Long Distance Move 3500km!!! Help me plan

ratkomkd · Feb 3, 2021

Hey reefers!!! I'll be moving in less than two months so I would like to make a plan for moving my 4 months old Nuvo Fusion 20G tank.
I have 4 fish, 12 corals, 5 cleaning crew, and 1 fire shrimp.
Here I found some great tips on the forum but I need a little bit more information!
I will be traveling about 3500km for almost 3-4 days until the point where I can set up the aquarium again.

Here is my initial plan:
I'll stop feeding the night before leaving and take apart the aquarium.
I'll use some of the tank water and some fresh water in buckets or rectangle containers. I don't know if I should split the fish from the rock. I was advised to leave at least one rock in the bucket where is the fish so that the bacteria can work.
In the rest of the buckets will be the other rocks with corals, and one more bucket with only the cleaning crew and the fire shrimp.
I will have to find an inverter or UPS (open for recommendations) cause I would like to have the 3 heaters on in the buckets. Also, I will have one air pump and split it into 3 channels so I can create oxygen exchange and have the lid a little bit open. Overnight I'll have the buckets with me in the hotel.
I'll have premixed water and RODI water just in case.

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS I HAVE ARE:
Do I separate the rocks from the bucket with fish or leave one?
Do I leave the filters in the bucket where are the rocks or fish? (chemi pure,Marinepure gems)
Do I need to dose prime or something else?
How about light for the corals and food for the fish?
Do I have to cycle the tank one I want to move the livestock back? (I feel dumb for this question

)

PBnJOnWheat · Feb 3, 2021

ratkomkd said:
Hey reefers!!! I'll be moving in less than two months so I would like to make a plan for moving my 4 months old Nuvo Fusion 20G tank.
I have 4 fish, 12 corals, 5 cleaning crew, and 1 fire shrimp.
Here I found some great tips on the forum but I need a little bit more information!
I will be traveling about 3500km for almost 3-4 days until the point where I can set up the aquarium again.

Here is my initial plan:
I'll stop feeding the night before leaving and take apart the aquarium.
I'll use some of the tank water and some fresh water in buckets or rectangle containers. I don't know if I should split the fish from the rock. I was advised to leave at least one rock in the bucket where is the fish so that the bacteria can work.
In the rest of the buckets will be the other rocks with corals, and one more bucket with only the cleaning crew and the fire shrimp.
I will have to find an inverter or UPS (open for recommendations) cause I would like to have the 3 heaters on in the buckets. Also, I will have one air pump and split it into 3 channels so I can create oxygen exchange and have the lid a little bit open. Overnight I'll have the buckets with me in the hotel.
I'll have premixed water and RODI water just in case.

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS I HAVE ARE:
Do I separate the rocks from the bucket with fish or leave one?
Do I leave the filters in the bucket where are the rocks or fish? (chemi pure,Marinepure gems)
Do I need to dose prime or something else?
How about light for the corals and food for the fish?
Do I have to cycle the tank one I want to move the livestock back? (I feel dumb for this question )

That’s tough, I would put a rock with the fish if you can keep the rock to one side or from sliding because it could easily mush a fish and then ammonia spike and death oof!!!

I’m not sure about the media filters. I guess you can leave them I don’t see how they would harm anything, potentially help

You could dose MB7 or Dr.Tims bacteria if you’re worried!

the corals will be fine for 3-4 days but I’d be slow to turn lights back on you don’t want to bleach them. If you have a flex arm you could try that over a circle of buckets with the corals in them. Just an idea.

if your fish are healthy they can survive a couple days without food.

you shouldn’t hve to recycled the tank but I wouldn’t feed extra or anything the first couple days.

My worries would be the water temperature. You can also put some of the water from other buckets into the ones with fish or move them around. Does increase the fish stress BUT your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels would be significantly less. I am assuming you are driving??

ratkomkd · Feb 3, 2021

PBnJOnWheat said:
That’s tough, I would put a rock with the fish if you can keep the rock to one side or from sliding because it could easily mush a fish and then ammonia spike and death oof!!!

I’m not sure about the media filters. I guess you can leave them I don’t see how they would harm anything, potentially help

You could dose MB7 or Dr.Tims bacteria if you’re worried!

the corals will be fine for 3-4 days but I’d be slow to turn lights back on you don’t want to bleach them. If you have a flex arm you could try that over a circle of buckets with the corals in them. Just an idea.

if your fish are healthy they can survive a couple days without food.

you shouldn’t hve to recycled the tank but I wouldn’t feed extra or anything the first couple days.

My worries would be the water temperature. You can also put some of the water from other buckets into the ones with fish or move them around. Does increase the fish stress BUT your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels would be significantly less. I am assuming you are driving??

Yes, I will be driving the whole setup will be at the back (still in the cabin behind me

) of the truck F-150. I believe I'll keep the temperature and for the light, I was thinking top use it while in the hotel. But that will mess up their schedule.

PBnJOnWheat · Feb 3, 2021

ratkomkd said:
Yes, I will be driving the whole setup will be at the back (still in the cabin behind me ) of the truck F-150. I believe I'll keep the temperature and for the light, I was thinking top use it while in the hotel. But that will mess up their schedule.

Yeah that’s tricky man... hmmmm I wouldn’t turn it on simply because like you said their schedule would be messed up. I’ve blacked my tank out for 3-4 days and everything was fine. I tried to feed my fish but they were all hiding/“asleep” so they didn’t really get any food. They all survived, corals included. The lighting schedule will already be out of whack also. You could turn it on but I’d turn it down or something so they get some light maybe? Idk if it’s better to just no light, or random light what they would prefer.

ratkomkd · Feb 3, 2021

PBnJOnWheat said:
Yeah that’s tricky man... hmmmm I wouldn’t turn it on simply because like you said their schedule would be messed up. I’ve blacked my tank out for 3-4 days and everything was fine. I tried to feed my fish but they were all hiding/“asleep” so they didn’t really get any food. They all survived, corals included. The lighting schedule will already be out of whack also. You could turn it on but I’d turn it down or something so they get some light maybe? Idk if it’s better to just no light, or random light what they would prefer.

I'm also thinking of where ever I'll be putting them either the bucket or big bin to be clear so they don't have 0 light and so I can follow them. That would be food-safe as well.

PBnJOnWheat · Feb 3, 2021

ratkomkd said:
I'm also thinking of where ever I'll be putting them either the bucket or big bin to be clear so they don't have 0 light and so I can follow them. That would be food-safe as well.

Home Depot buckets never failed me lol. I named mine too, Bernard (left) and Gerald (right).

Acros · Feb 3, 2021

You might want to get a battery supply. A generator will pollute the air you breath and the air pumped into the buckets. Of course, glass heater won’t work with rocks.

Following this thread as I have possible move coming up in August.

ratkomkd · Feb 16, 2021

Here is the plan so far. Got two coolers and I drilled them so I can run the cord for the heaters and the air pump. I got inverter installed and I tested the power.
ill divide few rocks and few fish in each. To prevent smashing the fish all put each in a box drilled with bunch of holes so they don’t come out.
What do you think so far ?
ill will aim to make it in two days