Moving my tank

Salty-Noob · May 27, 2013

So I'm moving in less than a month. I have a 29v biocube how do I go about moving it out to my new home?

SeahorseKeeper · May 27, 2013

Good luck with the move!!

How far is the move going to be? That would influence the way I would attack the task. Also, how long has the tank been setup?

Salty-Noob · May 27, 2013

Moving about 5 min from my current home. Tank has been up for 6 months

jservedio · May 28, 2013

I just moved last weekend with my 20g. It's pretty easy to do. Use a styrafoam cooler to hold your coral individually bagging everything (or atleast bagging so you don't get stinging). Put all your fish, snails, etc. into a 5g bucket with 2 or 3 gallons of water. Put your LR in a bucket or 2 with an inch of water and some paper towels on top that are soaked to keep it alive. Siphon off half the tank and store it in 1g or 2.5g jugs so you have some seasoned water.

Stir up the sand bed and siphon off the nasty water and dispose of it. Leave the sand in the tank when you move and make sure it is moist. Make sure you have plenty of mixed ASW that has been sitting overnight and is correct temp. Put it all back together and dose some MB7, keep some ammonia absorbing media in the tank, and maybe dose prime once or twice. You shouldn't get a mini-cycle so that is just a precaution.

Salty-Noob · May 28, 2013

jservedio said:
I just moved last weekend with my 20g. It's pretty easy to do. Use a styrafoam cooler to hold your coral individually bagging everything (or atleast bagging so you don't get stinging). Put all your fish, snails, etc. into a 5g bucket with 2 or 3 gallons of water. Put your LR in a bucket or 2 with an inch of water and some paper towels on top that are soaked to keep it alive. Siphon off half the tank and store it in 1g or 2.5g jugs so you have some seasoned water.

Stir up the sand bed and siphon off the nasty water and dispose of it. Leave the sand in the tank when you move and make sure it is moist. Make sure you have plenty of mixed ASW that has been sitting overnight and is correct temp. Put it all back together and dose some MB7, keep some ammonia absorbing media in the tank, and maybe dose prime once or twice. You shouldn't get a mini-cycle so that is just a precaution.

What's asw??

jservedio · May 28, 2013

ASW = Artificial Salt Water

glb · May 28, 2013

Sometimes LFS's will offer a service to help move a tank. With all the stress of moving, it might be worth it to ask.

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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

Salty-Noob · May 28, 2013

glb said:
Sometimes LFS's will offer a service to help move a tank. With all the stress of moving, it might be worth it to ask.

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12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

Didn't think of that I should give that a try? Might be better than doing it myself

sredzins · May 28, 2013

I've done this 4 times... I'm a college student and live away from home so I bring my tank with me.... All 50 gallons haha. I get enough buckets to take all the water and live rock but leave enough water in the tank to cover the sand. I take out the water as described and dump 20% and add back the 20% in new water, that way there is an immediate water change when you set back up. Good luck

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Salty-Noob · May 28, 2013

sredzins said:
I've done this 4 times... I'm a college student and live away from home so I bring my tank with me.... All 50 gallons haha. I get enough buckets to take all the water and live rock but leave enough water in the tank to cover the sand. I take out the water as described and dump 20% and add back the 20% in new water, that way there is an immediate water change when you set back up. Good luck

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Thanks I just don't want to harm the fish that's all

sredzins · May 29, 2013

As long as they're bagged right, you shouldn't have any worries. Fish travel days in bags when shipped from the suppliers in California.

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c_healy · May 29, 2013

Be careful messing with the sand.....you really should replace it all or wash it very good. It can release a lot of nasties and really is cheaper to replace it than it is your live stock.

Also be careful leaving anything in the tank when you move it. If you aren't careful you can crack the tank if too much pressure is put on any one area. Again its best to move it empty as its cheaper to replace the sand or buy a few buckets than it is to replace a tank.

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sredzins · May 29, 2013

I keep my tank on a two inch thick piece of hard wood to keep it level and so the stress on the tank is minimal. If you use a gravel vacuum and clean the sand bed regularly, there shouldn't be any worry of nasty stuff being stirred up should there? Just test parameters before adding livestock back.

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jservedio · May 29, 2013

Stir the crap out of the sand once all the live rock, fish, corals, etc have been removed and you stored away the clean old water you are going to bring with you. You should be left with BROWN nasty water you can't see more than an inch in. Siphon that off and you will have clean sand. This is the best thing you can do during your move since it maintains the sand bed, doesn't hurt all the nitrobacter and nitrosomas, doesn't hurt any micro life, and removes 100% of the detritus. Also, it breaks up any sand clumps that were formed from Calcium Carbonate being precipitated out of the water.

No need to buy new sand and no need to rinse it or vacuum it - as long as it is stirred up really well and you siphon out all the nasty water. I just did this last weekend and had no problems with my move. I keep mainly SPS too and didn't see any nitrates or phosphate on the salifert test kit when I moved. Didn't even get any color fading from my brightly colored acros.

Salty-Noob · May 29, 2013

jservedio said:
Stir the crap out of the sand once all the live rock, fish, corals, etc have been removed and you stored away the clean old water you are going to bring with you. You should be left with BROWN nasty water you can't see more than an inch in. Siphon that off and you will have clean sand. This is the best thing you can do during your move since it maintains the sand bed, doesn't hurt all the nitrobacter and nitrosomas, doesn't hurt any micro life, and removes 100% of the detritus. Also, it breaks up any sand clumps that were formed from Calcium Carbonate being precipitated out of the water.

No need to buy new sand and no need to rinse it or vacuum it - as long as it is stirred up really well and you siphon out all the nasty water. I just did this last weekend and had no problems with my move. I keep mainly SPS too and didn't see any nitrates or phosphate on the salifert test kit when I moved. Didn't even get any color fading from my brightly colored acros.

What can I use to siphon all the water out?