Moving 5+ hours...

[Chrisv.]

I do suppose there isnt a big reason on why i cant utilize the light during the process. It might actually be rather easy as I can potentially get under the tank itself and move it / the stand and can place the bucket there.


I am going to switch subjects really quick... Ive always rinsed my sand and am a proponent of it. I am now seeing there is not just live sand... but like live sand straight from ocean ( ocean direct...) would I still go about rinsing that as well?



Would I potentially be smart and buy a few bags of dry sand then rinse it...? I rinse the sand anyways but figured maybe can save some $$ / my tank is rather established as it has been up for 5+ years.

I have actually never used live sand or ocean direct sand. Always just carib sea dry sand for me. Back in the day, there were people selling sand harvested from the sea floor that was kept wet and would come in with things living in it (think sand version of KP aquatics live rock). From a quick read, Ocean Direct is not this. Looks like TBS sells something like old school live sand.

Hopefully others can chime in about Ocean Direct (or maybe you will gain more traction by starting a new thread). Skimming a few reviews, one thing that jumped out at me was the potential for a small ammonia spike after adding. You could always add it to the tank before you add the corals etc and let the cloudy water clear and keep the NH3/4 in check. As for washing it, I have no idea... I normally wash my (dead) sand with tap water until it runs clean, dump out the tap water as much as I can, then rinse it once or twice with RO/DI and add to the tank.

You may have a small ammonia spike as you do this move. I'd get an ammonia alert badge to keep an eye on this, and keep water on hand to solve the problem with a big partial water change if you have to in an emergency.

 

[Jedi1199]

It seems amazon got deleted / i cant seem to find the link.. any chance u can re-link?

Here ya go...



So as far as it goes, you will likely be traveling with no power for a heater, simply use your tank heater in the holding can while you tear down the tank. This powerhead will create some flow. The "Venturi" air intake will draw air into the output stream without need of an external air pump. All you need is a piece of air tubing long enough to reach the unit if you place it deeper than the included tube can reach.

As for the sand issue... I personally have never rinsed sand before. If you read through my build thread you will see that I actually reused the sand from my 55g in the new 135g AS-IS!! Also added in 4 20# bags of Caribsea live sand, unrinsed.

That said, I do have a VERY powerful canister filter that I used to clear the water out after I filled the tank up, and of course I did not add my stock to the new tank until I got the water clear and up to temp. (took about 36 hours)

 

[Be102]

I’m considering treating my tank move more like a seller treating a coral / other livestock rather than a scientist trying to perfect everything… at the end of the day my tank will either make it or not and whatever doesn’t make it will be trashed… I am stressing myself out on something’s I can’t physically control ( ex temp holding tanks exceeeding temp ( overthinking about putting ice packs in or something) when in reality people ship live rock w some damp newspaper and or corals with 5 tbs of water in little bags and they make it…..

I stress myself out a lot!


i am also pretty sure reef2reef doesn’t like the idea of trading links on Amazon… wanna just give me the name and I’ll find it?! Sorry!

 

[Jedi1199]

I’m considering treating my tank move more like a seller treating a coral / other livestock rather than a scientist trying to perfect everything… at the end of the day my tank will either make it or not and whatever doesn’t make it will be trashed… I am stressing myself out on something’s I can’t physically control ( ex temp holding tanks exceeeding temp ( overthinking about putting ice packs in or something) when in reality people ship live rock w some damp newspaper and or corals with 5 tbs of water in little bags and they make it…..

I stress myself out a lot!


i am also pretty sure reef2reef doesn’t like the idea of trading links on Amazon… wanna just give me the name and I’ll find it?! Sorry!

Sure. Aquaclear 20 powerhead. About $20 on amazon. overnight delivery with Prime. Really, any powerhead will do. Even your current wavemaker will get the job done. All you really need is flow and to break surface tension. (aim it at the surface).

The actual move will be what it is. 8 hours in a 5g bucket should be just fine for everything. The rest of this is for holding everything while you tear down and rebuild the tank. I would ship the tank and buckets of bare rock and sand in the moving van. The actual living corals and fish, I would pack in the car.

