Moving 3 tanks from Florida to Maryland

[dashulis]

Hi everyone! We are Eugene and Dasha. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to create our built threads yet, but hopefully with this thread we’ll be able to achieve that too…

My husband and I have 3 tanks set up at the moment, my husband’s first tank, a Reefer Max C 250 (65gal), my old Reefer Max E 170 (45gal with 15gal sump) , and a Reefer 350 XL (70+ gal with 20gal sump).

Within a months we have to move to Maryland from Florida and unfortunately our time frame for the tanks move will be very limited, but we’re hoping to make everything work as smoothly as possible!

We’ve read several threads on moving and we’ve went through tank upgrades in the past, so we have a pretty good idea of how to do this, but I’m sure there are way more experienced users here who can give us some additional tips or insights on what do do.

So far this is our plan:
1. Put all fish and most corals in separate plastic bags.
- Upon arrival, fish will be placed in a QT tank without sand or rock, some fish will be separated using acclimation boxes so there’s no fighting.
- With corals we still haven’t made the decision on transporting/shipping. We’re thinking of asking our Florida LFS to keep them for a few days and then overnight them to us once the tanks are set up, or connecting with an LFS in Maryland to overnight them there first and then pick them up after setting everything up. This is our biggest challenge right now and I hope we can get some suggestions to make the best decision here! Please help!
2. All the rock will be placed into some containers with water from tanks. Most likely they will be 10gal buckets filled half way to keep the rock in water and avoid spilling during the drive.
3. We won’t be using our current sand for several reasons:
- I have some red algae or cyano in it (haven’t been able to identify yet) in my big tank.
- We’ve read that sand holds a lot of bacteria that can be harmful if the substrate is disturbed.
- Our smaller tank doesn’t have any substrate atm and it’s doing great, so we might go with no sand at all or buy new sand and rinse it following this article. Although even after following all the instructions, I still have dirty sand

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

4. All tanks and equipment will be thoroughly scraped, cleaned with vinegar and moved into the new place by us driving it. Please keep in mind, the drive is around 17h + installation.
5. We’ll try to keep as much of current water as possible, however I’m pretty sure we won’t even have the half of it, so at least a 50% water change will be required.

I’ll add pictures of our current setups for each tank tomorrow. So far we haven’t tried putting all our corals together in one tank because in one tank certain species have been doing better than others and we certainly haven’t had the opportunity to figure out the best scape to separate species that could fight each other.

Looking forward to your comments and suggestions in the meantime!
Happy reefing to all!

 

[KrisReef]

We need 1picture of each tank and sump, then we need to know what coral(s) & fish are in which tanks,
How long have you had each tank wet,
How often do you change water, and/or are you using additives or calcium reactors or phosphate control, basically your parameter management scheme and with those reveals we can guide you on the wisdom, pitfalls, and potential methods and mistakes that we have experienced so that we can have a useful discussion vs a thread filled with guesses, misunderstandings, and just plain wrong answers that will not make sense until afterwards when you have experienced the joy or tragedy that you experience when you’re done.

If you look at all of the questions I asked you about and answer them then you will just be scratching the surface of possible due to this undertaking and the multiple variables that impact a final outcome.
If you’re moving a tank filled with damsels or a tank with one crazy valuable =expensive, and valuable also =beloved fish are just 1 of the multiple variables, I hope you understand that moving some fish and some tanks is easy if you know how or have help along side to guide your adventure.

It is not easy, and I have learned how to rinse sand along the way and it takes time to break down and reassemble a live ecosystem successfully. Bagging and packing is slow but reassembling after a 17 hour drive is a marathon effort for 1 tank and you are taking tanks and a household in the same weekend? What could go wrong if you crack a tank on the way?
Sometimes it is better to sell everything and buy new when you get situated at the next place. But all this is so far is cautious guess work from my limited perspective on what you have now and how are you planning to accomplish this task
So tell us more and snap some pictures before you clean the glass or the sump and then people can see what you have going now and give you advice about how to move your stuff in the best possible way.

