Moving in 5 months...what to do?

[SaracensRugby]

Ok, have a 127 gallon display, mixed reef, and a 2nd 80 gallon tank up and running. And we are going to move in about 5 months time....

Not sure if it will be all in one day move, or over a few days. Any tips are welcome as I try and wrap my head around this move. It is less than a mile away, but feels like 300 given the task at hand.

Cheers!

 

[Quietman]

Not sure if you have ever done any project mgmt, but that's the philosophy I apply. Make lists and due dates and estimate time required (then double it), have contingency planning for worst case (car breaks down, power off at new place, no water at new place, bad weather, friends don't show up, etc) and write all those down with check boxes and tracking. Start buying supplies (probably minimal since <1 mile). Also, I would keep thinking it's 300 miles. Underestimating because it's only a mile can bite you in the end.

So nothing specific, just an overall approach. Tons of advice and youtube vids out there on moving.

Good luck!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I recently moved and it sucked (I had 4 tanks to move) but it starts with planning as @Quietman mentioned. Plan your move and then plan for things to go wrong. Bring twice the water that you think you will need. Have twice the buckets, heaters, battery air pumps and friends that you might want. Rinse your sand well before replacing and double check your work/hook ups before plugging anything in and adding anything. Have several beers ready after all is said and done.

 

[Macbalacano]

Not sure if you have ever done any project mgmt, but that's the philosophy I apply. Make lists and due dates and estimate time required (then double it), have contingency planning for worst case (car breaks down, power off at new place, no water at new place, bad weather, friends don't show up, etc) and write all those down with check boxes and tracking. Start buying supplies (probably minimal since <1 mile). Also, I would keep thinking it's 300 miles. Underestimating because it's only a mile can bite you in the end.

So nothing specific, just an overall approach. Tons of advice and youtube vids out there on moving.

Good luck!

I've had to move tanks a couple of times (not nearly as big), but I totally second this.

I think it's a good thing its so close by, but the main thing is prepare for the unexpected and try to do as much ahead of time before physically moving anything that is alive. The main concern is trying to minimize the stress on anything living, so the shorter the move / abrupt changes in conditions, the better.

 

[SaracensRugby]

Would anyone start removing their sand slowly now, seeing as bringing old sand over seems to not be recommended? That will let the biology on the live rock slowly re-adjust over the next 5 months.... that's my thought anyway.

 

[brandon429]

no, do it all at once like Jon:

120 gallon rip clean

I’ve decided to perform a rip clean on my 120 with 100% new water. The tank has been running for 5 years and was battling Dino for several months. I used the bacteria method from elegant corals and worked great I haven’t seen Dino in months now. But I tried several other methods including...

www.reef2reef.com

move your stuff right when its this clean, before the re assembly. move only clean items = safest route. relocate no detritus is safest, rinsing the sand in tap water or just replacing it/still pre rinsed is best, all at once shown above.

The hobby has the notion wrong about removing in sections/allowing bacteria to build up elsewhere, they don't.

the live rock is equally powerful whether the sand is removed instantly, or in sections. opposite of common thought. *the prior notion wasn't a big deal until a few sectioned removers recycled and lost their whole tank/disturbed bad zones which can happen.

the rinsing method simply accounts for those rarities, and is harmless to employ owing to updated surface area rules, removing any surrounding media never transmits a remaining bacteria mass to rocks. and if it did, the filtration would be less efficient and not more efficient because more bac = clogged surface area. filtration works most efficiently with the least amount of bacterial film it takes to cover all surfaces. as soon as more try to stack on, water shear rips them away unless the tank is stagnant. surfaces manage their bacteria independently from other surfaces.

Jon taking a perfectly normal 120 gallon system not in distress and rip cleaning it 5x in one thread proves this fact immensely. he could not have been meaner to that sandbed if he blasted it to the moon and back. skip cycled, because rocks are enough filters and we didn't tap rinse those.

 

[tripdad]

If you need help on moving day PM me. Good luck.

 

[brandon429]

Upgrade disaster

Recently had a huge leak in our 90 gal reef which forced us to upgrade sooner than expected . The upgrade being a 230 gal with a 48 gal sump . Mistake #1 I added some of the old sand assuming it would be beneficial to have a little bacteria .. I was wrong . Nuked the whole tank killing all fish...

www.reef2reef.com

very important for all tank moves. its the opposite plan to the above. this is about a 10% occurrence rate, and nobody who moves sand unclean has control over the ten pct loss rate. that is exclusively a domain for sand rinsers, we have the only loss-free system on file. the trick is knowing bacteria are so well attached, we're free to rinse the dangerous mud out. old school science fears bacteria loss; keeps the mud. takes the chance, and gets literally no better benefit on the other side even if they pull off the move. they get upwelled nutrients, cyano for a few months. moving clean works best.