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Sure. Aquaclear 20 powerhead. About $20 on amazon. overnight delivery with Prime. Really, any powerhead will do. Even your current wavemaker will get the job done. All you really need is flow and to break surface tension. (aim it at the surface).

The actual move will be what it is. 8 hours in a 5g bucket should be just fine for everything. The rest of this is for holding everything while you tear down and rebuild the tank. I would ship the tank and buckets of bare rock and sand in the moving van. The actual living corals and fish, I would pack in the car.

I second this, I have read through your whole thread and this seems like the best option IMO.

 

[Chrisv.]

To each his own, but I would keep the rock wet and in your car as temp controlled as you can. The rock is your reef tank. The corals are decorations, the aquarium is the box you keep it in. This whole game is about keeping live rock healthy.

 

[Jedi1199]

Here is what I used for a "holding tank" for my rocks and fish while I did my tank upgrade. I placed all of the rock, fish and corals into these bins, filled with tank water, added a heater to each and a wavemaker into each.

Picked these up at WalMart for about $13 each. 30g Sterilite totes.

I prefer these over a trash can as they are shallower and have more surface area for oxygen exchange.. You won't be able to lift them once filled, but they will work great as a holding system while you tear down and rebuild the tank.

The sand, I dumped into a 5g bucket. I drained as much of the water as I could while removing it.

I did reuse my sand (as well s 4 bags new) unwashed in the new build. It did have a funky smell after a couple days in a bucket, but it did not harm the system. I have not lost a single fish or coral due to the transfer.

The fish and rocks stayed in the bins as shown above for 4 days. I see no reason it wouldn't have worked for longer.

 

[Spare time]

Put the corals in travel containers or on frag rack like containers to secure them.

 

[Be102]

Here is what I used for a "holding tank" for my rocks and fish while I did my tank upgrade. I placed all of the rock, fish and corals into these bins, filled with tank water, added a heater to each and a wavemaker into each.

Picked these up at WalMart for about $13 each. 30g Sterilite totes.

I prefer these over a trash can as they are shallower and have more surface area for oxygen exchange.. You won't be able to lift them once filled, but they will work great as a holding system while you tear down and rebuild the tank.

The sand, I dumped into a 5g bucket. I drained as much of the water as I could while removing it.

I did reuse my sand (as well s 4 bags new) unwashed in the new build. It did have a funky smell after a couple days in a bucket, but it did not harm the system. I have not lost a single fish or coral due to the transfer.

The fish and rocks stayed in the bins as shown above for 4 days. I see no reason it wouldn't have worked for longer.

This was very helpful... I did buy a few of those totes thinking i would be able to use them to transport stuff but after filling with water and realizing they slosh everywhere I went back to the bucket idea


Did you do anything special to preserve the sand? I mean its sand... it should be fine... I am also with you where I potentially would utilize the sand I have.

I do like the idea of having them in a holding tank when I do go there to allow me time to set up the tank where I want it and get everything prepared rather than rushing it.

Just thinking about how I could keep the sand if for example I broke it down on a sunday for a monday move, then had the sand in the bucket for few days.. should I add a powerhead to the sand ( if i left water in it) for surface agitation?

 

[Wasabiroot]

I plan on moving a decent distance away from where I currently am and have a 65 gallon display tank as well as a 40 gallon sump.. I am wondering what would be the best procedure to complete this process. I am fortunate to not have any fish currently and just have a majority of inverts and corals. What would everyone recommend I do? I was thinking about removing the rock work into a few 5 gallon buckets and then potentially all the sand in one 5 gallon bucket. I will put the block that is in my sump in a wet location to keep the beneficial bacteria all going smooth....

Any tips for this? I can potentially begin to break my tank down now to get it prepared but need some guidance..

thanks!

Melev's reef had a recent livestream about moving specifically where he went all over this stuff. Might be worth a watch. Maybe a month or so ago?

