Having to move for new position

[EndAllTyres-Hoon]

Was liking some advice on how to make a 4 hour move and keep my livestock alive and my rock wet i assume ill be getting a few five gallon buckets and putting my rocks with current water in them. but i dont wanna murder my little kritters

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve done similar and placed both in cookers and used an air pump plugged in to a power converter and double air stones.
All fared well

 

[TnFishwater98]

Was liking some advice on how to make a 4 hour move and keep my livestock alive and my rock wet i assume ill be getting a few five gallon buckets and putting my rocks with current water in them. but i dont wanna murder my little kritters

There are lots of threads on here discussing moving tanks. You should be fine. How big is your tank? Being from Georgia you shouldn’t have to worry about temps being too cold.

 

[CollectOyster04]

Biggest question everyone will ask is how big of a tank ? Second, how much livestock (fish, coral) ? How long has tank been setup ?
Helps having a crew cab pickup, but years ago moved a 65gal full of fish/corals about 3½ hours away. Had around 10 buckets with lids. One bucket was near full with fish. Used a battery powered aerator. Other buckets were filled with rock (topped off with water), then rest were just buckets of water. Back seats in the truck folded up so all buckets went in the cab, tank, stand and canopy went in the bed. This was middle of summer with temps over 100. Taped plastic tightly over the top of the tank to prevent any unwanted contamination. I didn't touch the sand. Tried to leave it untouched as much as possible. There was still some water left in the tank which made it somewhat heavy, but was still enough for two people to carry it.
Depending on how much you want to get into it, may be the perfect time to rinse your sandbed. Long threads on the forum about that.

 

[EndAllTyres-Hoon]

its 55 gallons have 6 corals, an anemona two clowns an emerald crab and a lawnmower blenny

 

[LeftyReefer]

Lots of newer vehicles have 120v plugs/outlets in them now.... My truck has one that is rated for 300w.
Would be easy to plug in a small heater/air stone if necessary and could put them in a bucket with lid or even a cooler if necessary.

 

[Intense37754]

Brute cans work great for mixing water and moving rock and livestock along with the suggestions of using air stones and small heaters

 

[ApoIsland]

Was liking some advice on how to make a 4 hour move and keep my livestock alive and my rock wet i assume ill be getting a few five gallon buckets and putting my rocks with current water in them. but i dont wanna murder my little kritters

Congrats on the new position. 4 hours is no problem. A couple USB powered heater and airstones is all you need but neither is necessary as long as you can keep the water temp at least low to mid 70's. I have moved my 120g tank a few times over the years and everything sits in bins/buckets for longer periods than that with no airstone.

I would also not place fish in a bucket with rocks that can shift or fall. I have only lost one fish over the years in my moves and it was because a wrasse got squished under a shifting rock.

My other suggestion would be to make up a lot more water than you think you will need. never hurts to have extra made even if you don't use it. Seems I am usually short in the end as I don't like to use any main tank water after I start pulling rocks out and disturbing the sand.

 

[EndAllTyres-Hoon]

Congrats on the new position. 4 hours is no problem. A couple USB powered heater and airstones is all you need but neither is necessary as long as you can keep the water temp at least low to mid 70's. I have moved my 120g tank a few times over the years and everything sits in bins/buckets for longer periods than that with no airstone.

I would also not place fish in a bucket with rocks that can shift or fall. I have only lost one fish over the years in my moves and it was because a wrasse got squished under a shifting rock.

My other suggestion would be to make up a lot more water than you think you will need. never hurts to have extra made even if you don't use it. Seems I am usually short in the end as I don't like to use any main tank water after I start pulling rocks out and disturbing the sand.

