Moving Tank Advice

[darkcirca]

I'll be moving my 90 gallon tank in the next 1-2 weeks (maybe 3), from Fairfax Station to South Riding, about a 30min car ride. Originally I had planned to purchase a new tank when we moved, but we got a puppy instead, so right now, I'd rather just get my tank over.

 

Does anyone have any advice on moving a tank? This is the first move with the fish tank. I'm going to bag the fish and most likely put the rock in buckets. I'll have water premade over at the new house, ready to go.

 

There are only a few corals left in the tank - all soft. We left the tank in the hands of family, and it's been fairly neglected for the past 4 months (we were renovating the basement, which is where the tank will be). It's had top offs and a few water changes, but I lost my clam, as well as some other corals. The fish have stuck it out though.

 

So if you have any pointers, things you wish you did when you moved, or just overall thoughts on this move, please let me know. I'm excited to start my tank over, with a fresh aquascape when it arrives, just need to figure out a better way to do it.

[George]

Try and get as much of the original tank water over as you can. Even if the system has been neglected, you can shock the livestock just as much by solving a problem too quickly.

 

If you have a sand bed of more than an inch or two, either try to move the bed intact (after siphoning off as much water as possible) or, if you need to remove the sand, thoroughly wash it before putting it back into the system or you'll go through a nasty die-off cycle.

 

Also, given the time of year, make sure that every tub has a heater while you do the tank setup. One thing people don't realize is how fast a tub sitting on the floor in winter can drop in temperature. So you'll need extra heaters to keep the tubs heated while you warm the tank up to temp. Also don't forget a few small powerheads to give some water circulation.

 

Consider setting up a large storage container (rubbermaids are food safe) big enough for everything to run for a day or two with heaters and pumps. It can live without a skimmer and lights for a few days just fine. That way you can set the tank up right without being rushed. You can also aquascape the new setup and have time to test the parameters before putting your livestock in.

Edited March 5, 2010 by George

[Happyfeet]

Only thing I disagree with above is keeping the original water, so long as the water is premade and your reacclimate the live stock slowly they should be fine.

 

That being said I have an extra heater your welcome to barrow.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Happyfeet

[Der ABT]

agree original water isnt a must but as alot of the rock will still have the bacteria in it but you will probably go thru a cylcle,

 

I moved my 75 4 hours from blacksburg, just helped move a 130 in rockville for a fellow member (just the two of us)

 

my best advice is have tubs you can leave in the house that your tank is in now, get enough heaters and all to take the original tank water and house everything, stick a power head or two in there (make sure it wont suck any fish or corals up) and let it sit there at temperature.

then move the tank to your new house and start it with water (new or old) get it up to temp etc etc, then go back and get the fish and all once the tank is basically ready to accept them,

it worked pretty good for us and i dont think we had many loses afterwards

KEY - make sure whatever you fish in has a bubbler in it at a minimum. air is key if they are going to sit for a while.

 

plan for about 4 hours more then you think it will take, we started with the 130 at 2pm and i left at 7 and we had just gotten the fish and corals to the house and he took on the task of putting them back in the tank.

 

if you wnat your rockwork similar remember how you break it down to plan it to come back out.

 

depending on when you do it i may be able to help, I do have a 100g rubber maid tub youd be welcome to borrow if needs be.

[arwndsh]

Here is my tried and proven method of moving. I've done this several (read at least 12 times in the last year and a half) so I know what I'm doing.

 

1. Purchase a few 5 gallon bucket or a cooler that has an air spout on top. (One should be enough unless you have a lot of rock and the cooler with the air spout on top would be best)

 

2. Use extra 5 gallon buckets to transport excess water.

 

3. Have at least a few gallons of new water on hand because some will spill and you will need it to fill the tank back up.

 

4. Place all corals, fish, inverts, and rocks into the bucket. You do not need to individually bag anything.

 

5. Put as much of the water in the tank as possible in the bucket with the corals, fish, etc.

 

6. Place the remaining water in the empty buckets. Leave just enough water in the tank to cover the sand.

 

7. Place everything in the car and drive to the new destination. If you use a cooler that has an air spout open it, if you don't try to open the 5 gallon bucket lid a little. A pump and heater are not necessary.

 

8. When you arrive home reassemble everything.

 

9. Sit back and relax because you are done.

 

It should only take and hour to dissassemble and then an hour to reassemble unless you spend a lot of time playing with the aquascaping. I don't know how many fish you have, but if you have a few in a bucket I'd probably recommend a bubbler or something to keep the water oygenated when they aren't in the car.