 

[Be102]

Melev's reef had a recent livestream about moving specifically where he went all over this stuff. Might be worth a watch. Maybe a month or so ago?

Any idea which one..? haha I've found a few but can only seem find moving his temp tank.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Any idea which one..? haha I've found a few but can only seem find moving his temp tank.

I couldn't find the more recent one but here is a past one that is probably similarly helpful.

 

[Be102]

I couldn't find the more recent one but here is a past one that is probably similarly helpful.

i think I found it!

 

[jmichaelh7]

Find a portable adapter that plugs into cigarette lighter , have small powerhead and heater plugged in to your tubs . No issues

 

[Be102]

Find a portable adapter that plugs into cigarette lighter , have small powerhead and heater plugged in to your tubs . No issues

ive read that the corals dont need an airstone.. just some water movement is this true? will I have any issues sealing the corals in the bucket?

 

[Chrisv.]

ive read that the corals dont need an airstone.. just some water movement is this true? will I have any issues sealing the corals in the bucket?

My corals, clams, fish, and rock made it from NC to MA (with an overnight stop in Delaware) in around 24 hours, in buckets and coolers, with no air or pumps.

There are no air stones in the bags from live aquaria. I think you're going to be fine.

 

[Wasabiroot]

5 hours definitely makes it easier. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Jedi1199]

This was very helpful... I did buy a few of those totes thinking i would be able to use them to transport stuff but after filling with water and realizing they slosh everywhere I went back to the bucket idea


Did you do anything special to preserve the sand? I mean its sand... it should be fine... I am also with you where I potentially would utilize the sand I have.

I do like the idea of having them in a holding tank when I do go there to allow me time to set up the tank where I want it and get everything prepared rather than rushing it.

Just thinking about how I could keep the sand if for example I broke it down on a sunday for a monday move, then had the sand in the bucket for few days.. should I add a powerhead to the sand ( if i left water in it) for surface agitation?

As I said, the totes are for a holding tank, NOT for transport. Use the 5g buckets with tight fitting lids for transporting.

Back when I set up my 55g, I used the sand I got when I bought my used 180g. The sand was just in a 5g bucket with an inch or so of water at the top. I used it directly, no washing, and it worked just fine.

When I made the upgrade to the 135 a couple weeks ago, I did the exact same thing. Scooped out the sand with a plastic dustpan draining off as much water as I could, and left it in a bucket for a couple days. As far as I can tell, it is just fine now. I did also add 4 bags of new sand for the new larger tank, also unwashed. It made a huge cloudy mess when I filled it up, but overnight with my big canister filter cleaned it out nicely.

As for running a powerhead in the bucket of sand, don't bother. There is no way you will ever get a flow deep enough to keep the sand moving.

There are strong opinions about reusing sand. The majority advise that you wash all sand completely before using it in any build. New, dry, live, used, whatever... "They" say you mush wash it or suffer the consequences. Are they right? Maybe, but not in my experience.

The biggest issue with not washing it as far as I am concerned is that unless you have a SERIOUS level of mechanical filtration, you will have a long wait for the water to clear out enough to add your stock back in. Also, because digging out all of that sand obviously will stir up all of the gunk from below the surface, you may have a brief ammonia spike once you restart the system. This I would at least check out in your circumstance because you are using the same size tank.

In my case, I diluted the water quite a bit, plus I have a LOT of rock to handle the bio-load.

 

[jmichaelh7]

So all you need is Heater

 

[Reefer825]

I bought a inverter for my truck and three small cheap heaters and swapped them in and of the buckets when I had to do this a year ago. The suction cups that glass companies use are amazing. I bought a pair after using them. I moved my 100g with my sand in it and a few inches of water with two of these. I made a batch of saltwater to have plenty on hand! I put the rockwork in various buckets along with my livestock and it went pretty smoothly. My move was a four hour trip. I didn't use any power heads, just tried to keep the temperature in check. I only lost a damsel and never did find it. Best of luck to you with your move!