Long distance moving suggestions

[Phantom7]

Hello! We’re in the process of more or less losing our house, and are likely going to move states away. I have a heap of fish I’ll need to take with us, and I’m trying to look for 275 gallon totes or 55 gallon drums to put everything in, but I’m not sure what would be the best thing for them to have held previously. I would think ideally vinegar or rubbing alcohol, but figured I should ask here to get some other opinions.

I have 4 total tanks,
220 gallon (55 gal sump) mixed reef
75 gallon (75 gal sump) pufferfish tank
120 gallon (20 gal sump) tiger Oscars
20 gallon FW community tank

Obviously, I’m worried most about my reef. I don’t even know how I’d begin to break it down to safely put it in something so corals don’t get crushed in transit.

I have two 100 amp hour batteries I use as battery backups, so running pumps in transit wouldn’t be an issue. Curious how I’d run heaters.

Apologies this is all unorganized, this just got dropped on me today and I only have a few months to prepare! Thank you!

 

[Brandont21]

First off, im sorry to hear youre going through some stuff. Its never fun. This will be no easy feat with that amount of water alone. Even if you dont take all the water youre still looking at a couple thousand pounds of water alone. Are you capable of handling this? I have a big move semi planned in my future. I plan to get 55 gal plastic barrels. Pump the water from my tank to the drums already in the truck. Put heater and air pump running on car batteries and add rock and fish. However, i only have one tank.

 

[d2mini]

You probably won't like it but my advice is ALWAYS sell all livestock and start over.

 

[Phantom7]

First off, im sorry to hear youre going through some stuff. Its never fun. This will be no easy feat with that amount of water alone. Even if you dont take all the water youre still looking at a couple thousand pounds of water alone. Are you capable of handling this? I have a big move semi planned in my future. I plan to get 55 gal plastic barrels. Pump the water from my tank to the drums already in the truck. Put heater and air pump running on car batteries and add rock and fish. However, i only have one tank.

it’s me and my parents, but still just 3 of us. I plan to do what you are, with pumping straight to the barrel/container already loaded. I have a ~3000gph pump so that will be easy. we can handle it. Are you going to be running an inverter for your heaters?

 

[Phantom7]

You probably won't like it but my advice is ALWAYS sell all livestock and start over.

yeah I really don’t like that I’ve had these Oscar’s since I was a kid and some of my reef fish for years. not ******** on your input though, it definitely would be an easier route assuming everything sells.

 

[Brandont21]

Yup i would plan to use an inverter. I haven't picked one out yet. But it will need to handle the wattage obviously. The tank would either be the first or last item to be moved. And i would be driving myself, the least amount of stops the better. Time will be of the essence

 

[Phantom7]

Yup i would plan to use an inverter. I haven't picked one out yet. But it will need to handle the wattage obviously. The tank would either be the first or last item to be moved. And i would be driving myself, the least amount of stops the better. Time will be of the essence

We decided to move our tanks last. Here I have either my sister, or friends that have worked in fish stores that can take care of them while we move. I plan to have a drive less than 24 hrs (no overnight stop) but am going to plan for 48 hrs for redundancy, and will be taking a generator for absolute worst case (stopping in a parking lot, ofc wouldn’t run it inside the uhaul or whatever.)

 

[d2mini]

yeah I really don’t like that I’ve had these Oscar’s since I was a kid and some of my reef fish for years. not ******** on your input though, it definitely would be an easier route assuming everything sells.

Yeah, im sure you no doubt have an emotional attachment to those dudes! I get it.

 

[musaabi]

I moved from socal up to Oregon. Took 3 days. Sold my tank, fish and corals in a cooler to help keep the temp stable. I used a 20 gallon cooler. Drilled a hole to fit air line tubing and heater. Car should have AC if you need it but it’s winter so I doubt it. You’ll also need a DC to AC adapter for your car to have everything running. I would highly recommend installing baffles to help reduce swishing in the cooler. A good rubber seal( like for doors) can go around the lid of the cooler. I also added a longer pvc fitting to reduce rubbing on cut edges for wiring and tubing. Sold my live rock but you can prob move them as well as long as they’re in the container with water. Depending on how the drive is this should be good. Like I said, I drove from socal to Portland over 3 days. Camping 2 nights and stopping by Monterey to scuba dive. DM me for more info.

 

[NeedAReef]

perhaps your local lfs can help store then ship to you or to another local lfs, maybe airport to airport freight as that is often cheaper for big loads?