 

If you have any other questions let me know. I'll be glad to help you.

[TonyInVa]

I am pretty close to you. If you would like, I could hold your coral in my tank, until you are ready for it.

[darkcirca]

Thanks for the input.

 

I'm going to be picking up some containers this weekend hopefully, and gathering some other things. I have at least 3 heaters, maybe even more. We did an upgrade almost 3 years ago from a 56 to the 90, and I had things sitting aside.

 

I do have 2 40 gallon breeders, which are currently housing a bearded dragon and a monitor. I may move them out so I can use those for holding tanks if I want, depending on the size containers I can find.

 

Any specific types of containers that are best for transporting water without spilling?

 

We've got a few fish - 2 clownfish, tomini tang, sixline wrasse, diamond goby, firefish.. I think that is all we have, as our anthias died recently. The worst part of the water is the nitrate, as they overfed the fish. As for corals, I have mushrooms and my gsp, which is partially covering the overflow, and possibly some other things, I can't really remember. If I lose it, it's not a big deal. My inverts are just typical snails, and I used to have cleaner shrimp - haven't seen them the last few times I was over there, but they have been known to show themselves.

 

I really looking forward to getting my tank back up and running. I do want to redo all the rock, as right now it's like a giant pile - probably close to 200lbs or more. I really want something more open, but haven't figured out the best way to do it (PVC shelf just isn't that great). I've seen the acrylic rods - maybe someone out there has some input for this option. I want to get things purchase this week, so I have everything ready. Redoing the sump is also in the picture...

 

Maybe after the move, we will actually put the doors on our stand (..possibly). We built this thing 2 years ago, and it still doesn't have doors.

[arwndsh]

Sounds like sticking everything in 5g buckets with lids will work the best for you.

[dtfleming]

I used totes and bucket to move my tank. I had some premixed SW ready to go. Only thing I would have done different is to dump the sand bed and started new with sand. Keeping the same sand bed that got stirred up has caused me issues.

[darkcirca]

Thanks - I appreciate all the tips. It's the first fish move (besides the upgrade), and I want to do things right the first time. I know I'll have a "next time I'll do this", but I figured some of you probably have had those moments.

 

As for the sand bed - I can replace it - it's about 1" or so deep of the indo-pacific sand. When we upgraded tanks, we rinsed it out and had no issues. Do you think it's safe to do this again? Or maybe rinse out part of it and replace the rest? I've got a diamond goby, who lives for sand.

[dtfleming]

yea you could rinse it. I was rushed to move my tank due to our settlement date getting pushed back. So I did not get a chance to do so.

[George]

My aim with the water saving is to minimize the time the livestock has to stay elsewhere as well as minimize the shock. It's not always possible to move much of it, but if it is, it removes much of the acclimation time and makes the water end of the move not much more shocking than a major water change.

[Hilary]

I'm sure that you can borrow containers from members, or it looks like Home Depot sells a 5-pack of 5 gallon buckets for $11.70. Lids are extra, but really cheap as well.

[davelin315]

I, too, have moved many tanks and do so annually from school and back again. My advice is to ditch all of the water and use the old water to clean the rock and sand out. What I usually do is to take all of the livestock and rock out and either store the livestock in a bucket or bag them individually depending on how long the commute is. I then put some water in buckets and then all of the rock into these, rinsing the rocks in the tank before moving them over. I then swish the sand around as much as possible (unless it's a deep sand bed) and drain the water off. This cleans the sand out but allows you to keep some life in there. If it doesn't have that much life in it I typically will just rinse it out with a hose until it's completely clean, otherwise if I'm trying to save life I will just do the rinse in the tank water itself. When you get to the new house, simply set it up and add all new water. I then acclimate the livestock. I have yet to have a cycle doing this for the past 4 years. The one time I had anything die was when the rock was too dirty and I had to use some of the dirty water again to cover it in a garbage can with livestock in it.

[Origami]

I saw that you joined as a member and wanted to be the first to say welcome to the club! You're getting a lot of practical advice here from experienced (some very much so) people. Good luck with the move. If you need help, just holler.

[darkcirca]

I saw that you joined as a member and wanted to be the first to say welcome to the club! You're getting a lot of practical advice here from experienced (some very much so) people. Good luck with the move. If you need help, just holler.

 

Thanks! I had been saying I'd join for some time, but kept putting it off due to everything else going on.

 

Also - thanks everyone else for all the pointers. I'll be picking up buckets this week and some other misc. things. Next thing is to buy a new return pump (external this time), as our OceanRunner has stopped working on multiple occasions - requiring us to take it apart and put it pack to together (something gets misc. aligned).

