Moving tank questions.

[kristinarenee]

I am putting new floors in and will have to move my 60 gal tank to a new location. Im scared of tearing it down and having issues after refilling it and putting everything back in. Should I do a 50% water change. I have a deep sand bed that I want to cut in half during the move. I assume after stirring it all up I will have a nitrate spike. My quaranteen tank is only a 20 gal long so I don't know if I should stick them in there while the tank runs for a little bit. 2 clown, 3 damsel, kole Tang, juvenile engineer goby, diamond goby, cleaner goby, coral banded shrimp, cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp. Tank is mostly corals. I have only moved my tank once about 10 years ago but I didn't have corals and I don't really remember how I handled it.

 

[NY_Caveman]

How long will the job take? The 20 gallon could work for a short period. But you cannot fit all or your fish, rockwork and corals in it probably.

I would leave the sand until the end. Get everything else out. A deep sand bed could have worse than Nitrate in it (Sulphur perhaps? I am not a sand expert).

One other tip, have way more RO/DI ready for salt mix than you think you need. I moved tanks a lot and always needed more saltwater than I planned.

 

[A sea K]

I agree with NY Caveman, a nitrate spike is probably the least of your worries if you disturb that dsb. If it were me, once all the inhabitants have been removed I would pull all the sand and completely clean it (bucket rinse method) then reuse as much as you need to achieve a ssb. Just make sure the sand is completely clean.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I agree with NY Caveman, a nitrate spike is probably the least of your worries if you disturb that dsb. If it were me, once all the inhabitants have been removed I would pull all the sand and completely clean it (bucket rinse method) then reuse as much as you need to achieve a ssb. Just make sure the sand is completely clean.

Actually, you may even want to use new sand. Sand is just a collection of waste anyway.

 

[A sea K]

That would certainly be the safest bet and not terribly expensive for a ssb in a 60 gal DT

 

[kristinarenee]

Thank you. I will order some new sand. Easier than cleaning it. I will set up my marineland internal canister filter to clear the water faster so they aren't in buckets so long. I have a couple spare heaters to use. I have a 55 gallon drum I use to mix saltwater. I will mix at least 50 gallons.

 

[Ron Reefman]

What do you use to make new saltwater? Maybe you could make up a bigger than you think you need batch of new saltwater in a Brute trash can. Then transfer the rocks and fish into it and use the aquarium for the corals so you can better see what you are doing.

I had a 180g tank fail and I kept fish, corals, anemones and other inverts in tanks, buckets, Brute trash cans and even a big black plastic tub (thanks dbl). It took 6 weeks before I had a new tank ready and all I did was water changes as water parameters started to get out of line. I lost very little livestock at all.

 

[davocean]

I normally hold fish in brutes during transfers, corals separate, maybe the qt will hold those.

The CBS may go after anything weak or small if confined, be careful w/ that.

I would pull all livestock, do the sand bed last as suggested, and I would take this time to replace sand, and I'd use dry w/ maybe a scoop of your old sand to seed the new.

Flooring in one room is usually about a day.

 

[Scotty Buttons]

If your QT is up and running, I'm sure this goes without saying but if your going to stash your corals in there make sure you don't have any copper in there!

 

[kristinarenee]

If your QT is up and running, I'm sure this goes without saying but if your going to stash your corals in there make sure you don't have any copper in there!

It is running. I always replace the water after treating and run carbon just in case.