Moving a Reef Aquarium; a Four Day Journey

[neoGeorge]

I've been reading up on how to move a reef aquarium, and there is a lot of great information out there.

However, we're planning a move that will probably take four days (can't drive 15 hours a day like we used to!). Would appreciate your feedback on multi-day cross country moves, especially surrounding:

1. Controlling ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - perhaps Seachem Prime and SafeGuard would be good options here? Some people have recommended daily water changes enroute, but this would be a last choice since it would be difficult to carry enough fresh saltwater and then house the dirty water for the whole trip.
2. Best containers - I see many people using standard plastic storage boxes, but wondering if bad stuff would leach into the water during the trip.
3. 12v filtration options - inverters seem to be pretty inefficient and we don't want to run down the car battery, so perhaps inexpensive 12v gear would be best for the trip.
4. Sell everything before the move. This is a painful option to consider, but perhaps it makes the most sense. We live in Cleveland, OH - what are ways to price and sell corals and livestock?

This is a 2 year old 28g biocube.

Thanks!

 

[maevepotter]

No advice but so pretty. Could you maybe have an aquarium store ship the specimens to you overnight once you get there?

 

[WVNed]

That's a tall task.
I think I would buy a large cooler. I would then silicone some baffles in it to control sloshing and separate things. I would rig a heater and a small circulation pump and an air pump and run them off of an inverter while on the road. I wouldn't worry about lights. I would modify the lid so it closed tightly with the wires running into it and vented the air from the air stone through a small hole.
Buy one with sturdy handles you could carry in at night and plug in where you are staying.
Take some Prime with you and test your water for ammonia.

 

[neoGeorge]

No advice but so pretty. Could you maybe have an aquarium store ship the specimens to you overnight once you get there?

I don't have a relationship with an LFS here, but in general I'm concerned about the costs of shipping and husbandry - would love to hear from anyone with experience in this area!

 

[neoGeorge]

That's a tall task.
I think I would buy a large cooler. I would then silicone some baffles in it to control sloshing and separate things. I would rig a heater and a small circulation pump and an air pump and run them off of an inverter while on the road. I wouldn't worry about lights. I would modify the lid so it closed tightly with the wires running into it and vented the air from the air stone through a small hole.
Buy one with sturdy handles you could carry in at night and plug in where you are staying.
Take some Prime with you and test your water for ammonia.

I really like the cooler/baffles/bring into the hotel at night concept...

 

[WVNed]

Mark the water level in the cooler. Bring some RO/DI to top it off. A couple of gallons would probably be enough.

 

[neoGeorge]

Mark the water level in the cooler. Bring some RO/DI to top it off. A couple of gallons would probably be enough.

Good suggestion - there won't be an ATO on this trip

 

[andrewkw]

Depending on space I'd either do this in about four 5 gallon buckets, or a larger stock tank. You say you won't be driving 15hrs a day, so I'm guessing less then 12? If that's the case the movement in transit should be enough. I'd separate the LPS that can sting and damage corals, the other lps, the soft corals and any remaining rock. You could divide a bigger container but since we are talking about a 28 gallon tank a few 5 gallon buckets should do.

It doesn't look like you have a lot (any) fish. Why are you so worried about nitrate and ammonia over 4 days? if the tank doesn't have any now you shouldn't have any in transit. You may want to rinse out the live rock in saltwater to get any detritus off of it. Either throw the sand away or rinse it out and reuse it after you move. If you keep the 5 gallon buckets covered you should not get too much evaporation. You can probably get away with air pumps for water flow or use the powerheads you already have. 4 days is a little long to go without lighting but depending on what you use to light your tank you could light 2/4 5 gallon buckets when you stop.

One thing I do suggest is you bring about 15 gallons of fresh saltwater preferably close to your tanks parameters for you when you get to your new home. That way you don't have to reuse all of the water they are in for transit. If you prepare I don't think this will be too bad. Fortunately your tank is a very movable size

 

[saintsreturn]

When i did my cross country move, although not four days long, i separated corals and fish from everything else. The coral "bucket" was kept at temp and topped off as needed. I allowed room for "sloshing" which oxygenated the container. My fish were kept in a bucket that had snails, shrimp and a very small rock. They huddled around the rock for the most part. I made sure it wasnt big enough to fall or roll on them.

This container was kept covered and at temp with an aerator in it. Every stop for fuel and for the night was checked to ensure nothing died and if so, i would pull it. When i fed, i fed sparingly to ensure i didnt have free floating food on the drive.

This also didnt need top off during transit, but did take a little each morning.

The cooler with baffles idea is great, especially since a large cooler is fairly cheap from wally world.

 

[neoGeorge]

Depending on space I'd either do this in about four 5 gallon buckets, or a larger stock tank. You say you won't be driving 15hrs a day, so I'm guessing less then 12? If that's the case the movement in transit should be enough. I'd separate the LPS that can sting and damage corals, the other lps, the soft corals and any remaining rock. You could divide a bigger container but since we are talking about a 28 gallon tank a few 5 gallon buckets should do.

It doesn't look like you have a lot (any) fish. Why are you so worried about nitrate and ammonia over 4 days? if the tank doesn't have any now you shouldn't have any in transit. You may want to rinse out the live rock in saltwater to get any detritus off of it. Either throw the sand away or rinse it out and reuse it after you move. If you keep the 5 gallon buckets covered you should not get too much evaporation. You can probably get away with air pumps for water flow or use the powerheads you already have. 4 days is a little long to go without lighting but depending on what you use to light your tank you could light 2/4 5 gallon buckets when you stop.

