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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well done

dose nothing, that ammonia is .02 or lower, not actually .2 see the TAN conversion chart that will lessen your concern.

the reason you aren't dosing anything is because that coral banded shrimp is still alive, he's your canary in a cole mine, your non digital cycling tests mean nothing here and in fact have been known to make folks react and dose 4x mixed chemical soup oxygen-sapping chemicals before, its good you haven't. simply clean new reef water is what they need.

considering the challenge at hand, and this distance of travel, that's a clean reef. the fish are evenly distributed, not hovering

that shrimp is delicate, he'd die if you messed up. per seneye 100%, that's 100% of all short ammonia spikes resolve in ten minutes. that's the rule, even if your red sea doesn't agree, its wrong. there is no instance in reefing where ammonia is out of control, truly in the tenths as nh3, and the shrimp stays alive and the fish swim normally and there's no clouding.

only seneye can know your levels, without seneye we'd consult the visual biology over the non digital kits for the safest move job.

Your animals show you did the right thing.

where did you rinse here, to keep specific measures you took considering the changeups he added and you had to improvise, where did you end up rinsing in prep: any of the sand in tap/ rocks in saltwater twisted can you summarize how you lowered detritus transfer

what a complex move and control of reef tank portions, all living and a nine hour distance skip cycle, we can make real use of this thread. even folks with storm damaged reefs benefit from seeing the details.
 
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Coxey81

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well done

dose nothing, that ammonia .02 or lower, not actually .2 see the TAN conversion chart that will lessen your concern.

the reason you aren't dosing anything is because that coral banded shrimp is still alive, he's your canary in a cole mine, your non digital cycling tests mean nothing here and in fact have been known to make folks react and dose 4x mixed chemical soup oxygen-sapping chemicals before, its good you haven't. simply clean new reef water is what they need.

considering the challenge at hand, and this distance of travel, that's a clean reef. the fish are evenly distributed, not hovering

that shrimp is delicate, he'd die if you messed up. per seneye 100%, that's 100% of all short ammonia spikes resolve in ten minutes. that's the rule, even if your red sea doesn't agree, its wrong.

Your animals show you did the right thing.

where did you rinse here, to keep specific measures you took considering the changeups he added and you had to improvise, where did you end up rinsing in prep: any of the sand / rocks in saltwater twisted can you summarize how you lowered detritus transfer

what a complex move and control of reef tank portions, all living and a nine hour distance skip cycle, we can make real use of this thread. even folks with storm damaged reefs benefit from seeing the details.
 
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Coxey81

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I used all new sand. So no detritus in it of course.

We siphoned water off the top in to buckets not distributing the sand. There was some algae float since the sump was off and some other stuff. Then we transfered everything trying not to disturb sand to much. Put rock in three, fish and inverts in another two.

Got home. Cleaned the tank with vinegar and rinsed. It was pretty clean. Then got the tank set up, new sand in, then rinsed rock. Most of anything that was in water had settled by that point. And the rock was pretty clean already.

Then started adding my fresh mixed water until tank was about 3/4 full. I did use a plate and bowl just to be the new sand didnt get stirred up. As I was doing that I also began adding a glass of of my water to the fish and inverts buckets which were about 2/3 full every 10 minutes.

Once the buckets were full and my tank was almost full I transferred them all to the tank. Then pumped the rest of the water from the buckets to top off the tank, but making sure I didn't get any that had settled at the bottom.
 
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Coxey81

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I did dose a bit of bacteria into the buckets for the move. Cause I didn't have anyhying that I could put in there that would have been safe bouncing around.
 
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brandon429

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that was ok in the buckets, was the new sand you used pre rinsed in tap it looked like it was earlier

having to siphon off the water makes sense for the job at hand, it was decanted well nice job. that must have been a heck of a tedious drive back home, really that's good work. you just did a literal execution of what 400 reef tank entrants do at a macna convention, its a massive headache to build and transport skip cycle setups isn't it!

what a rare thread you had to improvise multiple forms of high level reefing immediately and with cost at risk, plus driving safely and not concerning over animals, so many serious things had to come together for the result pics above.
 
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Coxey81

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that was ok in the buckets, was the new sand you used pre rinsed in tap it looked like it was earlier

having to siphon off the water makes sense for the job at hand, it was decanted well nice job. that must have been a heck of a tedious drive back home, really that's good work. you just did a literal execution of what 400 reef tank entrants do at a macna convention, its a massive headache to build and transport skip cycle setups isn't it!
Yes, I rinsed half of it for about thirty minutes, the other half for about the same.

It was still cloudy if I stirred it, but got it to where it would settle pretty clear in the bucket within about 10 minutes. That's why I went ahead and used the bowl and plate. Wanted to make sure it didn't stir up any fine particles I didn't manage to get out.

It is cheap sand so probably had alot more than normal.
 
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brandon429

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That is a perfect summary to complete a rare distance move, thank you so much for posting and taking time to document
 
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Coxey81

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That is a perfect summary to complete a rare distance move, thank you so much for posting and taking time to document
No problem.

