I have a 20 long with two clowns and a firefish along with about 30 pounds of rock. I’m a few days I have to transport the tank and all the livestock across state. It’s going to be about a 5 hour drive. Does anyone have any recommendations for the best way to do this? Thank you for all the support so far!
Moving a Tank
- Thread starter Connor Leith
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saintsreturn
Well-Known Member
This will be easy for you. I have done it more times than i would like to admit.
Get some 5g buckets. Take one and place a small rock in it. Add water from your tank and put your livestock in there. Add batter bubbler or 12v if you have that in your vehicle. I added a heater too for my longer drives, but not the 5hr ones when i could control their ambient temp.
use a bucket for the sand, separate from anything else and cover in water.
Misc stuff in other bucket. When you setup, use as much of the old water as possible. Rinse the sand and put everything but your livestock in the new tank (kinda right?). Then drip acclimate your livestock and return them to their home.
you mar or may not have a mini cycle. I just drop in some booster bacteria and have never had a problem. I used to move my 29g reef once a year this way.
Get some 5g buckets. Take one and place a small rock in it. Add water from your tank and put your livestock in there. Add batter bubbler or 12v if you have that in your vehicle. I added a heater too for my longer drives, but not the 5hr ones when i could control their ambient temp.
use a bucket for the sand, separate from anything else and cover in water.
Misc stuff in other bucket. When you setup, use as much of the old water as possible. Rinse the sand and put everything but your livestock in the new tank (kinda right?). Then drip acclimate your livestock and return them to their home.
you mar or may not have a mini cycle. I just drop in some booster bacteria and have never had a problem. I used to move my 29g reef once a year this way.
Get a couple large heavy plastic bags from your LFS. Pull at least a gallon for the clowns and 3/4 gallon for the firefish. Put them in a small cooler with a couple heat packs. If you have any corals try to bag them each individually and put them in the cooler as well. For the remaining water put it in a jug and take it along. Cover the rock with newspaper and get it damp with tank water. Once you get to your destination get the tank up and running first. Add Seachem Stability and Prime to handle any die off. Once the tank is up to temp, acclimate the fish and corals and you should be good to go.
You can also get a battery powered air pump and put it in with the fish to keep the water aerated, but you will need a way to vent it. A large tupperware with a small hole in it will be good.
You can also get a battery powered air pump and put it in with the fish to keep the water aerated, but you will need a way to vent it. A large tupperware with a small hole in it will be good.
Thank you for the advice! Would it be okay to leave the sand in the tank with like an inch or two of water in it. I’m not worried about spilling because I have a lid for the tank.
I have a battery pump that I plan on using for the fish. Would it be alright to leave the sand in the tank with an inch or two of water in it?
saintsreturn
Well-Known Member
you can. The reason i dont is i use this time to rinse out all the nasty and reduce the weight when carrying it. Also, as the sand sloshes on the drive, the smell can radiate in your vehicle. Some have determined this to be toxic as well. So i just pull it out. If this is not a concern, you can leave it in.
Thank you again for the info. I did not know the toxicity was a thing so I will for sure put it in a bucket and use this time to clean it a bit as you said!
Oh.. Almost forgot the most important thing. Stop feeding your fish at least 3-5 days before you move. By doing this they won't poop much at all and will reduce the ammonia buildup over the transport period.
The toxic issue only really comes in if you're running a deep sand bed, or never vacuumed the one you have to remove excessive waste buildup. If you clean the bed frequently, you can drain off the water from it and put it in a small bucket with a lid to use it over. Or you can buy a new 20 lbs. bag of Carib sea sand for about $25-30. Just be sure to treat the tank with Prime and starter culture to take care of any ammonia spikes.
When you get to the new location just open the new bag or bucket and pour it in the tank place your rock and then you can either use a small pond pump to fill the tank from your reclaimed water jug. If you keep the water flow low and let it go over the rockwork and trickle down to the sand, there will be next to no silt kicked up so the water will stay pretty clear. Then kick on the circulation and heat and let it come up to temp. Once up to temp use something like SeaChem Stability to dose the tank with your starter bacteria just to be sure. Once the water is at temp, check your levels and then acclimate your fish and corals. You will not want to use the water in the bags, so either drip acclimate, or make sure the water parameters match between the bags and the tank.
I did this same thing with the sand on a 20g tank that my dwarf fuzzy lionfish is currently in and the water was crystal clear within about 20 minutes of filling, and did not have a mini cycle issue. Also on the Seachem or another starter culture, treat the tank as if it were a new setup. This will help offset any possible mini cycle by using new sand.
The toxic issue only really comes in if you're running a deep sand bed, or never vacuumed the one you have to remove excessive waste buildup. If you clean the bed frequently, you can drain off the water from it and put it in a small bucket with a lid to use it over. Or you can buy a new 20 lbs. bag of Carib sea sand for about $25-30. Just be sure to treat the tank with Prime and starter culture to take care of any ammonia spikes.
When you get to the new location just open the new bag or bucket and pour it in the tank place your rock and then you can either use a small pond pump to fill the tank from your reclaimed water jug. If you keep the water flow low and let it go over the rockwork and trickle down to the sand, there will be next to no silt kicked up so the water will stay pretty clear. Then kick on the circulation and heat and let it come up to temp. Once up to temp use something like SeaChem Stability to dose the tank with your starter bacteria just to be sure. Once the water is at temp, check your levels and then acclimate your fish and corals. You will not want to use the water in the bags, so either drip acclimate, or make sure the water parameters match between the bags and the tank.
I did this same thing with the sand on a 20g tank that my dwarf fuzzy lionfish is currently in and the water was crystal clear within about 20 minutes of filling, and did not have a mini cycle issue. Also on the Seachem or another starter culture, treat the tank as if it were a new setup. This will help offset any possible mini cycle by using new sand.
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