Traveling with corals in car question

steallife904 · May 3, 2017

So I am going to reef a palooza in Orlando this weekend (I live in Jacksonville so like 2hr drive). I have gone every year since its been in Orlando and normally when I go I put corals in a cooler with an ice pack wrapped in a towel and head straight home. This year my wife says she wants to spend the day in Orlando (not just straight home after the show). My question is, should I do anything different to keep the corals alive? Just leave in a cooler in the car with an ice pack (wrapped in a towel so pack doesn't touch the coral bags)? Anything extra I should do?

I would guess they would be in cooler for about 6 hours. Let me know what ya think.

brett_schn · May 3, 2017

You are lucky. I really want to go to reef a palooza. I living in ft Lauderdale. Just get them in a bag with air just like u would from the fish store and they could go overnight in shipping

Labridaedicted · May 3, 2017

Also keep the cooler out of direct sunlight.

smh254 · May 3, 2017

I would be careful leaving it in the car for six hours in Florida. Hot hot hot

jenkinscrew2578 · May 3, 2017

Corals get shipped all the time so you should be fine with your plan if it is going to be hot in the car.

HB AL · May 3, 2017

Leave the wife home and just drive home with the livestock

brett_schn · May 3, 2017

HB AL said:
Leave the wife home and just drive home with the livestock

Or make the wife uber home or something lol.

Maddlesrain · May 3, 2017

I would also recommend parking in the shade if at all possible when you make stops! We drove for maybe 16 hours with a few corals I picked up on a road trip, they did just fine.

spiraling · May 3, 2017

funny, I put heat packs with mine and couldn't figure out the ice pack at first....

I'm 8 hours from where I sometimes get corals, and I have also purchased them the night ahead of time, so over 16 hours in a cooler. Make sure each one is bagged individually. If I have space I will have bags filled just with tank water as a heat sink to stabilize the temps. Bring a thermometer (like a kitchen one or cheap aquarium one) just to give you piece of mind on the temps. You can always get more ice on the road if needed. Or in my case - heat packs

steallife904 · May 4, 2017

leaving the wife is not an option

, I am also bringing my son (almost 7 months old) for the first time and am kinda excited for him to see it all since he loves sitting in front of the tank.
I will avoid parking in direct sun and will find shade or park in a parking garage. I have a cooking thermostat that I use to check meats internal temp I could hang out of the cooler to monitor temp. I will bring a second cooler with a lot more ice packs and drinks just incase I need to put more cool packs in. I will let each vendor I buy from know I am traveling and ask if they can bag in a larger bag if possible. Other than that I feel I should be ok and seems you guys think it will be fine. Like someone said people ship coral over night so I should be good. Let me know if you have any other feedback for me!

1stNoel · May 5, 2017

steallife904 said:
leaving the wife is not an option , I am also bringing my son (almost 7 months old) for the first time and am kinda excited for him to see it all since he loves sitting in front of the tank.
I will avoid parking in direct sun and will find shade or park in a parking garage. I have a cooking thermostat that I use to check meats internal temp I could hang out of the cooler to monitor temp. I will bring a second cooler with a lot more ice packs and drinks just incase I need to put more cool packs in. I will let each vendor I buy from know I am traveling and ask if they can bag in a larger bag if possible. Other than that I feel I should be ok and seems you guys think it will be fine. Like someone said people ship coral over night so I should be good. Let me know if you have any other feedback for me!

Be prepared to spend the day in Orlando worrying about your corals and counting down the hours before you can travel home.

I live in Orlando and will be going to the show. I'll babysit the corals for you. Perhaps you can cut me some frags in the future for the trouble.

Slickwill613 · May 5, 2017

Just lie and tell the wife the kid puked after she went to sleep. Woman won't travel with sick kids, well mine won't. Have fun.

Paulwizal23 · Nov 11, 2021

brett_schn said:
You are lucky. I really want to go to reef a palooza. I living in ft Lauderdale. Just get them in a bag with air just like u would from the fish store and they could go overnight in shipping

When is reef a palozza normally

shakacuz · Nov 11, 2021

steallife904 said:
leaving the wife is not an option , I am also bringing my son (almost 7 months old) for the first time and am kinda excited for him to see it all since he loves sitting in front of the tank.
I will avoid parking in direct sun and will find shade or park in a parking garage. I have a cooking thermostat that I use to check meats internal temp I could hang out of the cooler to monitor temp. I will bring a second cooler with a lot more ice packs and drinks just incase I need to put more cool packs in. I will let each vendor I buy from know I am traveling and ask if they can bag in a larger bag if possible. Other than that I feel I should be ok and seems you guys think it will be fine. Like someone said people ship coral over night so I should be good. Let me know if you have any other feedback for me!

you seem to have it figured out. good luck!