So if it read .2 for the combined NH4 and NH3 it's actually .02 ppm for the NH3? I see that on the test kit chart now, it's just not overly obvious that that's what it means.
 
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brandon429

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yes agreed, I didn't used to understand it until Dan P clarified for me that's the sole version in reefing we care about. all reef tank systems carry some low level ammonia, none are zero, that's one of the direct misinformation details from old cycling science, that ammonia goes to zero.

anyone owning a seneye sees ammonia nh3 goes to .002-.009 ppm in a cycled display running fish, feed, and any degree of organic buildup from running a while like that live rock has been... that's the trend logged across thousands of tank using the new digital means and accuracy avail.

a limitation of red sea is it can't convert to the thousandths, it can get darn close though and the trend down, vs up daily, is where the proof of control lies. these below are all one off reads, nobody has a rise trend note among the posts.

the vast vast majority of red sea tests always show this level above regardless of tank status, be it old or cycling. where you would concern using that kit was if it was pegged red, and you hadn't dosed Prime, and the water was milky cloud. the tank pictures look normal because things are certainly normal, wanted to post for you what the collective impacts of Red sea ammonia misreads have caused for the hobby, false ammonia misreads have drastically negative effects on procedure check this pattern set out, inspect any tank diagnosed by clicking on its owner, searching all recent posts, and see how the tank turned out if they updated:

lack of tan factoring caused about 90% of those false alarms. Not one single tank in all the pages had a true ammonia issue because not one entrant owns seneye

the only thing that will cause ammonia noncontrol is sandbed upwelling events for old sand and or total fish kills that are left to rot and overcome a biosystem. nobody had those two events going on.


In your tank, a mild brief ammonia spike isn't impossible and we did upwell things and clean the rock as best as possible, plus it may have had minor transfer losses

but its bacteria were not overcome at all, they were fed better than norm by these losses and when current resumed, in clean water, that nh3 dropped into thousandths within a few mins any seneye would show. the animals act normal each hour because they're happy, and good param indicators. Non seneye test kits can only harm and set back transfer jobs, they can't help any. they mislead more often than they inform.
 
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Coxey81

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Thanks, makes me feel alot better and makes sense. Back to plumbing. Lol

I clean out the sump tank with a sponge dabbed in vinegar. Rinsed the sand in the refugium using your method. Then rinsed tank with some rodi. Dried it out decent. About to try to get it back up and running.
 
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Coxey81

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yes agreed, I didn't used to understand it until Dan P clarified for me that's the sole version in reefing we care about. all reef tank systems carry some low level ammonia, none are zero, that's one of the direct misinformation details from old cycling science, that ammonia goes to zero.

anyone owning a seneye sees ammonia nh3 goes to .002-.009 ppm in a cycled display running fish, feed, and any degree of organic buildup from running a while like that live rock has been... that's the trend logged across thousands of tank using the new digital means and accuracy avail.

a limitation of red sea is it can't convert to the thousandths, it can get darn close though and the trend down, vs up daily, is where the proof of control lies. these below are all one off reads, nobody has a rise trend note among the posts.

the vast vast majority of red sea tests always show this level above regardless of tank status, be it old or cycling. where you would concern using that kit was if it was pegged red, and you hadn't dosed Prime, and the water was milky cloud. the tank pictures look normal because things are certainly normal, wanted to post for you what the collective impacts of Red sea ammonia misreads have caused for the hobby, false ammonia misreads have drastically negative effects on procedure check this pattern set out, inspect any tank diagnosed by clicking on its owner, searching all recent posts, and see how the tank turned out if they updated:

lack of tan factoring caused about 90% of those false alarms. Not one single tank in all the pages had a true ammonia issue because not one entrant owns seneye

the only thing that will cause ammonia noncontrol is sandbed upwelling events for old sand and or total fish kills that are left to rot and overcome a biosystem. nobody had those two events going on.


In your tank, a mild brief ammonia spike isn't impossible and we did upwell things and clean the rock as best as possible, plus it may have had minor transfer losses

but its bacteria were not overcome at all, they were fed better than norm by these losses and when current resumed, in clean water, that nh3 dropped into thousandths within a few mins any seneye would show. the animals act normal each hour because they're happy, and good param indicators. Non seneye test kits can only harm and set back transfer jobs, they can't help any. they mislead more often than they inform.
Only thing in refugium was sand and rock
 
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Coxey81

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yes agreed, I didn't used to understand it until Dan P clarified for me that's the sole version in reefing we care about. all reef tank systems carry some low level ammonia, none are zero, that's one of the direct misinformation details from old cycling science, that ammonia goes to zero.

anyone owning a seneye sees ammonia nh3 goes to .002-.009 ppm in a cycled display running fish, feed, and any degree of organic buildup from running a while like that live rock has been... that's the trend logged across thousands of tank using the new digital means and accuracy avail.

