MOVING MY TANK

[alvssaxo]

Ok guys, so I’m moving into a rent house about 20 minutes away from my current house and I’m getting keys for rent house tomorrow. But I have til September 7th to be out of my current house. My biggest stressor is moving my tank with my cherished corals and fish. I have a 32 gallon biocube.

so I’ve decided to get a basic 20 gallon tank and go this week to set it up with caribsea life rock and bacteria with ammonia drops to get the tank ready and cycled. I’m planning to move all my live stock to the 20 gallon tank when it’s fully cycled and keep them there til I officially move my dt to the house and set it back up.
I need some help with a few questions I have.
•Should I buy sand for the 20 gallon or will the rock be okay?
•what’s a good cheap light for my corals to keep in that tank for a week?
•should I just get a pump and protein skimmer and heater for 20 gallon?

im planning on just keeping the tank for quarantine tank when I switch all my live stock back over to my dt. Im just wanting to buy as minimal as I can to just keep the fish and corals somewhere that would make it easier on me to set up the dt without having to rush.

many helpful tips would be so much appreciated! TIA

 

[shakacuz]

rock SHOULD be okay. buying more sand to then have more sand in your 32g could either be good or bad depending how deep the sand bed is already (some people do not like the look of a deep sandbed, others do).

maybe buying a used light from the FB marketplace or marketplace here to hold you off or use as a back up if your current light dies could be really good for you..

hang on back filter and heater should be okay for a short transfer.

 

[chrisjj625]

Why not throw everything in buckets and move it all at once?

 

[mtraylor]

Yeah I agree. Being only 32 gallons. I would bag up corals and fish and save about half the water to make the trip and then resetup in same day. Much more cost effective. Will essentially be like doing 50% water change.

Take the top say 1/4" of sand off and then remove the rest and rinse thoroughly before putting back into aquarium and top off with the sand you scraped off the top

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I agree with above, bite the bullet and get some buckets and move it all in one day. I've also get a 32 gallon which I've had to move twice, it does suck, but once you've got it done it takes a lot of stress off your mind. Make a plan, pick a day, and get it done.

 

[Reefer Matt]

If you have the option, do as you said with temporary tank, but also move your dt tank as soon as possible. The dt will probably run a small cycle after moving. It will also have better success if you use a whole moving day for just that task.