 

I'm very excited to get this tank over here and start putting it together again.

[davelin315]

I just noticed that you had posted earlier that you have a diamond goby and only 1" of sand. I would just rinse it in the tank. Chances are with the goby the sand is not that bad since it is turning the bed over. Rinse it in tank water or even scoop it out and dump it in a bucket. If you swish it around it'll lose a lot of the detritus as you take it out.

[Origami]

Next thing is to buy a new return pump (external this time), as our OceanRunner has stopped working on multiple occasions - requiring us to take it apart and put it pack to together (something gets misc. aligned).

 

Have you been soaking the impeller and shaft in vinegar periodically to remove calcium carbonate deposits? The heat caused by the impeller rotation around the shaft accelerates calcium deposits here and reduces the clearance between the two. This can lead to binding which can cause the pump to stop working or refusing to start up easily.

[darkcirca]

Have you been soaking the impeller and shaft in vinegar periodically to remove calcium carbonate deposits? The heat caused by the impeller rotation around the shaft accelerates calcium deposits here and reduces the clearance between the two. This can lead to binding which can cause the pump to stop working or refusing to start up easily.

 

Thanks - We probably should do that, but it's a pain to remove all the rubble rock to get the pump out. We figured going to an external pump would be the best idea now, and make a little more room in the sump, as it is only 20g.

[Origami]

Be sure, though, that when you go to an external pump, that you place valves and unions at either end so that you can remove it for periodic maintenance. All pumps require maintenance - that is, if you want them to last.

[darkcirca]

Be sure, though, that when you go to an external pump, that you place valves and unions at either end so that you can remove it for periodic maintenance. All pumps require maintenance - that is, if you want them to last.

 

Yea, that's another reason for going external. We ended up putting rubble around the input on the current pump due to micro bubbles. With the small sump, we couldn't get anything else to work out nicely besides this. We've got unions and valves on the drain and return lines now as well - has come in handy many times.

 

If you have any recommendations for externals, I'd love to hear them. With the puppy (5 1/2 months now), basement renovations, plus painting the entire house (and running ethernet all over), we've lacked the time to start researching things.

[Origami]

How big of a sump are you looking at? Will it be under-tank, in another room, or on another floor? Is this still for the 90 or will you be looking for something larger?

[darkcirca]

How big of a sump are you looking at? Will it be under-tank, in another room, or on another floor? Is this still for the 90 or will you be looking for something larger?

 

Right now, still for the 90. It's going to be under tank still, so it will likely still be for a 20 gallon (possibly larger later). I was trying to get something larger, but it's finding something we both like, which is fairly difficult....

 

With the new place, we do have space next to the tank to put things, and we may utilize that for something as well. Wish I had a backroom to do things in though, but it's a townhouse, and the tank wall backs to the utility room (water heater/furnace - not much space in there), so we are hoping to at least use the closet next to the room to do top offs.

[darkcirca]

I think I'm pretty much prepared (besides picking up 2-3 brute cans) for this move now. I've got a few powerheads laying around, plus the two from the tank, and at least 2 (I believe we actually have 3) spare heaters. I'll find the final count this weekend when I bring several things back home with us.

 

We are planning the move either April 10th or 11th, so I have some time to gather other things, and bring the RO/DI over to make water. This week and weekend will be spent doing the final finishes to the basement - lay the last 6 tiles (back of the 2 closets), grout the main hallway into the house, seal the grout, repaint the basement ceiling, put the shoe molding in, and do the final touchups to the walls/ceiling edge spots.

 

It's been a long process (moved in early October), but we will finally be getting our fish back, and hopefully up and running. Once everything is stable again, I will start getting corals again - which I cannot wait for. All that is left in the tank are GSP, hairy mushrooms, some ugly brown polyps, and colt coral.

 

Does anyone have any good methods for aquascaping, other than stacking? We have 200+ lbs to rock in the tank, and it just doesn't stack nicely (it's very dense). I want to make the tank more open, and the stacks higher. We looked at some sort of fiberglass rods, but weren't too sure.

 

Here is a picture of our tank, back in 2008. The last time I saw the tank (about 2 weeks ago), I saw the tomini tang, diamond goby, and two false percs (b&w and normal). Our sixline has been MIA for awhile now it turns out, and the firefish, it has been seen, but not by me. I'm not sure if there is anything else left, but we will find out. There are still some snails though, but I haven't seen any hermits for a bit.