tygger June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Getting ready to move my tank about 15 miles. What are you guys using to transport water? Went to Walmart last night and didn't see any good containers that could hold at least 40-50 gallons without spilling water. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 walmart has large blue jugs in the camping section. they hold about 8g each. have caps on them. i'd use those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlem June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Rubbermaid with big trash bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 your best option is to pull everything out of your tank and your current location ... keep everything in holding tubs and move the tank to the new location and start filling it then move all the items over when the tank has enough water in it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vadim June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 i have a 55 gallon that can hold water. where in va do you live now and where are you moving? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 I used styro shipping boxes from a LFS with large thick contractor grade trash bags in it. I would start with all new saltwater. Use the existing water to really clean off the rocks and sand before moving it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger June 1, 2012 Author Share June 1, 2012 Just updated my profile with location. Thanks for all the tips! I think I'm reconsidering moving the water now. Not only would it be easier to make new water at the new location, I wouldn't have to transport it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 When moving a tank, I transport a lot of stuff in 5 gallon buckets with lids. If too large for that, I use large styrofoam boxes (with lids) or coolers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 I thought when someone moved they wanted to reuse as much old water as possible, since it's full of life. Wouldn't that prevent a cycle in the new tank as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 ^sand and rocks, yes. The water doesn't matter. The processing bacteria live on the surface of stuff... the water itself doesn't have much surface area. When I move, I only move enough water to cover the things I want covered (fish, coral, rocks, etc.)... and then depending upon that water's condition on arrival, I might end up doing an almost 100% water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Be careful about transporting and using sand. I crashed my entire tank by adding the sand back in during a move. I had a deep sand bed and stirring it up by taking it out of the tank released a ton of crap that killed everything. I mean everything. I will never ever transport sand again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger June 1, 2012 Author Share June 1, 2012 (edited) Be careful about transporting and using sand. I crashed my entire tank by adding the sand back in during a move. I had a deep sand bed and stirring it up by taking it out of the tank released a ton of crap that killed everything. I mean everything. I will never ever transport sand again. This will be my first time doing a major move. What if you let the tank re-cycle without the corals/fish for a couple days after the move? I have a shallow sand bed. Used Southdown sand from many years ago... If I use new sand, what's everyone using as an economical alternative to live sand? Edited June 1, 2012 by tygger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Sand can be reused, it must be cleaned very thoroughly is all. I have moved a sand bed twice with no problems. Once cleaned completely, it basically becomes new sand again (non cycled). Either rinse it in 5g buckets in a shower; or with a hose outside. Swoosh the sand around top to bottom with your hand until the water runs clear and not cloudy anymore. It will take a good 10 minutes per bucket. No need to buy new stuff if you do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom9 June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 I recently moved a 180 gal tank and did the following. The night before the move I premixed about 50gal of saltwater at the new location. I bought 15 of the 18-gallon Rubbermaid totes and some large ziplock bags from Home depot and rented a U-Haul for the move. I Filled 4 of the totes with rock. I put all the fish individually in large ziplocks and put them in a cooler. Then I filled another 9 totes with water. The sand fit in 2 totes. All totes were about 3/4 full and the sand and rock were submerged in water. All the equipment I put in some boxes which ended up getting soaked so I would recommend extra totes. Everything fit in a moving truck stacking the totes 2 high on one side and the tank and equipment on the other. The stand and canopy went on top of the tank and totes. I did not use trash bags in the totes so I did lose some water; the floor of the moving truck was soaked. After the 3 hour drive to the new location, I put all the fish in one of the totes filled with water and put a power head in the water. Now it was time to setup the tank. I was tired and it was getting late so I got lazy and did not rinse anything. I did take the time to level the tank and then just set everything back up as quickly as I could and filled the tank. After the water cleared the next morning I put the fish in the tank. I had no livestock loses but did end up with a slight cyanobacteria outbreak and a very dirty tank. If I were to do this again I would have used bags in the totes to hold the water better and not have been in such a rush to setup the tank. I should have taken 1 day for the breakdown, move and cleaning and a second day for setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger June 1, 2012 Author Share June 1, 2012 Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely use trash bags to avoid spillage. Looks like I'll be cleaning some sand and buying a bunch of Rubbermaid totes. Do you want to sell your totes if you're not using them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 55 gallon food grade plastic barrel. These have water tight cap plugs. Will need to use pump to move water in and out of barrel. I got one that I can loan it to you if you like. Or buy one from this guy located in Gaithersburg MD. I am sure there are many local in your area! search "rain barrel" http://www.aquabarrel.com/product_barrels_only.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 When I moved I used my old liverock and all new water, plus some Biodigest for a bacteria source. Acclimated the livestock from the buckets I moved them in (dumped all that water). I had just a mini cycle, nothing that would hurt livestock. Ditch the sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 (edited) I know you aren't talking about your fish here, but watch them because the stress and decreased water volume from transport containers is the perfect setup for an ich outbreak, which is even more of a reason to use all new water. Edited June 1, 2012 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinescene June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Here's a helpful writeup off our website, http://www.marinescene.com/FAQ/faq_move.shtm I've done a few successful moves this way. Good luck! ~Melissa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Melissa, Not sure why, but the link doesn't work... I was interested so I searched it out on your web page. Here is the correct link. http://www.marinescene.com/FAQ/faq_move.shtm Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinescene June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Thanks Chad! Glad you caught that. Not sure why it doesn't work either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Thanks Chad! Glad you caught that. Not sure why it doesn't work either... because the hyperlink has the period in it at the end. great info on the link btw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 ^ahhh... I see it now, I will fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 True, if you rinse the sand thoroughly it will be fine. Wish I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS June 1, 2012 Share June 1, 2012 Sand can be reused, it must be cleaned very thoroughly is all. I have moved a sand bed twice with no problems. Once cleaned completely, it basically becomes new sand again (non cycled). Either rinse it in 5g buckets in a shower; or with a hose outside. Swoosh the sand around top to bottom with your hand until the water runs clear and not cloudy anymore. It will take a good 10 minutes per bucket. No need to buy new stuff if you do this. Instead of rinsing the sand with fresh water and making it "new sand again" you could take that water from the old place and use it to rinse your sand. That will keep it like before but without the detritus which is the main problem. So sand preserved and old water not wasted, win-win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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