Moving and need advice!
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Maddlesrain
Valuable Member
I've had to move my reef aquarium and a handful of freshwater aquariums almost every year or two for the duration of my time in this hobby. This is what I do.
1. Have a tub or extra tank that all the fish and loose corals can be housed in, and another for your rock work. If you have any inverts, I put them in a separate bucket, or you can keep them with your other critters. This is to make sure no one gets crushed under any rocks if they shift in the drive between houses. If you have an anemone or anything that is firmly attached do NOT rip it off, just let it be and place all your rocks in the tub with care.
2. Make sure to have as many extra tubs as needed to carry as much of your aquarium water with you as possible. This way you can get everything running more quickly and leave less stress on the animals with the addition of familiar water. When filling the tubs with water, only fill them about halfway because the water will SLOSH EVERYWHERE. We put everything in a 'work van' that has a metal flooring and can get soaked, because your car will look like it went for a swim, despite keeping lids over he tubs.
3. Shut off all equipment prior to removing any livestock. Better yet, pull it all off to avoid damaging any of it and pack it up to move.
4. Fill the tub you're using for rock with a bit of water (under halfway because the rocks will make it rise significantly) and start placing your rocks in. Side note:* the weight of these rocks adds up really fast, especially combined with the water, so depending on how much rock you have and how much muscle you want to use, maybe spread them into two tubs. Make sure every rock is submerged in their holding container. Also, when moving the rocks, go slow and place them carefully.
5. Now that all your rock is gone, you can get your fish. I like to fill the fish tub before moving all the rocks because it can get silty, if not, they'll be fine.
6. All your animals should be out now, rocks removed, and the only things remaining are the water and sand.
7. Remove water and store it in buckets until you can't get the siphon to pull anymore out. I've learned it works best to never break the siphon and just put my finger over the outpouring of water to move it to the next bucket. By doing this, you should be able to keep the siphon going until there's a hairs-worth of water. The end will be VERY slow, but it's worth removing the extra weight. Don't keep the last bit of water as it'll be nasty and foul.
8. Remove the sand and place in container for moving. Again, this will weigh an absolute ton, so two containers to distribute weight may be necessary. Note:* don't scrape the sand up the glass to avoid scratching.
9. Your tank will be empty save for a few pounds of sand and a bit of downright disgusting looking water, and you're ready to move! You can always spray this with the hose if you so choose. If you can't, like with mine because the tank is obscenely heavy, you can use a cup and scoop out as much as possible (another painfully slow process) and then just leave what you can't get. It's not going to kill anything.
10. During this whole process I like to have a powerhead and heater running on the containers holding my critters. If your inverts are in a separate bucket, just the heater will do. I kept 4 urchins and a handful of snails in a 5g bucket with only a heater for about 3 days, so you'll be fine. Direct the powerheads into a wall so that the flow is soft and the fish don't have to work against it.
11. When setting everything back up, just do the reverse of take-down. Add sand, then water (enough to scape rocks), then rocks, then your critters, and then adjust your equipment. I do the aquipment as I go (between filling new water if needed and whatnot) but all tweaks are made after everyone is safely back in their home. Note* make sure before dumping the fish in that the temperate and salinity match between tanks and tubs. Your tank is small enough to tear down and re-setup within a day easily, so this shouldn't be too big of an issue. If things have to sit overnight, just make sure the main tank and critters are heating and the rest will be fine.
12. Go slow, be patient, and know that your animals are more forgiving than you think! As long as everything stays submerged and has water flow, you should be in the clear! As I meantioned, I've moved all my critters many times ( four times for the marine animals), and haven't had any casualties. Goodluck, and I'd be more than happy to answer any other questions if I can!
1. Have a tub or extra tank that all the fish and loose corals can be housed in, and another for your rock work. If you have any inverts, I put them in a separate bucket, or you can keep them with your other critters. This is to make sure no one gets crushed under any rocks if they shift in the drive between houses. If you have an anemone or anything that is firmly attached do NOT rip it off, just let it be and place all your rocks in the tub with care.
