jman9331
Active Member
So I am moving into my final house that I bought and well we all know moving the tank can be a pain. So I'm curious to the different ways that everyone used to make it less stressful? any thoughts or advice?
Moving Houses!
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LivinTheSwreefLife
Well-Known Member
How far is the move? I think that makes a big difference in the approach to take.
I moved my last tank (120 gallon reef tank) about 15 minutes away from my old place and it was really a pretty painless experience. Loaded it up in some big Rubbermaid roughneck containers on some wheeled furniture dollies (like $20 at Home Depot), put it in the back of the car and drove it over. Didn't even get a mini cycle. But, I had a short move- not sure if I'd have done things differently if it was a long trip.
I moved my last tank (120 gallon reef tank) about 15 minutes away from my old place and it was really a pretty painless experience. Loaded it up in some big Rubbermaid roughneck containers on some wheeled furniture dollies (like $20 at Home Depot), put it in the back of the car and drove it over. Didn't even get a mini cycle. But, I had a short move- not sure if I'd have done things differently if it was a long trip.
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jman9331
Active Member
that's what you moved the water in?
LivinTheSwreefLife
Well-Known Member
Yes.. I took as little water as I could though. It was mostly sand, rock, and enough water to give the fish swimming space. But I use roughnecks to mix my saltwater all the time so you could fill them entirely with water and it would be okay, if that's what you wanted to do. I just read that used water should not be a priority so much as the sand and rock.
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jman9331
Active Member
oh ok. I'm going about the same distance 30 miles down the road
Vanmo92
Community Member
From my experience about a year ago I can say keep the livestock (especially fish) aerated and heated once you get to the new place...setting a reef tank back up takes longer than you may think (considering you're just re-assembing) and for that time fish need more than a 5g bucket thats for sure.
Derek'sReef
Active Member
It might be a good idea to use new sand. Depending on how old your sand is and how clean you keep it. You k8ght get some die off moving the sand.
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jman9331
Active Member
I was going to move the tank and leave about a couple of gallons in there for the sand. The plan is to break down the tank and move it set it up at the new place in a 2 hour window. the fish will be in a 5 gallon bucket I only have 3 fish and the inverts will be in there as well. it will be during the summer so hopefully that helps.
HiddenUser
Valuable Member
I just moved 2 tanks a 90 and a 40 back at the end of October last year.
Here's the advice I can offer for moving a larger tank. You don't mention tank size, so this could be overkill.
- Use new sand.
- Keep the rocks wet. I wrapped mine in saltwater soaked towels.
- Have plenty of extra RODI / extra saltwater on hand. This way if you come up short for whatever reason you don't have to wait hours to filter RODI water, mix the salt, and bring the water up to temp.
- Depending on how long the fish will be in their temporary containers, maybe pick an aerator? You can find battery powered ones as well.
- Make sure you have all the plumbing pieces you'll need. During my move a box of my 45* and 90* elbows magically disappeared and it resulted in an unexpected run to the hardware store. NOTE: I was a big newb when I plumbed my tank for the first time and didn't use any unions, thus I had to redo my plumbing when I moved.
- Keep as much of your current tank water as possible! I had a bunch of 5 gallon salt buckets and 7 gallon water jugs that I filled with tank water. If you're using buckets, just make sure they have lids that seal really well. Don't want saltwater splashing all over your car.
- When I got to my new house I just combined all the tank water into a large Rubbermaid container and threw in a heater and circulation pump to keep the water warm while I was reassembling the tank.
The move of my 90 took about 2-3x longer than I expected...Biggest thing is to plan your tear down and rebuild method ahead and you'll be good to go!
Here's the advice I can offer for moving a larger tank. You don't mention tank size, so this could be overkill.
- Use new sand.
- Keep the rocks wet. I wrapped mine in saltwater soaked towels.
- Have plenty of extra RODI / extra saltwater on hand. This way if you come up short for whatever reason you don't have to wait hours to filter RODI water, mix the salt, and bring the water up to temp.
- Depending on how long the fish will be in their temporary containers, maybe pick an aerator? You can find battery powered ones as well.
- Make sure you have all the plumbing pieces you'll need. During my move a box of my 45* and 90* elbows magically disappeared and it resulted in an unexpected run to the hardware store. NOTE: I was a big newb when I plumbed my tank for the first time and didn't use any unions, thus I had to redo my plumbing when I moved.
- Keep as much of your current tank water as possible! I had a bunch of 5 gallon salt buckets and 7 gallon water jugs that I filled with tank water. If you're using buckets, just make sure they have lids that seal really well. Don't want saltwater splashing all over your car.
- When I got to my new house I just combined all the tank water into a large Rubbermaid container and threw in a heater and circulation pump to keep the water warm while I was reassembling the tank.
The move of my 90 took about 2-3x longer than I expected...Biggest thing is to plan your tear down and rebuild method ahead and you'll be good to go!
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jman9331
Active Member
awesome and mine is a 75 gal. what is the purpose of getting rid of the sand and getting new sand?I just moved 2 tanks a 90 and a 40 back at the end of October last year.
Here's the advice I can offer for moving a larger tank. You don't mention tank size, so this could be overkill.
- Use new sand.
- Keep the rocks wet. I wrapped mine in saltwater soaked towels.
- Have plenty of extra RODI / extra saltwater on hand. This way if you come up short for whatever reason you don't have to wait hours to filter RODI water, mix the salt, and bring the water up to temp.
- Depending on how long the fish will be in their temporary containers, maybe pick an aerator? You can find battery powered ones as well.
- Make sure you have all the plumbing pieces you'll need. During my move a box of my 45* and 90* elbows magically disappeared and it resulted in an unexpected run to the hardware store. NOTE: I was a big newb when I plumbed my tank for the first time and didn't use any unions, thus I had to redo my plumbing when I moved.
- I had a bunch of 5 gallon salt buckets and 7 gallon water jugs that I filled with tank water. If you're using buckets, just make sure they have lids that seal really well. Don't want saltwater splashing all over your car.
- When I got to my new house I just combined all the tank water into a large Rubbermaid container and threw in a heater and circulation pump to keep the water warm while I was reassembling the tank.
The move of my 90 took about 2-3x longer than I expected...Biggest thing is to plan your tear down and rebuild method ahead and you'll be good to go!
HiddenUser
Valuable Member
If your sand has been in your tank for a while, it'll get stirred up and if you re-use it all the things that were breaking down in the sand previously will be released and potentially cause a cycle or you'll just be dealing with a TON of nitrates.
IMHO the expense of a couple new bags of live sand far outweighs dealing with potential livestock loss or nitrate problems.
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jman9331
Active Member
would 3 to 4 months be too long? that's how long the tank will be running by the time I move.
HiddenUser
Valuable Member
Personally I'd just swap it out. Better safe than sorry. You could always rinse the old sand and reuse it later or something.
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jman9331
Active Member
alright will do! thank you
