Moving a used 40 gallon breed with sump and livestock?

Coxey81

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Hi, I found a used 40 gallon breeder setup with stand thats only 7 months old for a good price.

But it would be my first tank and I'm concerned about moving it and keeping the livestock alive. There are 4 fish, two small corals, and two shrimp and a Halloween crab.

Any tips on moving it an the livestock?

Could I just bag the livestock and drain the tank completely then get it hooked back up, water back in, and heated back up?

Should I have small QT tank set up ahead of time to house them for a day or so until I got the DT back up and running?

Any suggestions or a strategy plan would be greatly appreciated. Here is a description of the setup.

Thanks


Screenshot_20210901-134110_Facebook.jpg
 

brandon429

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Read this thread you’ll be set:


we cover how to do the move, do not use bottled bacteria.

no quarantine needed since no new fish added.

you’d move animals and rocks in separate buckets like clean home depot buckets for example, rinse the sand 100% using tap water as we discussed, final rinse in RO, then at new home you’d set up the tank on top of perfectly rinsed sand, rocks from the move on top, all new water for your setup you don’t need the old (match temp and salinity to old water) and add in the animals. It’s skip cycle ready as soon as you set it up. Do not under rinse the sand, over rinse it, be cloudless. It is very important you don’t skip sand rinse, that’s #1 rule above all, the one thing you want to skip can’t be skipped.

your rocks bring over all existing bac, thats why it doesn’t recycle and doesn’t use bottle bac in these jobs.
 
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Coxey81

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Read this thread you’ll be set:


we cover how to do the move, do not use bottled bacteria.

no quarantine needed since no new fish added.

you’d move animals and rocks in separate buckets like clean home depot buckets for example, rinse the sand 100% using tap water as we discussed, final rinse in RO, then at new home you’d set up the tank on top of perfectly rinsed sand, rocks from the move on top, all new water for your setup you don’t need the old (match temp and salinity to old water) and add in the animals. It’s skip cycle ready as soon as you set it up. Do not under rinse the sand, over rinse it, be cloudless. It is very important you don’t skip sand rinse, that’s #1 rule above all, the one thing you want to skip can’t be skipped.

your rocks bring over all existing bac, thats why it doesn’t recycle and doesn’t use bottle bac in these jobs.
Sorry, but did you link the right thread? Seems like that is a upgrade thread and it really doesnt cover moving. Thanks again.
 
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brandon429

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i edited in the steps in post #2 above to help clarify

he is moving all items from one tank into another, so it was the same steps as yours. yours just has a drive time where buckets of parted out things are set in car, moved to new home to be placed on top of totally cloudless rinsed sand. you are essentially moving the tank all separate, fish by themselves in buckets not with other animals, then reassembling at the new home with all new water and all rinsed sand, then it skip cycles perfectly clear and you can add fish back right then

the rocks bring over all required bacteria, we didnt need any bac from the old sand, its dangerous in fact so we rinsed it out 100%.
 
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brandon429

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right before you set it all back up, take the empty tank and clean out all the rim accumulations/scrape out with razor blade using vinegar to clean all settings. rinse it all out, set back up perfectly rinsed sand then those moved rocks, corals and fish put back in water matching temp and salinity to the old, and it will skip cycle relocate. use all new water you dont need any of the old.


do not have any form of clouding in the new tank, in fact before you set the transferred live rocks in, swish them around in saltwater somewhere else to cast off any waste accumulations they may have taken on in the cracks and crevices. to move clean is to skip cycle, you don't have to buy or dose anything to effect perfect reef moves they just need to be waste free transfers.

take pics of it all if you can we really need the work examples for our tank transfer threads.
 
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brandon429

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as you are rinsing sand and thinking I must be crazy for recommending that

:)

there are hidden reasons. here's one: the #1 indication of a failed tank transfer is cloudiness on the other end. Clarity + fish means safe skip cycle

we rinse new sand you'd use, and especially old sand, because those bring over guaranteed clouds that mask the one condition we need to track.
 
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Coxey81

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Ok, how long with the fish, rocks, and coral be ok in the buckets and containers while I move and setup?

