moving

[crxman]

ok we are moving 6.3 miles away to a new place. the movers are movin us tuesday and im payin a guy that helps manetane tanks to help me move the tanks $65 a hour, so i need to do all i can by myself before he gets here at 9am. ive never moved a tank before so i have no idea what really to do. i know to put all the water in buckets, put the fish in buckets with a quarter full of water and put the corals in the buckets and the rock. now im not sure what fish to put together, what to do with the 90lbs of sand, and how much rock to put together and if i should put all the water back in the tank or only put like 75% in and put fresh water in?

 

[mmkeeper]

I would put the fish in an ice chest.

 

[Allenfamily]

I would bag the fish, and then put them in an ice chest, it's going to be hard to acclimate them into the tank after you move if they're not in bags.

 

[Craiz]

Expect it to take longer than you think it will. This is mostly because the worst thing you can do is try to rush it. Has the guy you're paying to help moved any tanks?

Bagging and putting fish into an ice chest are good tips. I used some styrofoam boxes that I saved from some online livestock orders. I put all the coral attached to live rock into buckets and then drip acclimated them in the buckets.

I've moved two tanks; a 72g as part of moving to a new house and a 210g (fully stocked) that I bought and moved from someone else's house. My first tank move attempt was with the 72g. I was able to make arrangements with the previous owners of my new house who allowed me to move the tank in before they were completely moved out. This gave me a chance to deal with the tank without all the other pressures of a general house move at the same time. If this is possible I would highly recommend it.

At the time, the 210g tank move was like a crazy nightmare. It took forever. We filled up a mid-sized u-haul truck with rubbermaid tubs of water/livestock and equipment. It went well though, we only lost a single shrimp.

Good luck with your move.

 

[jmp21677]

Try to pay the guy for the Job and not per hour. This will help with not rushing things. You will be glad you did this

 

[crxman]

he will only do it by the hour and im gona do as much as I can by myself before he gets there

 

[treehugger]

Lucky for you it's not that far of a move. I just moved my 120 fully fully stocked from northern california to seattle. Everything was broken down for 46hours before I got it back together and I only lost a couple of fish and a bubble coral that got crushed by a large acan colony. Bag everything and put them in coolers. I actually filled the coolers with water from the tank once the bagged corals were in there so that there was a larger water volume to maintain the temp longer. Take the remaining liverock and give it a quick dip rinse to remove as much detritus as you can. As long as there are no corals on the liverock you could throw it in a cooler and just put some wet newspaper on it. I'd syphon as much water out as you can and save it before you disturb the sandbed. You're not going to want to use the water that's all nasty once the sand is disturbed. I also used a filter sock to filter the water as I bottled it up. Premix some saltwater so you have it on hand. I rinsed the liverock one more time in a 5 gallon bucket of fresh saltwater before I put it back in the tank. Take your time and try to keep things as warm as you can and acclimate them slowly back into the setup once it's back together. Good luck. Drop me a pm if you have some specific questions.

 

[roscoe]

How big is this tank that you are trying to move? JMO I would NOT pay the guy by the hour like stated b4 it will take longer than what you plan for. That can add up real quick unless you are filthy rich. Just bag up your fish and corals throw them in a styro or cooler keep them in a room some where that is relatively warm to keep the temp from dropping to quick) drain the tank (I would try to keep 50% of the water if possible) now move your tank to your new place. Fill it up a little more than half way(So when you bring your live stock to your new place you can drip acclimate your live stock with the fresh salt water) with freshly made saltwater then go back and pick up your live stock acclimate and toss your live stock into your tank. This is what I did on my 120 (don't have ait anymore) and it was a complete succcess no losses at all. Hope that helps.

 

[returnofsid]

I would also recommend NOT paying someone by the hour. Do a little research and I think you'll find that it's something you can handle by yourself...that is unless a physical handicap keeps you from being able to. I'd bag the fish separately....each fish to it's own bag. I'd also put your live rock in coolers or a plastic garbage can...NEW ONE, with tank water. Any corals that are attached to rocks should be placed in a separate container and try to place styrofoam between the rocks to keep them from rocking and rolling, which could break corals. Any frags that aren't attached could also be bagged.

 

[crxman]

well its a 75gal and my wife had a c-section 5 weeks ago so she cant lift anything heavy and i have my 75gal reef and a empty 90gal tank i got for free that i need help moving cuz were on the 2nd floor

 

[roscoe]

I'm sure a neighbor or friend can help you with them after all it is only 6.3 miles away heck hire a kid for a couple of hrs for like $100 bucks or something that will be far cheaper than paying the other guy $65/hr and who knows how long he will could take could be 1hr or 10hrs. Think about it $650 bucks can get you some nice stuff for your tank.