Moving a tank

[jc_reefer]

Alright, so i have a 12 gallon aquapod currently, and i live in plymouth, Mi. In a week or so, it is going to have to be moved back up to school with me in east lansing (MSU). I was wanting to make sure that i do everything right so that i dont have a mini cycle and lose a bunch of my corals... I plan on keeping most/all of my water. Going to drain the tank, put rock in one bucket, corals in another, and fish in another. All of these buckets should hold most of the water in my tank. Leaving my sand bed in there. Do you think that i should have any problems? its an hour away... Should i get a battery air pump for the fish for the ride up there? Any other tips/advice would be really great. I could leave it at home, but i then i will see it once a week tops, and i dont trust my parents to take care of it so thats really not an option. Should this work out alright?

 

[jc_reefer]

I should probably list what livestock/corals i have:

clownfish (i believe its an ocellaris )
magnus prawn goby
pistol shrimp
lots of zoas
frogspawn
ric
blastomusa
mushroom
and at the time, hopefully a mini carpet nem too

 

[jessp]

I'd replace the old sand w/ new sand, stirring up the old sand at all will cause a cycle. I'd also have a lot of extra water, say 5 gallons extra. You always need more water than you think. Otherwise a tank that size should be pretty easy.
hth,
jess

 

[jc_reefer]

Wouldnt adding the new sand cause a cycle anyways? And what about all the good bacteria and stuff living in it, i dont want to lose all of that...

 

[jessp]

a lot of the good stuff, is good under the sand. if it is released from the sand it is bad. I think the live rock should have the same good stuff that the sand has, minus the bad stuff.

 

[surfn]

there is some good stuff on the search function

http://www.club-zoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6201&highlight=moving