270g SPS tank move

[Reefanatik]

The time is getting near. I am moving my 270g sps tank 30 minutes away to a new home next week. I have to be out of my current house by March 26th per the sale contract. The move will be 30 minutes away. I’m starting this thread to document my move, what went well, what issues I have and any possible advice I can get. Below are the steps i will take to transfer my tank. i'm sure i will look at it a few more times and make some changes before the move.

1. Buy hose for external return pump- will use to possibly transfer large amounts of water during the tank move.
2. Clean all pumps before move.
3. Label all apex outlets and cords with label tape to make Apex hookup faster.
4. order replacement 90's bulkheads for return lines just in case there are any leaks when placing the tank back in service.
5. replace RO/Di filters
6. make 200 gallons of fresh RO/DI water.
7. Mix 100g of fresh saltwater.
8. pick up 300g brute container from my friend to temporarily store rock, fish and coral in living room while transferring tank and all equipment to new home.
9. Move RO/DI filters to new home and 100g container. Fill storage container with fresh 100g RO/DI water.
10. Move Apex Jr. to 300g. temp tank, move 1/2 Radion lights to temp tank, install heater, pH probe and pumps for circulation.
11. fill temporary tank with 100g fresh saltwater.
12. circulate water and monitor until it reaches display tank temperature.
13. test temp tank water and make sure alkalinity matches display tank. adjust as needed.
14. Once all parameters match display, drain approx. 100g tank water into temp tank.
15. transfer coral and rocks to temporary tank.
16. Top off temporary tank with more display water if needed.
17. catch fish and place in temporary tank. easier said then done. may need to empty tank real low to catch fish.
18. monitor temporary tank overnight.
19. install skimmer in temporary tank.
20. start to place remaining equipment in plastic containers for transfer the next day.
21. scrape the bottom of the tank to remove spiky barnacles/growth on bare bottom tank. i have noticed that they lead to detritus buildup.
22. pick up extra furniture dolly's from a friend. they will be used to move the tank to my back patio and lift.

Day 2.
1. pick up "material Lift" from heavy equipment rental in town. This will be used to slide the tank from the stand and on to the forks and lower the tank onto furniture dolly's and minimize any lifting and possible back strains. i rented this lift when i set up my tank. it was so easy to move and lift.
2. Lift forks even with top of tank stand. Plywood will be installed on forks to prevent any damage to tank.
3. lower tank onto furniture dolly's.
4. move tank and stand to truck and trailer.
5. transfer stand, tank and all equipment to new home.
6. Fill tank at new home with approx. 100g. of fresh saltwater.
7. set up 2nd apex controller with all available pumps, lights, and heater.
8. bring second 100g. water storage container to new home, make 200g. of fresh RO/DI water. Mix 100g of fresh saltwater.
9. verify temperature, and all parameters match temporary tank at home.
10. start to transfer all rocks, coral and fish from temporary tank from home to Display tank at New home/location. I will use multiple ice chest for transfer.
11. pray and keep fingers crossed that all goes smooth. i'm sure it will not go exactly as planned but this is the plan so far.

Attatched are pictures of the furniture dolly i will use to move the tank, the Material lift i will use to lower and raise the tank and the 300g temporary tank i will use to store the coral/fish during the move.

 

[Reefanatik]

This is my 280g that I’ll be transferring.

 

[UnnamedReef]

Sounds like you've thought this through and have a solid plan. If you are able to make ALL the fresh saltwater in one shot, or at least in batches at the beginning rather than throughout it will make it easier on you.

Would recommend some bubble stones for the temporary tank. You should be fine with a skimmer and circulation but extra oxygen will help with fish stress.

Having an Apex to match additional parameters helps a lot. That's exactly what I did with my latest transfer (match alk and calc beforehand) and my coral didn't miss a beat. Good luck, you've got a great plan for your transfer

 

[Reefanatik]

Sounds like you've thought this through and have a solid plan. If you are able to make ALL the fresh saltwater in one shot, or at least in batches at the beginning rather than throughout it will make it easier on you.

Would recommend some bubble stones for the temporary tank. You should be fine with a skimmer and circulation but extra oxygen will help with fish stress.

Having an Apex to match additional parameters helps a lot. That's exactly what I did with my latest transfer (match alk and calc beforehand) and my coral didn't miss a beat. Good luck, you've got a great plan for your transfer

Yeah I was planning on making 200g of fresh saltwater to start with. Then move my 2-100g rodi tanks to the new house and make another 200g of water. Better safe then sorry and have extra water made. I will get some air stones like u said, the least stress possible on fish is always good.