It's about a three hour drive. Do I need bubbler, heater, etc in the buckets?
 
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brandon429

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bubbler from a bait shop is ideal, one of the battery pack ones. Heater less is probably ok, they shipped to some pet store somewhere in worse conditions. if you expect sustained 60 degrees temps due to ac then yes rig a power inverter and heater setup off the car's 12 volt system.

if that was my move coming I'd embellish the process this way:

for each bucket housing fish I'd have already ordered one bait pump for air, and one common sponge filter system for it. two days before the move I'd have soaked the sponge filters in tank water + biospira bottle bac, then taken over the sponges still wet in big ziplock bags.

in each fish transport bucket the bubbler would rise up through the sponge filter, insta ammonia control.
 
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brandon429

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if you can't get a sponge filter then guess what: we uncovered a legit need for bottle bac


dangit lol


Blaxsun don't go captain morgan post too quick lol although yes if you are moving fish for hours and cant have any surface area like a sponge filter ready, then inputting a bit of biospira into the holding containers will directly offset ammonia they're testing waterbourne nitrification right now in the chem forum and it works better than Prime does.

the reason we're using it is lack of surface area...buckets of fish have none. were this a quarantine tank, or using your old rocks in contact with fish like the new tank will be, we would not use the bac. we would use it soley in the transfer tanks.

dont put bottle bac in the display, but in the holding tanks as a fractional dose or even split up on the trip to cancel ammonia, its indicated.
 
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Coxey81

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bubbler from a bait shop is ideal, one of the battery pack ones. Heater less is probably ok, they shipped to some pet store somewhere in worse conditions. if you expect sustained 60 degrees temps due to ac then yes rig a power inverter and heater setup off the car's 12 volt system.

if that was my move coming I'd embellish the process this way:

for each bucket housing fish I'd have already ordered one bait pump for air, and one common sponge filter system for it. two days before the move I'd have soaked the sponge filters in tank water + biospira bottle bac, then taken over the sponges still wet in big ziplock bags.

in each fish transport bucket the bubbler would rise up through the sponge filter, insta ammonia control.
Ok, heading home from work. Plan on speaking with the seller tonight to confirm the deal if everything seems as presented and I can start.work on an official plan.
 
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brandon429

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take pics really! this could help others for sure. as you're driving down the interstate with a grand in supplies sloshing about pls try and safely take a setup pic too. preferably while parked
 
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LuizW13

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Welcome to R2R!

I've moved my tank twice now in the last few years, the most recent move, a couple of months ago or so. I'd approach it like this:

First, figure out your water situation whether that is buying and setting up an RODI water filter, and a bucket of reef salt, which is what most people here would recommend, or purchasing water from a fish store nearby in the meantime.

If the fish are small and can be kept in the same 5g bucket, do it, and put in a small air pump. I don't suspect you'll need a heater since it's still warm out in most of the country. You can drill a hole on the top of the bucket to route the airline so you can close the bucket without having water slushing around in your car.

I'd put the corals in a plastic bag like they do at the store and keep them in a cooler. The rocks in another vessle, more buckets, or coolers, whatever is convenient- just make there is water to keep everything alive.

Me personally, I'd scrap the sand and just purchase new sand at the store; Carib Sea, Tropic Eden, whatever. I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of rinsing the sand, plus it adds weight to the move. But up to you, really.

Since that system was only up and running for 7 months, and not knowing it's history, i'd buy a bottle of bacteria, like Brightwell MicroBacter 7. The smallest bottle they have is enough, and you probably won't even need all of it. You could most likely set up the tank at home without it, but why chance it?

Once you have the tank running at home with the new water, rinse off the rocks in the old water to get any crud out like Brandon said and then put everything in, easy peazy lol.

Also, when you're filling up the tank at home, that is the perfect time to measure out the total water volume of the system. In case you need to treat your water with additives or whatever in the future, you'll know exactly how much water is in it.

Good luck, cheers!
 
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Coxey81

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Awesome thanks. I believe the seller may have a RODI system thats included..I spoke with his wife, but not him yet. If that's the case. I won't have water at my place right off. So I'm thinking buy some from the LFS and get it in a trash can ahead of time and heated. I know Rubbermaids are used so I'll try to.find one of those.

