Moving help and tips

[BlueWorldAquatic]

Originally Posted by fishytime

have a few coolers or rubbermaid tubs ready....if you have a spare powerhead and heater for one or two of them, that is best.....do things as quickly as you can and have the tank be the only thing you move in that trip.....bag the corals if you can, this way if something happens to one of them, it doesnt effect all of them.....siphon as much water as you can carry into on of the coolers/bins and put the power head and heater in with your fish....float the corals in there until you are ready to roll.......siphon the rest of the water out into another cooler/bin (s) and put your rock in those (with a heater and powerhead if you can).....do not re-use the sand unless you plan on cleaning it thouroughly.....have some fresh salt/water made and ready just in case you either need to top off or need to do a large water change if something goes wrong....

well said.

also using something like stability or prodibio will help keep the bacterias in check

[Snaz]

If the tank was drained down to the sand would it still be too heavy to move then to a sheet of plywood and then move to new home with sand in place? I did this with my 12 gallon twice with no losses. The only trick is not to disturb the sand bed while emptying or refilling.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by Snaz

If the tank was drained down to the sand would it still be too heavy to move then to a sheet of plywood and then move to new home with sand in place? I did this with my 12 gallon twice with no losses. The only trick is not to disturb the sand bed while emptying or refilling.

why risk it to save $20?....I only say this cuz I lost my whole tank due to moving a sandbed

[Snaz]

Originally Posted by fishytime

why risk it to save $20?....I only say this cuz I lost my whole tank due to moving a sandbed

A fat sandbed full of anaerobic bacteria is worth a lot more than $20... some would say it is priceless.

When you moved yours was it disturbed? If any oxygen or oxygen rich water hits then yes it will take a nasty dive. I left just enough water in to cover the sand bed and made sure not to disturb it in any way.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by Snaz

A fat sandbed full of anaerobic bacteria is worth a lot more than $20... some would say it is priceless.

When you moved yours was it disturbed? If any oxygen or oxygen rich water hits then yes it will take a nasty dive. I left just enough water in to cover the sand bed and made sure not to disturb it in any way.

just the water moving back and forth when driving could be enough to disturb the sandbed.....I think moving a sandbed is like playing "Russian roulette" with your tank.....while you may be right about the fact that the beneficial life in a sandbed has some value, with a couple scoops of the old sandbed, a new sandbed will develop that same value with time.....my motto is "if it cant happen, then it wont happen"

[Nate]

I move fish tanks for a living, and leave the sandbed if it is a tank I maintain and know that the sandbed is cleaned regularly and lacks anaerobic areas. You always go through a mini cycle when moving a tank.