Moving a reef tank...

fishbait · #1 02-13-2007, 02:33 AM

Hello, I came across this great deal for a complete 72 gallon reeftank setup from a guy who no longer has time to keep his tank running. I am new to this, and though I realize this is going to be a bit of work, I want to start this off on the best foot possible and try to minimize the screwing around that I imagine can be associated with moving someone else's setup.

Do any of you have experience moving tanks and getting them running again? I haven't seen what he has inside it yet, and if its not really what we want, our other option is to try to give the LR and fish away and start clean with the stuff that we want to see in there.

As far as I know so far, it is a 72 gallon tank w/stand, lighting, sump, overflow, skimmer & approx 100 lbs of live rock with a few clown fish.

I would appreciate any and all suggestions/advice etc.

Thanks!

niloc16 · #2 02-13-2007, 02:53 AM

i would suggest doing alot of research before you jump into it too quickly.

Tangman · #3 02-13-2007, 04:03 AM

First , where are you located ?
second , have you already bought this set up ? and if you have Don't throw out or give away the live rock it is the MOST valuable part of getting a established complete system.
And as niloc16 said do some research first !
I suggest a book " THE REEF AQUARIUM " volume three by J. Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung.
And also welcome to the reef keeping hobby

fishbait · #4 02-13-2007, 04:51 AM

I'm in Abbotsford... the tank we're interested in is in Surrey...

No, we have not bought anything yet, and yes we have been researching the subject for the few weeks or so (not to mention saving for a year or so =).

I'm especially interested if any of you have experience moving tanks, ie how much of the original water to keep, things like that. Was there anything you've done in the past that worked really well, or conversely which worked really bad that you wouldn't do again??

Thanks!

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #5 02-13-2007, 05:08 AM

Get lots of buckets or a few barrels to save at least 50% of the old water. You want the tank to experience a large water change, not a total water change which would stress out everything. Transport the live rock in containers of water to keep them from drying out & causing a long cycle. In the winter, make sure you keep everything warm or you will temperature shock them. Does it come with corals or fish?, because you'll have to bag those carefully or transport them in sealed buckets. Do not rush when you are doing the tank transport. Fish & corals can stay in bags or buckets for quite a while as long as you keep them heated & add circulation in the fish bucket when you get home. Make sure the tank is set up properly & test the plumbing for water tightness before dumping in any livestock or it'll be a PITA to catch up everything again.

Be prepared for the weight. Everything will be heavier than you originally thought. Good luck. Oh yeah, having extra tarps in the car & extra utility towels is a good idea.

Anthony

marie · #6 02-13-2007, 05:09 AM

When I've moved my tanks, I've put the water into garbage bags (stops the water from sloshing out of the can)and inside trash cans. The rock went into separate tubs and covered with damp tea towells to keep from drying out and the animals went into plastic bags and placed in a styrofoam cooler.

The only thing of real concern is if there is sand, if it has a deep sand bed you may want to replace it with new stuff. If the sand isn't very deep you could leave it in the tank and transport as is, providing it doesn't make the tank too heavy

fishbait · #7 02-13-2007, 05:21 AM

again - thanks for the input... but a further question about the sand.
How much is "deep" (>6inches)... and why start new with this much?

Also, I 've read different oppinions about how fast to add the LR after the move... one author says to go slow and add the sand after a few days and the rock in a week, another basically says... "go for it"...(same day once the water is in and the temp/PH are within limits.
If the LR transports well, is there any way to really screw it up by adding it to the tank too early?

marie · #8 02-13-2007, 05:31 AM

I added everything back in fairly quickly after the tank is put back together. Put the rock in, then the water. Hook up the powerheads and heater and let it run for a little while before adding the animals ( you should check ammonia levels before adding them just in case).

Tha sand bed, if it is deep 4" or more can cause big problems if disturbed releasing nasties into the water and if it is that deep, chances are it will be way to heavy to carry the tank if the sand is left in there.

You don't have to add any sand back in if you don't want to and the tank may already be bare bottom, saving you a whole bunch of trouble

#9 02-13-2007, 05:26 PM

I moved an established tank of this size about 8 mos ago (in the summer)
The trick with the deep sand bed is to remove it and put it in a pail with holes in the bottom, so it moves wet, but not standing in water. Before removing it from the tank, remove all the water you want to save ( I tried to save most of it) and then stir up the sand bed really well, it will stink and be
black and murky, now siphon off the sludge as much as you can and get rid of it. Now load up the sand into the pail with the drainage holes, and its ready to add back to the new setup. I didn't get any cycling after moving, and lost no livestock. I did do fairly frequent water changes for the first while
and tested water alot. The live rock I just transported in styrofoam boxed with wet newpaper over top. I guess the big concern will be keeping the temperature warm while transporting. Good luck and hope this helps. Karen

danny zubot · #10 02-13-2007, 06:42 PM

I just moved my 65 gallon system a couple of months ago. Logistically you want to make sure you have plenty of buckets or water tight containers for everything. I used 5 gallon salt buckets for everything, fish, live rock, corals and water. I filled each bucket with a few rocks then added water. I only filled them 3/4 to the top so that they weren't too heavy. Fish went into a few different buckets, and corals in a few other buckets, all with lids. I managed to salvage about 65% of my original water this way.

As far as the sand bed goes, I've always cleaned mine befor re-using it. There are a ton of nasties laying at the bottom of a sand bed that will surely spike the levels once the system is setup. I used tap water, and rinsed it until the water was no longer brown.

I think the most important tip in moving a tank is to make sure that you have plenty of salt water waiting at your place for when you start to set up the system. You never really know how much water you will loose. You may find that some of the water is too dirty by the time you get home to put back into the tank. I would recommend having at least 50 gallons for the tank you are buying.

Good luck, and welcome to Canreef!