One thing I do suggest is you bring about 15 gallons of fresh saltwater preferably close to your tanks parameters for you when you get to your new home. That way you don't have to reuse all of the water they are in for transit. If you prepare I don't think this will be too bad. Fortunately your tank is a very movable size

My fish/inverts include:

• 1 yellow assessor
• 1 lawnmower blenny
• 2 clowns (mated pair)
• 1 cleaner shrimp
• 1 six line wrasse
• 3 pistol shrimp
• 1 lettuce nudibranch
• 2 snails

I plan to move these in a separate container from the corals and live rock, so in effect I'm assuming there will be no biologic filtering and the fish will be generating ammonia and waste. Not sure about feeding, but I'd expect little to no food during the trip would be best.

I won't be moving the sand - will use new after the move...

Thanks

 

[neoGeorge]

When i did my cross country move, although not four days long, i separated corals and fish from everything else. The coral "bucket" was kept at temp and topped off as needed. I allowed room for "sloshing" which oxygenated the container. My fish were kept in a bucket that had snails, shrimp and a very small rock. They huddled around the rock for the most part. I made sure it wasnt big enough to fall or roll on them.

This container was kept covered and at temp with an aerator in it. Every stop for fuel and for the night was checked to ensure nothing died and if so, i would pull it. When i fed, i fed sparingly to ensure i didnt have free floating food on the drive.

This also didnt need top off during transit, but did take a little each morning.

The cooler with baffles idea is great, especially since a large cooler is fairly cheap from wally world.

Good to hear about your experience and corresponding advice - what types of losses happened during the move? Any suggestions for limiting the losses?

Thanks

 

[andrewkw]

My fish/inverts include:

• 1 yellow assessor
• 1 lawnmower blenny
• 2 clowns (mated pair)
• 1 cleaner shrimp
• 1 six line wrasse
• 3 pistol shrimp
• 1 lettuce nudibranch
• 2 snails

I plan to move these in a separate container from the corals and live rock, so in effect I'm assuming there will be no biologic filtering and the fish will be generating ammonia and waste. Not sure about feeding, but I'd expect little to no food during the trip would be best.

I won't be moving the sand - will use new after the move...

Thanks

This amount of fish / inverts should be fine in one additional 5 gallon bucket. The good thing is if you use 5 gallon buckets with lids they are easy to move around. You could use a battery air pump for the fish if you are concerned. Look at it this way if they were new fish you might qt in a bare tank and go 3 days before ttm so this isn't that different.

To further ease the possibility of ammonia stop feeding them a few days before the move like when fish are shipped.

 

[neoGeorge]

This amount of fish / inverts should be fine in one additional 5 gallon bucket. The good thing is if you use 5 gallon buckets with lids they are easy to move around. You could use a battery air pump for the fish if you are concerned. Look at it this way if they were new fish you might qt in a bare tank and go 3 days before ttm so this isn't that different.

To further ease the possibility of ammonia stop feeding them a few days before the move like when fish are shipped.

Good point, thanks

 

[saintsreturn]

Good to hear about your experience and corresponding advice - what types of losses happened during the move? Any suggestions for limiting the losses?

Thanks

The sand had some obvious die off and i rinsed it with low salinity saltwater before putting it back in. The rocks all held great and the coral survived. All of the fish made it, but the foxface died a couple weeks later. My assumption would be the follow on cycle that took place. I had some coral recession, but not enough to show concern for at that time.

Now that i have more difficult fish and coral.... yeah i would be nervous all over again.

Biggest advice, try to keep to fish and coral at temp and salinity. Dont over check on the fish and add stress. And finally, as much as i truly hate pouring anything into my tank, add a bacteria starter in the system again once you are ready to put the fish back in. I have had great luck with the fritz stuff.

 

[neoGeorge]

The sand had some obvious die off and i rinsed it with low salinity saltwater before putting it back in. The rocks all held great and the coral survived. All of the fish made it, but the foxface died a couple weeks later. My assumption would be the follow on cycle that took place. I had some coral recession, but not enough to show concern for at that time.

Now that i have more difficult fish and coral.... yeah i would be nervous all over again.

Biggest advice, try to keep to fish and coral at temp and salinity. Dont over check on the fish and add stress. And finally, as much as i truly hate pouring anything into my tank, add a bacteria starter in the system again once you are ready to put the fish back in. I have had great luck with the fritz stuff.

Good to know! Dr Tim's seems to be another good product; I used the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro kit when I started the tank.

 

[saintsreturn]

I do not think there is a bad one, but i would def use something. your system will go through another cycle and it will do so under a full bio load. So your going to want to help it the best you can.

 

[neoGeorge]

Cobalt has come out with USB battery backed air pumps; purchased the dual output version from BRS for the road trip.

 

[Awesome Dennis]

Frabil makes D cell battery powered bubblers sold at Walmart

 

[neoGeorge]

Frabil makes D cell battery powered bubblers sold at Walmart

What I like about the Cobalt air pumps is a battery backup is built in, so the units run off of a USB port until power fails. At least, that's what I understood from the description - unit will arrive Monday.

 

[Newstead]

Be sure to put your fish & inverts into a bucket by themselves. I lost my favorite fish, a mysis eating mandarin, by putting a golf ball sized sun coral in with it for our move just 3.5 hours away, but on extreme mountain roads. The coral evidently rolled on the mandarin. The fish and inverts in a bucket by themselves were fine.