Then I can used the buckets the water comes in to transport the fish, shrimp, crabs, and rocks. I'll plan on doing the coral like you suggest.

Only a 40 gallon, so shouldn't need much sand..so I may go ahead and purchase new.

Then I guess all I would need to do is get it hooked back up add sand, live rocks,, water slowly, then add the critters back.

Should I acclimate them in bags in case the temp of the buckets has dropped some and not as high as the tank? I suppose if I left them in the garage in the shade the water should stay pretty warm. Temps are running high of about 85 and low of about 68 this weekend.

Just worried setup may take me longer than expected cause im new and have never done it.
 
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LuizW13

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A good trick for adding water to a tank with sand is to set a plate on the sand, and on top of the plate, a bowl. Fill the water into the bowl, which overflows to the plate and then into the tank- that should minimize getting the water all cloudy and gross.

I didn't temp acclimate my live stock when I did my moves, but use your best judgement- maybe buy a cheap thermometer at the pharmacy or whatever just to make sure, I don't even know where they sell those things.

It will absolutely take longer than expected. Buy some beer, take your time, have fun.
 
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brandon429

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There won’t be any need for plate pouring, the pre rinse step makes perfectly clear sand, we’d pre rinse literally any sand used and we would not fail to pre rinse any sand used, even if you had taken that risk prior.


when sand is prepped correctly you can pour water directly onto it and it does the snowglobe effect. accept nothing shy of this if you want the safest move, specifically make your new tank rinsed sand cloudless if you want guaranteed safety
 
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Coxey81

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There won’t be any need for plate pouring, the pre rinse step makes perfectly clear sand, we’d pre rinse literally any sand used and we would not fail to pre rinse any sand used, even if you had taken that risk prior.


when sand is prepped correctly you can pour water directly onto it and it does the snowglobe effect. accept nothing shy of this if you want the safest move, specifically make your new tank rinsed sand cloudless if you want guaranteed safety
I don't mind taking the time to rinse it, but will there be a huge benefit in using the old sand versus buying new. Bacteria I suppose? Or would the rock have enough already?
 
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LaloJ

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If there is any difference between the temperature of the new water, then acclimate the fish just so there is little or no difference, not too long. In this case, you would also use new sand, since you are going to drive for some hours, you will have enough with the installation of the tank as soon as you arrive, you can choose CaribSea or Nature's Ocean, or buy dry aragonite and rinse it previously but with all the peace of mind home before installation day, you'll end up pretty tired but it'll be worth it, lol.
 
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LuizW13

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I don't mind taking the time to rinse it, but will there be a huge benefit in using the old sand versus buying new. Bacteria I suppose? Or would the rock have enough already?

Money, I guess, that's all I can think of- you won't need to buy new sand. I'm pretty sure the bacteria would die when you rinse it.
If you do choose to buy new live sand, do the plate+bowl method lol.
 
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brandon429

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the rinsing process equates all sand in terms of removing clouding components (in old sand its dangerous detritus, in new sand its an ultra-fine silting component and no detritus) totally ok to use new sand and save the transport. you are pre rinsing any sand used so that your tank begins as a laser clean clear cloudless perfection, any form of clouding from unrinsed sand is not helping and its masking potential crash clouding we need to be able to see after setup.

using new sand is nice because it hasn't been exposed to that guys phosphates the last six yrs

the bacteria in sandbeds do not matter, no reef tank on this board is critically linked to the bacteria in a sandbed that's just been something made up on forums 20 years. in my tank transfer thread, half the jobs are instant total sandbed removals.

doing a tank transfer just like that top link is the same as removing someone's sandbed entirely is the same as upgrading reefs in the same home, all the same set of disassembly and pre rinse moves. your one variable was the interim transport of fish for a few hours. all else matches jobs they're doing for various reasons. here's that thread btw:

100% of all entrants were tap pre rinsed. if any slipped through and got posted who did not rinse in tap I'll quickly edit them out permanently from the logs lol. at fifty pages its hard to catch em all but I think we have. nobody is allowed to post a clouded reef setup there, so everyone skip cycled with no loss.
 
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