Moving need suggestions

[aquaman3680]

Ok so the house is up on the market and I have to start finding a way to move he tank with the least stress on the animals. Any suggestions on moving would be great. I have fish rock and corals to move.

Let me know

Matt

[blue_eyes53813]

hmmm I feel sorry for ya.. Moving tanks can be a pain... Get alot of rubbermaid totes, bags for fish, buckets with lids, tupperwear anything with a good seal.. When I moved (twice) I put corals in the same containers, fish in the same containers, hermits and snails ( hard to find critters) in the same container, rocks in buckets with wet newspaper over it ... finding containers to hold 90 gallons of water is gonna be hard. Pumped water into containers using a syphon hose.. I got out as much water as possible so the bottom doesnt crack... Left the sand in there and moved it all,,,, Like packing for a vacation.. yeah right.. Get as many buddies as possible to haul livestock/buckets.... Got the tank moved and add in the reverse..I put plastic (store bags) over the sand so the sand
wouldnt get all mixed up when adding water.. You can also get a plastic bowl and dump water into the bowl in the tank because it will float and wont stir the sand. Hope that helps.

[Woodstock]

How far are you moving? Naturally, the move will be easier if it occurs during the mild fall temps; winter will create another set of heating issues.

Have enough newly made salt water ready at the new location to fill the tank; bag up all fish and unattached corals just as you would to ship them; Use buckets to move the live rock... keep it submerged in water if possible to eliminate die off. use of a battery operated airstone or a power head for circulation if traveling long distance; transport the sand in several buckets/containers (to eliminate weight AND to prevent suffocating the sand by stacking it too deeply in one container). Remember, the nitrifying bacteria are attached to surfaces (rock,sand, etc) so keeping the water is not necessary.

Get many, many towels!!

• bag unattached corals
• remove enough tank water to bag fish (get it now before it gets stirred up and full of mulm)
• remove rocks w/enough water to cover if possible
• remove/bag fish
• remove sand

At new location:

• add water
• add sand
• add rock
• add corals
• add fish

[aquaman3680]

I am moving all the way from CA to Overland Park KS. 2day trip.should i do with them in the hotel? My parents have an even bigger project of moving a 210. At the new house we will be able to let the tanks cycle as we have many extra tanks. i just need them to get there with the least deaths. and we will probably be moving november or december in a cargo van
thanks for the info

[blue_eyes53813]

Oh well that changes everything...

[Gibeon]

Hmmm....

Shipping comes to mind. Would it be possible for someone to stay behind while tanks are set up in KS, and then ship the fish via FedEx/UPS next day air to the new house?

[aquaman3680]

yeah it is but i have had whole shipments, I work at a fish store, come in dead because of fedex

[Woodstock]

This method has worked very well for me several times while traveling with zero losses...
Keep the fish & corals in seperate large igloo coolers (one for the fish, one for the corals) filled 1/3 - 1/2 way (no baggies). You may have to use juice glasses or something else to keep stinging corals away from other corals. Get 2 air pumps with airstones (or one large with two outlets), two thermometers, and two heaters. The corals/fish should be fine in the closed coolers while driving, but when you stay overnight, bring the coolers into the motel and plug in the air pumps and heaters.

[burning2nd]

never had it happen yet, but my plan, is

50% water bucketed (sealed home depot's)

other half in buckets with water and a few with rocks in the water as well.

all the inhabs in a bucket or bag.

little big of water and sand in tank (can be very heavy)

to floor, stand moved,
from floor to stand and

(like my arch enemy book clinton's says)

"installation is reversve order of removal."

soon a year or 2 ill be moveing my tank.

by then it should be very establisted. witch will suck

[sasquatch]

Well Mat looks like the trip from a horror movie. With the amount of dollars youve got tied up there I would consider borrowing/renting a van, get a couple of friends and do a ROAD TRIP! I think you can rent converters to run heaters and pumps and those emergency silver blankets are pretty cheap. You could turn this into a great thread The 90 Gallon Road Trip, young guy and his tank, truck on dude!!!

[JasonL]

I have come to the conclusion that moving a tank sucks. I suggest that you don’t move and that way you don’t have to move your tank…problem fixed . If it were only that easy.Woodstocks info sounds to me like the best there is. Good luck.

[music man]

Best Buy sells a 1000w inverter you can hook up in any car/truck for about 150.00, then pet-co or petsmart on a fish shipment day will be happy to give you as many heavy duty insulated shippers with lids and boxes as you can fit in a car/truck I get mine there FREE by the dozen, they just throw them away. the rest is up to you, I moved 1500 miles in feb, with 100% survival that way.

[Travelin Reef]

Moved my 125 from florida to new jersey--2 times. ( thats another story!)
I did it this way with 0 loss. Find a local lfs you trust to hold every thing.
Fish, coral, ( dump the sand if they will not hold it for you, mine would not
as they are bb only) Move the hardware. I sold my 125 for $100 bought a new one for $400 at new location too dificult to move tanks that long and would cost more than a new one to crate properly. when i got to new location bought new tank, set up everything. When all is cycled start shipping your livestock little at a time. Just like buying on line.

I was able to negotiate good pricing as everything i had came from my lfs and i let him know i would continue to buy from them.

when you have $3-$5-$10 thousand invested, a few hundred to move isn't that much. less stress, and you get to set up without rushing it and with all of your knowledge you can do it even better this time around.

I sold some things that i did not really need, bought a better tank than the original with out all those overflow gadgets, built a special base so i could stand and reach the tank without a laddar and so it was higher an more pleasing to the eye, stuff like that. give it some thought in my opinion it is the only sane way to do it.

[Charlie97L]

man i'm going to 2nd what the above states.

that's a far move. i'm facing one of those in a few years, and my plan is this.

sell everything you absolutely can't replace. that treasured clam, really great fish, rare coral morph, whatever. sell everything else to local guys, and sock the money in a dedicated account to restock with when you arive. sell the tank, the stand, keep all the easy to move equipment, custom sump, etc. ship or transport the remaining specimens to either a great local LFS, or a local reefer in the new area club that has the ability and resources to handle them. most local clubs will be able to immediately tell you who those guys are. obviously this part is easier with coral/clams, i'd probably stick my fish with the LFS. you (obviously) keep as much or as little livestock as you want. pesonally, i'd suffer the expense of transporting the live rock to minimize die-off, and because it's ridiculously expensive and i wouldn't want to buy it again.

get a new tank locally, set it up, and replace everything. if you throw yourself at the mercy of the local reef club, likely they'll hook you up with some free/cheap livestock to get you started on your new setup.

this is, obviously, just my opinion, but with that monster trip, if you focus all your efforts on a smaller number of little guys, i think you're likely to have fewer losses. in my mind, it'd be better to take your favorite 2 fish, and baby them the whole way, than take all 15 (or whatever) and lose the 2 favorites because your attention was stretched too thin.

also, if transporting by car, beware the desert! i know this kind of sucks, but if you think about it, you're putting the inhabitants of your reef and their well being ahead of wanting to keep everything exactly as it is, and in my opinion, that's the core attitude of keeping a reef.

[aquaman3680]

What I am going to do is exactly what woodstock said. But when we buy the house there we will set up a tank and have a 60 gallon, 2x20, 10's several 2.5s and store fish and corals in these it would be a mess for awhile though i am fine with that. I will have time to let my 90 cycle and add stuff slowly.

Good idea or no?