So I have had a 20 Gallon tank for the past two years. Anyway I am about to graduate college and moving the tank will be an issue. I was wondering if I should downsize to a ten gallon tank for the time being so it would be more manageable or if I should just keep with the 20 gallon. If I go for the downsize to the 10 when should I do this so my tank will be stable when I move it.
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How far are you going to move it? One option would be to keep the 20 set up. Once you are able to move in, set up the 10 as a temporary tank and move the fish and coral To that tank. This gives you time to set up and recycle the 20 gallon and you can move the animals over. This is the method I’ve used for the past several years with my tanks.
It will be about 4 to 5 hours away. My issue is the space to keep the 20 gallon and the 10 gallon as I will most likely be in a small apartment and I doubt I will have the space for two tanks. I was wondering with a ten gallon because then it would be less water for me to transport to my new place.
WindyCityReefer.
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I am in college as well and have made the move on multiple occasions with my 25 gallon and a 10 gallon before that. Honestly, the difference between the two is minimal. I went ahead and bought a tailgate-sized cooler and use that to store all the water, rock, and select coral. In a second, smaller cooler I put fish and remaining coral. This way I am able to easily transport everything with minimal temperature swings. Like you, my trip was about 4-5 hours. The temperature dropped only 2 degrees over that time.
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^^Yeah. What he said^^
Not sure what's in your tank, but I would think you could use your current tank water in the bags and cooler you use to transport the critters, and dump the rest of it. Prior to that, at your new place, have a good sized tuffy trash can filled with RODI water with salt mixed in and a heater to bring the water up to temp. Then when you bring the empty 20 gal and cooler full of critters, you can fill up the 20 with the new water and begin the acclimation process to the new water. It will be the same amount of stress (to the critters) as moving to any new tank. But the old water (in the bags/cooler) will be pretty nasty.
If it was me, I'd build a new system that I could grow into (like a 75 gal) and get that all setup and established, then move everything into the new system. But thinking back to college days, that might be easier after getting a few paychecks!
If it was me, I'd build a new system that I could grow into (like a 75 gal) and get that all setup and established, then move everything into the new system. But thinking back to college days, that might be easier after getting a few paychecks!