I m not going to come help lift anything, I m going back into the witness protection program where I feel safe!

Best GIF-wishes for your coral & fishes.

 

[Coastal Aquatics]

Hi everyone! We are Eugene and Dasha. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to create our built threads yet, but hopefully with this thread we’ll be able to achieve that too…

My husband and I have 3 tanks set up at the moment, my husband’s first tank, a Reefer Max C 250 (65gal), my old Reefer Max E 170 (45gal with 15gal sump) , and a Reefer 350 XL (70+ gal with 20gal sump).

Within a months we have to move to Maryland from Florida and unfortunately our time frame for the tanks move will be very limited, but we’re hoping to make everything work as smoothly as possible!

We’ve read several threads on moving and we’ve went through tank upgrades in the past, so we have a pretty good idea of how to do this, but I’m sure there are way more experienced users here who can give us some additional tips or insights on what do do.

So far this is our plan:
1. Put all fish and most corals in separate plastic bags.
- Upon arrival, fish will be placed in a QT tank without sand or rock, some fish will be separated using acclimation boxes so there’s no fighting.
- With corals we still haven’t made the decision on transporting/shipping. We’re thinking of asking our Florida LFS to keep them for a few days and then overnight them to us once the tanks are set up, or connecting with an LFS in Maryland to overnight them there first and then pick them up after setting everything up. This is our biggest challenge right now and I hope we can get some suggestions to make the best decision here! Please help!
2. All the rock will be placed into some containers with water from tanks. Most likely they will be 10gal buckets filled half way to keep the rock in water and avoid spilling during the drive.
3. We won’t be using our current sand for several reasons:
- I have some red algae or cyano in it (haven’t been able to identify yet) in my big tank.
- We’ve read that sand holds a lot of bacteria that can be harmful if the substrate is disturbed.
- Our smaller tank doesn’t have any substrate atm and it’s doing great, so we might go with no sand at all or buy new sand and rinse it following this article. Although even after following all the instructions, I still have dirty sand

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

4. All tanks and equipment will be thoroughly scraped, cleaned with vinegar and moved into the new place by us driving it. Please keep in mind, the drive is around 17h + installation.
5. We’ll try to keep as much of current water as possible, however I’m pretty sure we won’t even have the half of it, so at least a 50% water change will be required.

I’ll add pictures of our current setups for each tank tomorrow. So far we haven’t tried putting all our corals together in one tank because in one tank certain species have been doing better than others and we certainly haven’t had the opportunity to figure out the best scape to separate species that could fight each other.

Looking forward to your comments and suggestions in the meantime!
Happy reefing to all!

I’ve transported koi from PA down to Beaufort, SC. The key to keeping the fish alive for that move is to put enough water in to cover the gills with a little extra to ensure they are fully submerged, then fill the remainder of the bag with oxygen (helps neutralize the ammonia in the water— ONCE YOU OPEN THAT BAG THE WATER TURNS TOXIC so have everything prepared prior to opening those bags).

In regards to your coral, if your LFS is willing to hold and overnight them for you, by all means do that! Coral has a much higher mortality rate than most fish. Coral is a lot more sensitive to water fluctuations than most fish are.

Best of luck!! Happy reefing!

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Morning! I'm currently in MD. If you need any help on this end, feel free to reach out.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

I’d be done similar moves a few times. I’d suggest only keeping animals you really want and selling any coral that don’t excite you and can easily be replaced when setup… just to make the move a little. I’ve had success in getting a big container, like a smaller brute trash can for rocks that don’t have coral on them and a large tub for corals and fish. I’ve used the big blue ones from Home Depot or Lowe’s before. Something with high walls! For corals and fish, a heater plugged into a power inverter in the car is good, but once you stop for the night, they need a power head. Movement while driving is enough flow.