a limitation of red sea is it can't convert to the thousandths, it can get darn close though and the trend down, vs up daily, is where the proof of control lies. these below are all one off reads, nobody has a rise trend note among the posts.

the vast vast majority of red sea tests always show this level above regardless of tank status, be it old or cycling. where you would concern using that kit was if it was pegged red, and you hadn't dosed Prime, and the water was milky cloud. the tank pictures look normal because things are certainly normal, wanted to post for you what the collective impacts of Red sea ammonia misreads have caused for the hobby, false ammonia misreads have drastically negative effects on procedure check this pattern set out, inspect any tank diagnosed by clicking on its owner, searching all recent posts, and see how the tank turned out if they updated:

lack of tan factoring caused about 90% of those false alarms. Not one single tank in all the pages had a true ammonia issue because not one entrant owns seneye

the only thing that will cause ammonia noncontrol is sandbed upwelling events for old sand and or total fish kills that are left to rot and overcome a biosystem. nobody had those two events going on.


In your tank, a mild brief ammonia spike isn't impossible and we did upwell things and clean the rock as best as possible, plus it may have had minor transfer losses

but its bacteria were not overcome at all, they were fed better than norm by these losses and when current resumed, in clean water, that nh3 dropped into thousandths within a few mins any seneye would show. the animals act normal each hour because they're happy, and good param indicators. Non seneye test kits can only harm and set back transfer jobs, they can't help any. they mislead more often than they inform.
Got the sump going, just got to dial in the protein skimmer.

20210906_210347.jpg
 
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Coxey81

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that was ok in the buckets, was the new sand you used pre rinsed in tap it looked like it was earlier

having to siphon off the water makes sense for the job at hand, it was decanted well nice job. that must have been a heck of a tedious drive back home, really that's good work. you just did a literal execution of what 400 reef tank entrants do at a macna convention, its a massive headache to build and transport skip cycle setups isn't it!

what a rare thread you had to improvise multiple forms of high level reefing immediately and with cost at risk, plus driving safely and not concerning over animals, so many serious things had to come together for the result pics above.
 
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Coxey81

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It was alot of work and very stressful for sure. Especially since I really new nothing about salt water tanks or keeping fish in general a month ago. Did alot of research before this and still learning... but it was the exact tank I wanted and for an amazing price. $800 dollars for a 260 dollar protein skimmer, two 230 dollar AI Prime 16hd lights. Two nero 3 powerheads. Complete rodi system and mixing station. All the test kits, refractometer, etc etc.. The list goes and on. Like I said he had over 4000 dollars in it and literally almost everything I would have wanted.. It was just stressful trying to keep all the critters alive.

Thanks again for all your help!
 
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brandon429

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That was the best deal I've heard of in a long time, the two lights alone were that much, truly pro job you did here! We will link it as move examples in several threads
 
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That was the best deal I've heard of in a long time, the two lights alone were that much, truly pro job you did here! We will link it as move examples in several threads
Yeah I couldn't believe it. There is a eco plus water chiller too. Stand, tank, sump tank.... etc etc. I couldn't pass it up. Just didn't want anything to not make it.
16309861721144882859299878488765.jpg
16309862304778779666961555398342.jpg
 
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you found the best setup for your family to enjoy

I remember sending my kiddo when she was little to school with a test tube of pulsing Xenia for science class, they all loved it

your son for example can take neat microscope samples of reef life to school for science time

you can truly impact a young persons science direction in life by growing up reefing
 
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Coxey81

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you found the best setup for your family to enjoy

I remember sending my kiddo when she was little to school with a test tube of pulsing Xenia for science class, they all loved it

your son for example can take neat microscope samples of reef life to school for science time

you can truly impact a young persons science direction in life by growing up reefing
Both the kids have enjoyed it immensely so far. Especially my son. He was a huge help Sunday and yesterday as well. Rinsing out buckets, sweeping up sand, helping me transfer water, etc, etc. Basically anything he could help with he did.
 
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Coxey81

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you found the best setup for your family to enjoy

I remember sending my kiddo when she was little to school with a test tube of pulsing Xenia for science class, they all loved it

your son for example can take neat microscope samples of reef life to school for science time

you can truly impact a young persons science direction in life by growing up reefing
Didn't have alot of time for pics during the trip, but here was my set up for the travel tanks. Two 5 gallon buckets with bubblers zipped tied on top. An inverter with a short 3 prong splitter. And a dual probe temp monitor I sat on thr armrest that I just happened to have from an old project.

Temp was fine the whole drive. Even with AC set to 70. Was about 78.9 when we left. Never dropped below 78. I fact it would seem to rise if I turned the AC any higher.

Had the the two buckets in the tank so if any water sloshed oout. Had them sitting on top of the old sand to prevent any cracking (last minute desicison).

20210904_183147.jpg
20210904_183206.jpg
20210904_203013.jpg
20210904_202939.jpg
 
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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.
dry aragonite? how does that work?
 
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