Lots of newer vehicles have 120v plugs/outlets in them now.... My truck has one that is rated for 300w.
Would be easy to plug in a small heater/air stone if necessary and could put them in a bucket with lid or even a cooler if necessary.

luckily my work truck has a 1200w inverter i plan on putting the fish and anemone in a a 1/2 gallon feeder like container for reptiles (plastic with a vetned top) and i have an even smaller one i was planning on using for the coral so i could keep light on them, but i wouldn't be able to utilize a heater but the could ride up front with me in the heated cab, the truck does not have a bed but i work for uhaul so i will be using a box trailer to move, any LFS to me is almost an hour and a half any direction, and most of the live stock rode home with me in a bag with water and nothing else sometimes taking 2+ hours to get home, but it also wasnt cold outside, and I have to account for the time to set the tank up where i am going so livestock in a bucket wouldn't be a bad choice and i could put lights on them when i get to where i am going, but i dont want to ride the buckets with livestock in the trailer, and not know whats going on with them and not sure how well they will fit in the cab

 

[Jedi1199]

its 55 gallons have 6 corals, an anemona two clowns an emerald crab and a lawnmower blenny

They will be fine in 5 gallon buckets for that long. I wouldn't worry about the trip itself. Put the fish in one bucket, the rocks and corals in as many others as you need.

Don't waste your money on an air pump. Get yourself an Aquaclear 20 powerhead ($20 at petsmart) and utilize the "Ventri" flow. Air pumps are loud, expensive, and prone to failure, not to mention can siphon tank water out of the tank if the power fails. Plus! You would need the air tubing and air stone.

The powerhead can be repurposed to your tank for extra flow, or your mixing bucket to make your salt. What else are you going to do with an air pump? Fill balloons for a party maybe?

Put the powerhead with Venturi in the bucket with the fish as you break the tank down, and when you get to the new place, while you set the tank back up. The corals will be fine with no flow or air.

 

[EndAllTyres-Hoon]

So things did not go as planned at all, ended up draining most the water out the tank and leaving everything except the anemone in the tank for the ride in the back of the truck, I did put the rock in buckets of the current tank water, it actually went well almost everything survived one of my montiporas is looking dead, didn’t find him due to being covered in sand till the next day, all three fish seem to be happy, and the coral is growing being only two days since the move, although when refilling the tank the center support popped and split on the last load of water, so I had to sit there and hold the front and back together till my dad found two 2x4s and we ratchet strapped them together to hold it for now, I wasn’t planning on telling my parents I had bought a used 65 gallon cube the day before that came with an actual reef light, skimmer, filter and stand for 250, but while holding the tank together I thought was a good time to tell them, I won’t be setting up the cube until I get a house rented in my new route though and it needs a deep cleaning

 

[EndAllTyres-Hoon]

So things did not go as planned at all, ended up draining most the water out the tank and leaving everything except the anemone in the tank for the ride in the back of the truck, I did put the rock in buckets of the current tank water, it actually went well almost everything survived one of my montiporas is looking dead, didn’t find him due to being covered in sand till the next day, all three fish seem to be happy, and the coral is growing being only two days since the move, although when refilling the tank the center support popped and split on the last load of water, so I had to sit there and hold the front and back together till my dad found two 2x4s and we ratchet strapped them together to hold it for now, I wasn’t planning on telling my parents I had bought a used 65 gallon cube the day before that came with an actual reef light, skimmer, filter and stand for 250, but while holding the tank together I thought was a good time to tell them, I won’t be setting up the cube until I get a house rented in my new route though and it needs a deep cleaning

Don’t have photos of the new tank yet it’s still at the store and they are only open Friday Saturday and sunday

 

[Crimsonphoenix]

So things did not go as planned at all, ended up draining most the water out the tank and leaving everything except the anemone in the tank for the ride in the back of the truck, I did put the rock in buckets of the current tank water, it actually went well almost everything survived one of my montiporas is looking dead, didn’t find him due to being covered in sand till the next day, all three fish seem to be happy, and the coral is growing being only two days since the move, although when refilling the tank the center support popped and split on the last load of water, so I had to sit there and hold the front and back together till my dad found two 2x4s and we ratchet strapped them together to hold it for now, I wasn’t planning on telling my parents I had bought a used 65 gallon cube the day before that came with an actual reef light, skimmer, filter and stand for 250, but while holding the tank together I thought was a good time to tell them, I won’t be setting up the cube until I get a house rented in my new route though and it needs a deep cleaning

great price on the 65 and equipment!