Ryan S January 2, 2013 Share January 2, 2013 i moved a tank from kansas to virginia. the few sps frags i had survived, fish, soft corals, lps, etc. but how do you move many sps colonies? could you setup a large rubbermaid bin at the destination, add all used saltwater from the DT, with pump, heater, and T5 light over the top; move sps in 5g buckets from DT to rubbermaid; then empty DT and move it; then re-set it up? how long would the SPS be okay in a rubbermaid like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati January 2, 2013 Share January 2, 2013 Expect some loses to large mature colonies (12" diameter) due to the moving stress. Once in the new holding container corals can be maintained indefinitely, granted light, heat, good husbandry is provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 2, 2013 Share January 2, 2013 Ryan, will there be any overlap in occupancy between the two residences that would allow you to transfer livestock to a holding tank, move the existing tank setup so it's stabilized, and follow up with a livestock transfer? If not, I've successfully moved small SPS tanks in a single move (short distances) before using 5 gallon buckets and rectangular plastic bins. In those cases, I make sure to rinse the sand well to remove detritus, keep all the rock submerged (or nearly so) during transport, and move the livestock last out of the departure home and first into the arrival home. I also keep the SPS separate from the sand transfer. Have a good amount of change water available at the destination to perform water changes if you start to see signs of a cycle at the destination end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 2, 2013 Share January 2, 2013 I prefer to take frags of the corals if they are colony sizes and sell the main colony. The frags, once healed, move better. Plus if they do die you can still obtain a frag back from the person who bought the main colony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 I have been through this a couple times. Moving is stressful for people and families as well as corals. If you are single you can focus all your attention on the tank, then moving and SPS tank is doable. If you have a wife and kids it is best to find some one that can hold the livestock for a couple months and focus on the family. Better to unpack the fish stuff after the wife is happy and the kids are in school. If you think Reefkeeping is expensive, try divorce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S January 3, 2013 Author Share January 3, 2013 If you think Reefkeeping is expensive, try divorce. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 I found with a family it's very hard to do so I sold everything and started over because I had to focus on the family during the move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleHead January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 I did a move from Florida to here. Over my time in florida I spent some coin and got to know the owner of the local reef store. Even though he was going to lose my business, he told me to put everything in tubs and bring it to the store where he bagged everything with oxygen and boxed everything. the back of my truck was filled with my reef. I wanted to drive 14 hours straight thru, Wife said "NO!" About 30 hours later the tank was sitting on the floor and I was unbagging everything. I didn't lose a single item. i think Tim even slipped in a few extra's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 Ryan: I've got the room to park some SPS in my system for you for a while if that would help. LMK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S January 3, 2013 Author Share January 3, 2013 Thanks Steve. My move won't be until July 27-28, so I have some time to figure everything out. I figure moving small SPS frags or colonies shouldn't be too tough, but was definitely curious how folks move large SPS colonies safely. (Evan is about to move his for example, and some are so big they wouldn't fit into a 5g bucket.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 Thanks Steve. My move won't be until July 27-28, so I have some time to figure everything out. I figure moving small SPS frags or colonies shouldn't be too tough, but was definitely curious how folks move large SPS colonies safely. (Evan is about to move his for example, and some are so big they wouldn't fit into a 5g bucket.) I've used large (something like 15-20-gallon) Rubbermaid bins to move rock with colonies on them before. Stabilizing the rock so it doesn't tip over and break the colony is important. The process worked something like this: Put the large empty plastic bin on the floor of the van. Fill several 5 gallon buckets with tank water. Transport to van. Pull the rock with the colony from the tank. Transport to van. Put rock in plastic bin. Stabilize (I did this with smaller rocks, but you may be able to do it with sand on the bottom of the bin.) Pour in tank water. Secure lid. Duct tape if necessary to keep water from sloshing out. Get moving to the new home. My move was in the summer months so cooling was not an issue. One colony was probably close to 12-14 inches across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 Evan is about to move his for example, and some are so big they wouldn't fit into a 5g bucket.) That's called a frag sale. And I'm first in line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime January 3, 2013 Share January 3, 2013 Great meeting you, Ryan. Are you moving out of the area? if you need help, I'm not far, just inexperienced! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k January 4, 2013 Share January 4, 2013 Ryan- you first have to grow those frags into colonies BEFORE you move them. Couple more years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S January 4, 2013 Author Share January 4, 2013 Ryan- you first have to grow those frags into colonies BEFORE you move them. Couple more years... haha. I am working on it! If I only had TWO 400w MHs over the tank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 January 4, 2013 Share January 4, 2013 That's true: you could switch back to LEDs to keep your frags nice and small before your move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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