Adopting a used SW tank

[kwirky]

My tank moves are most successful when I prepare enough water ahead of time for a 100% change at the new house. Myself, I use a duplicate aquarium, but you can also use rubbermaid bins. Duplicate the water for salinity and alkalinity, have it aerating at least 24 hours before-hand.

The reason I don't move the water is that it's going to get real dirty when you pull all the rock out. VERY dirty. There's no point moving this nitrate ridden water, really. Plus I swish the rocks real well in the old water as I'm pulling them out, cleaning them as well as I can. It's a great opportunity you don't want to lose out on

The "live" sand's not worth the trouble of keeping. When you stir it up it's going to explode. Try not to stir up the sand when you're moving everything. When you move your rock, go bare bottom for a while until your rock's been re-cycled. Once it's cycled you can add sand back in if you want. But this way the die-off you'll get from moving the rock won't mix in with any sand and you can just siphon it out.