 

[VintageReefer]

Taking time to bag everything up properly, crate it, heat packs spaced out, and shipped might be easier with this amount of live stock. Then you only need to transport the hardware yourself.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello! We’re in the process of more or less losing our house, and are likely going to move states away. I have a heap of fish I’ll need to take with us, and I’m trying to look for 275 gallon totes or 55 gallon drums to put everything in, but I’m not sure what would be the best thing for them to have held previously. I would think ideally vinegar or rubbing alcohol, but figured I should ask here to get some other opinions.

I have 4 total tanks,
220 gallon (55 gal sump) mixed reef
75 gallon (75 gal sump) pufferfish tank
120 gallon (20 gal sump) tiger Oscars
20 gallon FW community tank

Obviously, I’m worried most about my reef. I don’t even know how I’d begin to break it down to safely put it in something so corals don’t get crushed in transit.

I have two 100 amp hour batteries I use as battery backups, so running pumps in transit wouldn’t be an issue. Curious how I’d run heaters.

Apologies this is all unorganized, this just got dropped on me today and I only have a few months to prepare! Thank you!

I used a power inverter with 3 air pumps/air stones and wrapped containers with moving blankets. - Tank- I left 2.5" of water to keep sand wet and bacteria alive - It was like doing a major water change when i got to other house
Did the same moving pet stores more than once de to growth

 

[CMMorgan]

I was reading this and thinking @vetteguy53081 is the man you need to talk to. If anyone knows how to move big, established systems across the country... He's Yoda.
I am very sorry to hear about the house. At least you have a few months to plan. In times like this, never lose gratitude for the little blessings.
Best wishes on your journey.

 

[Johnd651]

I did NY to SLC, Utah in 2010 with a 55g. Some livestock was sold, and the stuff to keep was bagged with oxygen and went into coolers. Took a few 5 gallon pails of water. Put the filter media in the buckets with water. Left the sand on the bottom of the tank (tank went in the car). It kind of equated to doing a 50% water change. Everything survived.

 

[CMMorgan]

I did NY to SLC, Utah in 2010 with a 55g. Some livestock was sold, and the stuff to keep was bagged with oxygen and went into coolers. Took a few 5 gallon pails of water. Put the filter media in the buckets with water. Left the sand on the bottom of the tank (tank went in the car). It kind of equated to doing a 50% water change. Everything survived.

You drive from NY to SLC with a tank inside your vehicle... Wet? OMG... You must have wreaked of "low tide" by the time you arrived. That is dedication.

 

[Capitol Reef Corals]

My only recommendation is to not mix fish/inverts with rock or corals during the transportation. The rock stirring around during transport will release hydrogen gas and kill all living creature. Would also keep any "meaty" and soft corals in separate containers as they can quickly pollute the water under high stress.

I've lost a lot of livestock before during an 8 hour move with this mistake.

 

[jabberwock]

That is a tough row to hoe. Recycle the freshwater critters and focus on safely transporting the salties.

 

[Johnd651]

You drive from NY to SLC with a tank inside your vehicle... Wet? OMG... You must have wreaked of "low tide" by the time you arrived. That is dedication.

It was the spring. I don't think it would have been the same outcome in the summer.

 

[Phantom7]

Looks like I’ve neglected this thread a bit! Been packing stuff up.

I just drove an hour to get a 275 gallon tote that previously held isopropyl alc. but got one that held ‘food grade dish soap’ instead. I’m so frustrated. I hope it will be fine for the water. I’m going to put well water in it for a while to hopefully get any residual soap out of the plastic then rinse with RODI before filling with aquarium water.

The rock with corals will probably be going inside of igloo coolers, the rest of the rock will likely be going in a 55 gallon drum, and the fish I’m still undecided. If I put them in the 275 tote they will be a pain to catch, but would mean transporting less stuff, and one less heater. Do I bag them? Or do I put them in a 27 gallon tote and silicon some hiding spots to the bottom?

The water itself will be going in a box truck, the fish and rock etc in a car. Would the water by itself be fine to heat/cool beyond the normal limits? I guess I could build a wooden box to put over the tote with insulation inside if needed.

Thank you all for you input!

 

[Phantom7]

My only recommendation is to not mix fish/inverts with rock or corals during the transportation. The rock stirring around during transport will release hydrogen gas and kill all living creature. Would also keep any "meaty" and soft corals in separate containers as they can quickly pollute the water under high stress.

I've lost a lot of livestock before during an 8 hour move with this mistake.

Definitely not! I’d end up with some pancakes by the time we get there.

Do you recommend keeping the corals separate from eachother, or from the fish?