Can i pull this off? New tank, new fish, long distance

[Marksfish]

This may be a lot to unpack. I have several questions and have found as many pieces of information possible on various threads but would like to hear some opinions on this before I attempt it.

I am a cichlid keeper of about 14 years and recently purchased a fluval 13.5 to set up for my daughter. The tank is set up with good water and a very thin sand bed and I would like to stock it with a small clean up crew, some easy to keep corals and 2 ocellaris clowns.

Now comes the fun part. The nearest place for me to purchase everything is a 6 hour drive away. 12 hours round trip and id like to somehow pull off a miracle and come home with some healthy fish and place them in a healthy home. Some coral would be a bonus.

My thought is that people often move and successfully take their reef with them so i should do my best to take the same steps with some tweaks. I've also seen some people do a fish in cycle but I wouldn't like to do this and keep it to a mini cycle at most. I also know there are different opinions on the right way to cycle a reef tank especially with all of these new bio products.

My plan as it stands:

I have some bio media from a friends healthy tank that I will place in mine 3 days before my travel.

Once at the shop I will purchase cured liverock and some arag alive sand along with some turbostart 900. I will transport the liverock in the best way to avoid any die off.

I am still trying to figure out the best way to move the livestock. I have coolers and battery air if that turns out to be best. It will take about 6 hours to arrive home.

While the fish acclimate in a bag i will place the liverock and turbostart into the tank with the lights off...aquascape later lol. Maybe the arag alive at this time too?? Not sure what to do with the coral if any.

From there I'm hoping the tank will behave like a semi cycled tank and would appreciate any suggestions on how to make that happen. I'm sure water changes will be my friend.

I could also have a 2nd tank set up to house the livestock while I set up the main tank but I'm not sure about acclimating the fish to 2 setups in such a short time.

Maybe the answer is don't do it this way. But if it is possible, I would love some insight on the best way to do so much all at the same time and have happy fish while breaking the number 1 rule of saltwater aquariums... don't rush it!

 

[DSEKULA]

I would get the media and stock in separate trips if you can but ime its possible to do it in one.

When i transport long distances (my most local lfs is 1hr 45min) i bring a cooler air pump and heater. The heater runs off the car outlet and pump is battery. I test the gear ahead of time to make sure its holding the correct temp for water volume etc and call the lfs ahead to see the temp of their systems. Usually its close to what i keep anyway but always nice to check. I then roll up to the store with my cooler all set. I made an eggcrate frag rack to sit in there too if needed. When im done purchasing assuming the water temp is within a half degree or so i open the bags right there in the parking lot and place the fish or coral in my cooler if the temp is different than expected i float them in the cooler. Either way at this point the heater gets set to my dt or qt temp so they will slowly adjust on the ride home. Usually i dont have a 6hr trip like you but i have gotten stuck in traffic for 4 hours and honestly this was my piece of mind and i lost nothing. I always leave the lid cracked for gas exchange and will glance over at the digital thermometer if stopped at a red light etc. If its a long trip and im floating bags i have been known to stop at a rest area to transfer to the cooler directly after an hour or so.

For the rocks i would use a similar method espically if your doing a direct transfer at the same time as adding fish. The rock can generally take fluctuation in temp a bit easier but id at least transport in water in a styrofoam cooler for the cost of a cooler its worth it imo.
Good luck!!

 

[Marksfish]

Thanks for that info! I didn't think of a portable heater but will be sure to pick one up. I'll look into an egg crate rack too. Appreciate it !

 

[Funston07]

I mean fish are just shipped overnight to ya so technically they are being transported with absolutely nothing for about 12-18hrs just fine

 

[LBReefer]

I think 2 clownfish in a 13.5 gallon tank is going to be your bigger problem. You can probably find a biocube on Craigslist for less than $150. You will have an appropriately sized tank and all in one filtration.

Depending on your resources, buying fish online may be a better move.

 

[Alaeriel]

I'd definitely suggest a larger tank and longer cycle. Best of luck with whichever you choose.

 

[Marksfish]

I would get the media and stock in separate trips if you can but ime its possible to do it in one.

When i transport long distances (my most local lfs is 1hr 45min) i bring a cooler air pump and heater. The heater runs off the car outlet and pump is battery. I test the gear ahead of time to make sure its holding the correct temp for water volume etc and call the lfs ahead to see the temp of their systems. Usually its close to what i keep anyway but always nice to check. I then roll up to the store with my cooler all set. I made an eggcrate frag rack to sit in there too if needed. When im done purchasing assuming the water temp is within a half degree or so i open the bags right there in the parking lot and place the fish or coral in my cooler if the temp is different than expected i float them in the cooler. Either way at this point the heater gets set to my dt or qt temp so they will slowly adjust on the ride home. Usually i dont have a 6hr trip like you but i have gotten stuck in traffic for 4 hours and honestly this was my piece of mind and i lost nothing. I always leave the lid cracked for gas exchange and will glance over at the digital thermometer if stopped at a red light etc. If its a long trip and im floating bags i have been known to stop at a rest area to transfer to the cooler directly after an hour or so.

For the rocks i would use a similar method espically if your doing a direct transfer at the same time as adding fish. The rock can generally take fluctuation in temp a bit easier but id at least transport in water in a styrofoam cooler for the cost of a cooler its worth it imo.
Good luck!!

Just curious... what do you use for a heater in the car? I assume a regular heater would require too much power? I also have a deep cycle battery i could try. Thanks again.

 

[Bob Wiley]

I transported 3 fish and an eel while moving from Chicago to St. Louis (6 hours). I put the rock in a bucket filled with just enough tank water to cover all of the rock. Drained out almost all of the rest of the tank down enough so that the water wouldn't slosh out while driving and making turns. Yes I left the fish in this shallow water. Then I threw an airline in there hooked up to power inverter in the car so the water could be aerated. I probably had a heater in there too. This was 15 years ago, so I don't remember all the details. It was before youtube and good fish forums. I was just winging it with what I thought would work. And it did. Everything survived the trip and lived for another couple of years until we tore the tank down and donated them to an LFS here.

With the considerable amount of transporting you are going to have to do (or already did) I would definitely recommend having a QT tank set up to put your new babies in when you get home. You are not going to want to have spent all that time and money only to drop in a sick fish or trojan hermit crab into your DT that wipes out all of your livestock.

2 clowns in your tank will be fine.