals. I know very little about the different corals that are in there (but I'll learn as fast as I can!). My main concern right now is the relocation process. LUCKILY the old owner only lives about 3 miles from me and there will be two trucks involved as well as a trailer on standby. I'm not worried about the stand, hardware, lighting, etc. as much as I am the live rock, fish, and corals. Hopefully the seller knows how to pack all this for the least amount of fatalaties (he works at a fish store and has already relocated this tank once before) but when I have it all at my place, what should my first priority be? I'd love to replace the sand but I'm guessing that's not a good idea - probably lots of good bacteria and stuff in there. Maybe I can mix some clean sand in with it? (don't want to stir it up too much though, right?) Then I guess I carefully get the water back into the tank and then what? Do I start my aquascaping or do I put the fish in and aquascape with them in there? They are going to be SO STRESSED! (so am I!)
Of course I would love to spread all the rock (120 pounds) all over the floor and SEE exactly what shapes and sizes I have so I can plot and plan but how long can I afford to have rock out of water without causing die off? And more importantly, how long can coral be out of water? 30 seconds? 5 minutes? Where do you think the fish are better off.... in the buckets they'll be in, right back in the tank while I aquascape, or in a 10-gallon QT tank?
Sorry for all the questions - this will be my first "transport" and I want to make it as painless and stress-less as possible on all livestock.
Sue
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
spread the rock out on towels. it will be fine.
keep the corals in the bags the should be coming in, just make sure the temp doesnt drop too much. if you are worried ,you can put them in a temporary rubbermaid with a heater and a PH. you should keep the fish in a rubbermaid with adequate flow and temp control. it is important to have flow for the fish here becaue the 02 depletes fast.
since it is broken down you have time to decide if you want to take the opportunity to put egg crate under the rock. either case, add the base rock. and maybe 1-2" of water, then try to complete at least 80% of the rock work structure, if not all safely. then add the sand, followed by the water. this will keep everything from getting too kicked up, and having too much of a spike.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
This SHOULD be sounding like a fun and exciting project but for some reason I'm dreading it. Probably because I know time is of the essence since there will be corals and fish waiting to get their habitat back and I hate to be rushed when I'm aquascaping. Plus, I have a hard time adding sand AFTER the rock work, and then adding water AFTER the sand. I know intellectually that that is the right way to do it but by the time I get to that point I am so tired and ready to be done that I dump both in too quickly. MUST PRACTICE PATIENCE and go gently.
You think the rock with coral will be ok spread out on a towel??? For how long?
Sue
P.S. And thanks for replying - 22 views and you're the only answer. I've been checking every few minutes since this is all going to happen in a couple of hours. Need COFFEE!
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
yea relax if you can and just try to act smoothly and consistantly to get it done.
its not fun moving tanks, no doubt about it. if the rocks have zoos on them they will be ok, but anything else take a look at the rock so you have a general idea of the size and shape and then put them in 5g buckets with water at least covering the corals.
one trick for adding the water is to pour it onto a rock so that it gets deflected and doesnt kick up one spot with a lot of force.
also, it doesnt have to be perfect. just get the stuff in there generally how you want it, then when everything settles in 2-3 days, go back and re-aquascape.
 
nano12er

nano12er

Member
Sue, Keep your corals in the water, rock without coral will be fine out of the water while you decide what to do. Since you are not sure what corals you have, keep all in the water. Some, like zoas can be out for up to 20 min, and some can't be exposed to air for more than one min. Keep flow in the fish and coral buckets while you are planning everything out, when adding water, try to not disturb the sandbed as the "cloud" will stress the fish, do your scape, then dump your water onto the rocks trying to avoid stirring the sand too much, then get your filters running as soon as possible!!
Good luck!!
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Thanks Guys. I need to remember to stop stressing so much and ENJOY this. What's the point in having a hobby (and an expensive one at that!) if you're not having fun with it. I will remind myself to just "walk away" for a few minutes when I start getting frustrated, as long as the rocks are in water!
Sue
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Taking a 10 minute break to get some nourishment, then back to it. I better put on the coffee - it's going to be a looooong nite. The physical transit went well, the few fish and corals are in a bucket with a bubbler and a heater going, and I've been cleaning some of the algae off the glass of the tank and getting some of the big debris off the sandbed. Next I will start aquascaping, add a little bit of new, clean LS, and then start putting in water. Hook up the Fluval, get the lights on there, and hopefully add fish.
See ya next break!
Sue
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
you are probably done by now, so just wondering how it all went? any casualties?
i was going to tell you to keep on pH in the fish temp locale because bubblers tend to drop pH.
is fluval the only filtration? im not really a fan of these.
i also would not add the new sand immediately, if it;s not too late.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Hi Noob.
Finally went to bed about 4:00 a.m., partially because there is still lots more to be done with these new tank set ups, partially because I TRY to clean up and put away all the mess I've created in the process, and partially because once I got to sit down and LOOK at the tank, I couldn't stop looking. This is my first experience with moonlights and when I plopped down at 3:30 a.m. to take a look, I was mesmerized. Thank goodness I took the day off today because as soon as my eyes opened I dragged myself down to the tank and marveled some more. I could starve and dehydrate with this new hobby!
Here are a few pics - still lots of aquascaping to do but that's where I have problems. I obsess and am never happy and I'm going to end up ruining/hurting something because I never know when to stop. I never thought I'd have this complaint, but I have SO MUCH live rock to be placed. The seller gave me about 120 pounds and some will go in the 55 and some will go into the 46 horsetank (yet to be set up). Not sure which should have more, the layouts, etc. Off to find FTS's of others tanks so I can get my creative juices flowing, or downright STEAL other's ideas.





 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Sounds like a plan - I'll definitely let you know. But realistically since I now have a 12 gallon, a 46 gallon, and a 55 gallon, 120 lbs. (plus the 14 I already had) is probably just about the RIGHT amount. It's just figuring out which pieces go into which tank, how much to put in each, how to set it up, etc. And of course I will NEVER be happy with what I finally decided. If I get frustrated and start smashing things around here, I'll call you and have you come rescue and salvage whatever you can.
 
kingsmith

kingsmith

Member
Tell you what call me presmashing and I will bring you some old electronics to smash instead and I will take all those annoying tanks off your hands
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by robertmathern
http:///forum/post/2809660
The rock work looks good. I like the rainbow goby. I was going to get one for my tank when I finally set it up.
Actually he's a green mandarin, gorgeous with his navy blue fins fluttering around - I can't stop staring at him. Of course I'm scared to death for him, too, because supposedly these fish are very hard to keep due to their eating habits. When I asked the previous owner how he managed to keep him well fed he said he just got lucky - he wasn't doing anything special - the goby was apparently finding stuff in the live rock and sand or maybe was eating fish food. I'm going to do some research and find out what I can do to improve his odds of making it - it will really hurt to lose him, especially if I find I starved him to death.
 
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