I used plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) and packing tape to seal the lid as best as possible but cut a big hole on the lid. This keeps water in when it splashed up the sides but allows for some air exchange with the hole.

also, i recommend using a turkey baster or power head and blow off your rocks really good a few times before the move. Use filter socks or a polishing filter to clean the water. This will get all the detritus out of the rock before the move and will prevent it from rotting and throwing off your parameters during the move. You’ll be surprised how much gunk rock can hold if you don’t do this often.

If you go this route, you can set up the tracks and leave the live stock in the tubs for a day or 2.

it’s a lot of work, but worth it if you are attached to your fish and coral.

 

[dashulis]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for all your comments, suggestions and support! Posting all the pictures first, then will answer all @KrisReef questions in the next post!
Looks like they should be in order;
- big tank with sump
- medium no sump
- small with sump

 

[dashulis]

@KrisReef our medium tank has been running for 8 years, no coral for 7 years though (majority of corals are LPS). The small tank has been running for 4 years (it’s a mixed reef), also no coral for over 3 years there. The big tank got set up 6 months ago using water from the small tank after several water changes (90% LPS with some frags from the small tank) planning on making it all lps.
We do 10% water changes once a week normally unless there are some issues with the parameters.
Lately we’ve been getting spikes of Alk, guessing due to high PH, therefore alk dosing has been lowered and calcium raised by 1-2ml as it was dropping.
We’ll be doing water changes on Sunday and will send current parameters.

Big tank is on a doser with RedSea Alk, Cal,Mag + Acropower, koral color, replenish, restore and microbacter 7.
Small and med tanks are dosed with Fusion 1&2 + Acropower, koral color, replenish, restore and microbacter 7.
+ coral snow is used for big and small tank almost every other day based on the formula from this article: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/extreme-water-clarity-and-cyano-eradication-made-easy.916381/

 

[dashulis]

Morning! I'm currently in MD. If you need any help on this end, feel free to reach out.

Hi Lynn, thank you so much for responding, we would love to connect and if there’s any chance you could assist us, we’d appreciate all help possible!

 

[dashulis]

I’d be done similar moves a few times. I’d suggest only keeping animals you really want and selling any coral that don’t excite you and can easily be replaced when setup… just to make the move a little. I’ve had success in getting a big container, like a smaller brute trash can for rocks that don’t have coral on them and a large tub for corals and fish. I’ve used the big blue ones from Home Depot or Lowe’s before. Something with high walls! For corals and fish, a heater plugged into a power inverter in the car is good, but once you stop for the night, they need a power head. Movement while driving is enough flow.

I used plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) and packing tape to seal the lid as best as possible but cut a big hole on the lid. This keeps water in when it splashed up the sides but allows for some air exchange with the hole.

also, i recommend using a turkey baster or power head and blow off your rocks really good a few times before the move. Use filter socks or a polishing filter to clean the water. This will get all the detritus out of the rock before the move and will prevent it from rotting and throwing off your parameters during the move. You’ll be surprised how much gunk rock can hold if you don’t do this often.

If you go this route, you can set up the tracks and leave the live stock in the tubs for a day or 2.

it’s a lot of work, but worth it if you are attached to your fish and coral.

Hi Nburg, you are practically reading MY mind on some things here. I personally do want to sell some of the corals from my big tank not only because of the move, but also because my other corals look like they will eventually need more space. Our local LFS will gladly take them on consignment, but can you by any chance suggest any other options?

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Hi Nburg, you are practically reading MY mind on some things here. I personally do want to sell some of the corals from my big tank not only because of the move, but also because my other corals look like they will eventually need more space. Our local LFS will gladly take them on consignment, but can you by any chance suggest any other options?

I think its doable in big tupperware totes. Just treat them like movable tanks and make sure nothing that can't touch stay apart. Baskets can help with that. Buy a power inverter for heaters and have pumps ready to plug in ASAP. Should be fine otherwise.

 

[flashsmith]

I would sell all the livestock. Better to get some money for it than potentially losing a good amount of it. Start fresh.