2. Make sure to have as many extra tubs as needed to carry as much of your aquarium water with you as possible. This way you can get everything running more quickly and leave less stress on the animals with the addition of familiar water. When filling the tubs with water, only fill them about halfway because the water will SLOSH EVERYWHERE. We put everything in a 'work van' that has a metal flooring and can get soaked, because your car will look like it went for a swim, despite keeping lids over he tubs.
3. Shut off all equipment prior to removing any livestock. Better yet, pull it all off to avoid damaging any of it and pack it up to move.
4. Fill the tub you're using for rock with a bit of water (under halfway because the rocks will make it rise significantly) and start placing your rocks in. Side note:* the weight of these rocks adds up really fast, especially combined with the water, so depending on how much rock you have and how much muscle you want to use, maybe spread them into two tubs. Make sure every rock is submerged in their holding container. Also, when moving the rocks, go slow and place them carefully.
5. Now that all your rock is gone, you can get your fish. I like to fill the fish tub before moving all the rocks because it can get silty, if not, they'll be fine.
6. All your animals should be out now, rocks removed, and the only things remaining are the water and sand.
7. Remove water and store it in buckets until you can't get the siphon to pull anymore out. I've learned it works best to never break the siphon and just put my finger over the outpouring of water to move it to the next bucket. By doing this, you should be able to keep the siphon going until there's a hairs-worth of water. The end will be VERY slow, but it's worth removing the extra weight. Don't keep the last bit of water as it'll be nasty and foul.
8. Remove the sand and place in container for moving. Again, this will weigh an absolute ton, so two containers to distribute weight may be necessary. Note:* don't scrape the sand up the glass to avoid scratching.
9. Your tank will be empty save for a few pounds of sand and a bit of downright disgusting looking water, and you're ready to move! You can always spray this with the hose if you so choose. If you can't, like with mine because the tank is obscenely heavy, you can use a cup and scoop out as much as possible (another painfully slow process) and then just leave what you can't get. It's not going to kill anything.
10. During this whole process I like to have a powerhead and heater running on the containers holding my critters. If your inverts are in a separate bucket, just the heater will do. I kept 4 urchins and a handful of snails in a 5g bucket with only a heater for about 3 days, so you'll be fine. Direct the powerheads into a wall so that the flow is soft and the fish don't have to work against it.
11. When setting everything back up, just do the reverse of take-down. Add sand, then water (enough to scape rocks), then rocks, then your critters, and then adjust your equipment. I do the aquipment as I go (between filling new water if needed and whatnot) but all tweaks are made after everyone is safely back in their home. Note* make sure before dumping the fish in that the temperate and salinity match between tanks and tubs. Your tank is small enough to tear down and re-setup within a day easily, so this shouldn't be too big of an issue. If things have to sit overnight, just make sure the main tank and critters are heating and the rest will be fine.
12. Go slow, be patient, and know that your animals are more forgiving than you think! As long as everything stays submerged and has water flow, you should be in the clear! As I meantioned, I've moved all my critters many times ( four times for the marine animals), and haven't had any casualties. Goodluck, and I'd be more than happy to answer any other questions if I can!
great advice, done this during memorial day weekend, had to swap out old vs new tank at the same spot, 120 gallon system. Get those 5 gallon white jugs to carry the old water. depend how old is your sands, maybe easier to replace the sands (mine was only 6 months old so I did not replaced them)
Elysium
Well-Known Member
I had to move tanks last year. Depending on how far you have to go Maddlestrain has good advice in that post.
If possible (e.g. close by and with access), setup a new holding tank at your new place a week or two in advance. Transfer livestock to the holding tank and you can take your time tearing down the old setup. Do not (like I attempted) load the moving truck, and attempt to breakdown a tank to transfer the livestock in a single day. You will regret it.
For transporting water, look in your local department store camping section for the 6 gallon plastic carboys. Virtually spill proof and can be reused for RO/DI, top-off etc.
If possible (e.g. close by and with access), setup a new holding tank at your new place a week or two in advance. Transfer livestock to the holding tank and you can take your time tearing down the old setup. Do not (like I attempted) load the moving truck, and attempt to breakdown a tank to transfer the livestock in a single day. You will regret it.
For transporting water, look in your local department store camping section for the 6 gallon plastic carboys. Virtually spill proof and can be reused for RO/DI, top-off etc.
