Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383585/tank-moving-question#post_3356175
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangs rule http:///forum/thread/383585/tank-moving-question#post_3356117
I agree with flower, a healthy fish should stand a couple different tank. In my long move from Seattle to east Texas, they all spent 4 r 5 days in salt buckets during the drive, and then went into 20,30,&55 gal hotel tanks first, while I spent more than a week setting up the 3 mains (and filling) and getting them stable. Finally almost 2 weeks after the breakdown they again were back in their usual homes - they're tuffer than u think!
Any switching of fish would be a great time once your 125 is moved & ready. If it's ever gonna work, chances go way up after a breakdown & shuffle of a tank, Just be prepared to seperate and possible remove one or the other if signs of aggression appear.
Would you mind giving me some ideas on how to move a tank long distances like that? I am considering a move to FL and want to be prepared for what I may be getting myself into.
It would be easier to find a GOOD lfs in your new town, have them setup quarentine/hotel tanks for you, bag up the fishes and box them up in cooler, just like you receive things and ship 'em!! Let them know who goes with who and pay them for their efforts.....I couldn't use this option as ***** is about as fishey as it gets round here - so here is option 2:
Well - for starters I moved in winter - this was a problem as it was difficult keeping them warm, and a small airpump with a airstone in each bucket will by the action of the air bubbles cool the water - alot over just an hour or 2....being wintertime didn't help either as i'd be driving for 2 solid days with ambient temps outside below 30f..then 1.5 more with temps warmer -like 50...... so I had to buy the smallest heaters I could find (like 50watt) and put one in each bucket with fish (6-7 buckets total) and an airstone in each bucket too and ran 1 line from the airpump and with 6 or 7 "T" fittings, branch off the mainline into each bucket. I had to buy a fairly large (600w) 12 volt DC to 60Hz /120 volt AC inverter and wire it into the cab of the "Penski" moving truck I rented (so I could monitor it) and ran an extension cord thru to the very back. All the fish tanks & buckets of fish/gravel/verts/liverock were loaded LAST so during the drive south, at nite at a hotel I could unload the buckets and bring them inside with me. The buckets (old salt type) were all lidded, with a hole cut in the center for the ones I had fish in - but the liverock & aragonite buckets were all sealed, I think the coral/vert buckets were sealed too. Corals were bagged in ziplocks full of water then into buckets for protection.
I planned the move early on, and had everything I'd need on hand.....I got the rental 24 foot truck & wired in the inverter and ran xtension cord to the very back......then I emptied the house in Seattle xcept for the tanks and loaded the moving truck from the front to the back. leaving enough room for the mains&equip& 25-30 buckets.....The buckets with heaters & fish were set up 1st in the house so I could get them stable - - - I had a couple digital remote probe thermometers too - so I could monitor things early on, to set temps, and during the trip. I got the heater temps & buckets set up for the day that it took to breakdown the 3 mains - each bucket was 3/4 full of water and held 1 tang and only 1 or 2 smaller fish, heater, and airstone....nothing else... Then out came the LR and went into buckets and topped off with main tank water & sealed....the inverts & substrate went into buckets and were sealed with a lid. In total I had about 30 buckets. Finally now empty the main tanks/chillers/lights/equipment/junk were loaded on the moving truck....then a large tarp (water catcher) was laid down in the rest of the area in the back of the moving truck...the sealed buckets were loaded next - coral buckets surronded by LR & gravel -and blankets/bedding were placed on top (insulation)....LAST - the fish buckets were loaded and heaters&powerstrip&airpump plugged into the truck AC pwr unit and it twas time to drive for 4 days!
God that was fun - - - - not . . at a hotel after driving day 1 - (first floor room) I removed all 30 buckets from the truck and take inside as nittime temps would fall into the teens. and the ones without heaters needed a warmup anyway...the fish buckets with heaters were plugged in inside and their airpump was plugged in too.......didn't even try to feed the fish, I was too tierd and figured they'd not eat.....When I got up in the morning, I rechecked all the fish bucket temps and fed them just a nibble - most actually ate!!....loaded the sealed ones, then loaded the fish ones and plugged them in for the continuation of the trip. 2nd nite on the road was the repeat process - all buckets inside for the nite and back out in the morning, load up & go...
Once I got to Texas and (home) I got my 3 hotel tanks setup using LFS bought saltwater, premixed... 1ea 20,30, and 55gal cheep tanks were used for hotel, while i got the mains up & running / stable.... Got the fishes acclimated to the hotel tanks ....no substrate/rock. Just bare bones with coffee cups/pvc in the bottom - and used my canister filter floss that I removed in seattle and stored in water - to quick cycle the little Hang on Tank powerfilter units I had for the hotel tanks....got the water maker runnin, filling the rubbermaid brute trashcans, and spent a week setting up the mains and getting everything running....The fish were only in hotel for 7-10 days, then were able to go back into the mains.
It's best not to move! and sadly I have moved 2 more times since - but only 100 mile trips..but that's almost as bad!!....am not moving them again, will be buried in them......
At least in shorter moves, I can get the ro/di unit running at the new location, maybe a hotel tank or 2 - 3 and "pre set up" some before I show up with empty mains and everything in buckets.....
Notes/tips:
I kept everything underwater until i was ready to put it in a main & filll it. Once at the new place, I would put a powerhead & airstone in each liverock bucket for an hour or so each day just to keep it going good. after the move - the liverock was exactly the same as it was in Seattle - no loss.
In each fish bucket - I used a popsicle stick - tied the heater cord around it (knot) - lowered it thru the hole in the center of the bucket lid, and set the height so that the heater would
not touch the bottom of the bucket & vibrate while driving - I wanted it suspended, 1/2-1 inch r so above the bottom. I also ran the buckets a little cool (76-78f) as I wanted them just warm....and if a heater went nuts - maybe i'd catch it b4 it cooked the little guys, as I would quick ckeck the fish at each gas stop/3 hrs or so.
If keeping fish in a bucket for prolonged periods and an airpump/stone are used - keep the bubble flow fairly low.....real high output thru an airstone/block really want to chill the water - and without a heater will likely cold shock your fish in an afternoon. The airpump I used was variable output so I could set up a nice medium/slo bubble rate in all 7 fish buckets. In the hot summer though, this will actually help cool a bucket of water, just dont overdoo it.
Use a good new blunt sharpie and label each sealed bucket contents and which tank it came from!
I did use a pinch of a powdered "oxygen releaser" or somthing like that in each fish bucket - it was a bluish powder and a good LFS in Seattle reccommended the stuff, but I can't remember anything more about it.....It came in a little white plastic jar with a white/silver label.
The only fish I lost was a damsel, I stupidly put him in a bucket with a single spot rabbitfish I had at the time. I assume he got stung, and duh - I knew better