 

[UnnamedReef]

Can't hurt, bubble stones are cheap insurance. Good luck and great planning!

 

[jsmkmavity]

Than brute will loose a lot of water while driving no matter how careful you are. Waves from stopping/starting and cornering move more than you might think. If you dont have any other containers that are smaller and maybe taller try a test run with tap water so you can determine a safe water level. LOTS AND LOTS of tiedowns!!!

 

[UncommonSense]

1. Buy hose for external return pump- will use to possibly transfer large amounts of water during the tank move.

The vast majority of external pumps are not of the “self priming” variety, this means the pump cannot effectively purge itself of air/suck water into an air filled intake hose!

— they are typically designed to have the pump’s inlet plumbing all below the water line!

(You might struggle to get this pump to start moving any water out of a bin without starting a siphon on the intake plumbing, or bulkheading through the side/bottom of the bin if using this as a transfer pump)

4. order replacement 90's bulkheads for return lines just in case there are any leaks when placing the tank back in service.

You might want to look into just getting a full set of replacement EPMD rubber gaskets for your bulkheads, that’s really the only service item as long as the bulkheads are threaded on the nut size!



— other than that, all I can see is the compressed timeline! — you might want to move rock and livestock to the temporary brute bin a few days early, and leave them a few days after the tank is moved to ensure that the tank is silt free, up to temp, and has stable water chemistry!

 

[Reefanatik]

The vast majority of external pumps are not of the “self priming” variety, this means the pump cannot effectively purge itself of air/suck water into an air filled intake hose!

— they are typically designed to have the pump’s inlet plumbing all below the water line!

(You might struggle to get this pump to start moving any water out of a bin without starting a siphon on the intake plumbing, or bulkheading through the side/bottom of the bin if using this as a transfer pump)


You might want to look into just getting a full set of replacement EPMD rubber gaskets for your bulkheads, that’s really the only service item as long as the bulkheads are threaded on the nut size!



— other than that, all I can see is the compressed timeline! — you might want to move rock and livestock to the temporary brute bin a few days early, and leave them a few days after the tank is moved to ensure that the tank is silt free, up to temp, and has stable water chemistry!

Well today is the tank move day, and I’ve been so busy moving the rest of the house that I wasn’t able to set up the temp tank. That would have been best route. Today is going to be very stressful. Wish me luck

 

[UnnamedReef]

Good luck! Go slow and stick to the plan

 

[Reefanatik]

Quick update.

 

[jsmkmavity]

Is that the new home? Hope everything went well.

 

[Reefanatik]

Is that the new home? Hope everything went well.

That’s the old house. And still to be determined. Got everything transferred to new house. Fish look good and coral TBD in the next couple of days. Still trying to get all equipment hooked up and back to normal

 

[Reefanatik]

Gem tang

 

[W31Olds]

During the Move? Your Gem looks thin also.
@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Gem tang

I agree, the Gem looks thin, and also has some caudal, anal and pectoral fin damage (from tankmate aggression, or damage during the capture?)

 

[Reefanatik]

Not sure if he's like that from getting stuck on mp60. All my tangs are active, swimming around and fat. Could the fin damage be from getting caught on mp60? Stressed? I noticed a couple of the tangs swimming under the mp60 and I had it REAL low to blow any detritus around and stir everything up after the move.

 

[Reefanatik]

During the Move? Your Gem looks thin also.
@Jay Hemdal

Look At his eyes? They are sunken in from getting pulled against MP60. He was fat and happy before move.

 

[W31Olds]

We typically look at the area just behind the eye around the Lateral Line. Maybe if he was out of water for a while before you photographed him it could account for some of the thin appearance, and I could not tell you if a powerhead could also sort of desiccate a fish or if that's even possible. Not likely anyway. I would be concerned that they were swimming in front of a powerhead. Maybe just low oxygen from your move but sometimes a stressful event will trigger an outbreak.

 

[Reefanatik]

We typically look at the area just behind the eye around the Lateral Line. Maybe if he was out of water for a while before you photographed him it could account for some of the thin appearance, and I could not tell you if a powerhead could also sort of desiccate a fish or if that's even possible. Not likely anyway. I would be concerned that they were swimming in front of a powerhead. Maybe just low oxygen from your move but sometimes a stressful event will trigger an outbreak.

Yeah they were definitely stressed. I used air stones but it was a very difficult move with minimal help. I would most likely have lost everything if it wasn't for one friend. He was outside in a bucket for hours before I took the picture. Probably accounting for him looking thin like that. Hopefully my losses are minimal

 

[1ocean]

wow...