Moving my RSM130D

[TerriW]

I have a stock RSM130D and am only moving about 10 miles. I live in Houston and the climate should be very mild during the move. I have a variety of corals, 2 clowns, 1 yellow watchman goby, 1 royal gramma and a CUC consisting of several hermits, 2 peppermint shrimp and lots of assorted snails. My tank has been running since 8/10.

So, I've done a search on the forum for "moving", read lots of posts, but still need some advice.

There seems to be several different opinions on the LS. Some say dump it, some say rinse and reuse, some say to leave it in place covered with tank water and move the tank this way, so I'm just not sure what to do. I am leaning towards replacing the sand. I used the RSM substrate provided when I purchase the tank and am thinking of replacing it with something else, maybe Seaflor special grade reef sand.

I have several corals (torch, frogspawn, toadstool, candy canes) mounted to the LR. I'm not sure if I should try to move them as is or detach them from their mounts. Everything is mounted with adhesive except the toadstool, he attached himself to the rock.

I plan on bagging the fish, peppermints, hermits and unmounted coral (open brain, plate, etc.) The snails will depend on what I do with the LS. I will save the tank water and having prepared water on hand. I have lots of buckets and will get bags, styrofoam shipping boxes, etc. from my LFS.

Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much,
Terri

My biggest concerns are avoiding a cycle and corals being damaged during transport, especially the torch and frogspawn.

 

[jessegarcia28]

I will be going through the same thing next week end. ill be moving also like 10 to 15 miles away.
Now back to the moving part, I personally picked up my tank second hand about 70 miles away and had some livestock in it so basically I just made sure to have enough containers for water,rock,corals,and fish.for most corals i simply put a towel on the bottom of containers then added water then the coral just 4 protection.LIve sand was left in tank w/i would say about an inch of water in. I also made sure i had atleat 20 to 30 % of new water for and immediate water change.
GL with ur move. You should document it and take pics for reference, that way i remember what to do and not to do

 

[Sapphire]

I've been thinking about this recently after our quakes as we may need to shift out for repairs (or if - God forbid - our house needs to be rebuilt) and I think I would remove anything attached from it's position so it can be bagged separately and protected as much as possible for the journey.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I moved my rsm 130d across the room when I bought my 250 - what I would do... leave the sand in bottom covered with like 2" water.... two people can very easily lift it like this... but once setup & going... I would replacing the old sand with Seaflor special grade reef sand if you want a nice pretty white. The corals & LR can be moved in 5 gal buckets covered with sw or tubs.

 

[David Shaw]

I want a new carpet in my lounge and the thought of having to move the tank while it's done fills me with dread. Perhaps i sould think about upgrading to a 250 at some point and use that as an excuse

 

[Reefmack]

Nice excuse David!

 

[David Shaw]

LOL Terry

I am very happy with my 130D and will stick with that. I have it nice now and everything is running perfectly so the thought of starting from scratch and the extra expense of replacing the stock skimmer and the other mods just makes it an expense i can live without to be honest.

 

[Reefmack]

I feel the same way.

 

[David Shaw]

I think that if anything ever went wrong etc, then that's the time to consider an upgrade.

At the moment i am living with the motto - if it ain't broke don't fix it

 

[TerriW]

Glen,

What is the reasoning behind waiting to change the sand?

I don't post much, but am constantly reading, so I value your opinion.

Sapphire,

I think I will take your advice and just remount everything after the move.
Thanks again,

Terri

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Terri - my thinking was just that it might cause a small cycle, where changing it latter, you could syphon like 1/3 out & add new sand & replace it over a couple of weeks. I have only moved one tanks, once - make sure you do a water change right before the move & add fresh chemical filtration like cpe & purigen.

What does even one else think? Help provide some more feedback here. I do remember really worrying about moving my tank, but it went better than I thought, with no loses.

and thanks for the nice compliment !

 

[Reefmack]

I'm really not sure myself. I'm thinking if you keep the current sand that it will get pretty stirred up during a 10 mile trip, and may release a lot of junk that may pollute the tank with detritis, etc. that has settled into the sand. But, if you replace it all, you'll lose part of your bio-filtration. Either way might cause a small cycle. Rinsing it in SW may not be a bad idea. Either way, If it was me I'd probably add a bacterial innoculant after setting the tank up again - Bio-Spira, Microbacter7, or similar. That would hopefully introduce the bacteria needed to convert any ammonia that might be generated due to the move. Just sharing my thoughts.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Terri - is the timeline for the move to where you could change the sand out 1st over the next couple of weeks? If so that could be a good option too & change out to fresh chemical media 1st.

Leaving two or three inches of sand at the bottom & just covered with SW when you drain the tank, should keep it all alive. It will get sirred up a bit sloshing, so be ready for water changes & rinsing the fine filter several times a day, once set back up - Best of luck with the move !!!

 

[TerriW]

Glen, I've decided to just leave the sand and move as you suggested. I can always change it later when I'm not so stressed out! Thanks for the advice, as always.

Reefmack, definitely will use the bacterial innoculant, thanks for the advice.

I'll let everyone know how it goes in a couple of weeks!

Terri

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Good luck Terri - after my last post, I searched RS using Advanced Search Titles only & read every post here on "Moving" about 50 or so... it is a bit confusing... many suggested you could replace the sand, but just as many said not too. Still think I would try it in sections... over a couple of weeks.

Best of luck !

 

[TerriW]

Thanks for the extra effort Glen, I did the same and that's why I was questioning the best method. I think I'm just gonna leave the sand as it, try to disturb it as little as possible and hope for the best. I like your idea about changing the sand out before the move, but I manage a pet resort and we just started Spring Break (160 dogs for 10 days), so way to much going on at work for me to give the tank that much attention. I think I'll decide on rinsing or not based on how much movement happens during the move and will plan on having lots of water on hand just in case.

 

[Reefmack]

You're welcome Terri! The bacteria can only help.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I manage a pet resort and we just started Spring Break (160 dogs for 10 days

Very cool ! LOVE your avatar Doggie !!!