Planning my big move!

[Deiblerj]

Well folks, the time has come....I've been dreading this day for some time now, however, living in an apartment, it was inevitable.

I’m moving out and into the in-laws (temporarily). It’s about a 30 minute drive down the road so not too far. Here is my plan...

Current set up is 40 breeder with all HOB equipment. Going to drain about half of water out into buckets. Take out rock and place into buckets. Place coral and fish into individual bags. Not sure how to handle Nems on rocks —any suggestions?

Going to dump rest of water down the drain (will replace with new salt water). Going to scoop out sand and toss. I’m replacing with new tropic eden Reeflakes. I will rinse beforehand.

Take will be empty at this point. Going to hose it out and give the glass a good scrape. Put stand and tank in new home and begin the refilling process. New substrate goes in, a little bit of water. Start adding rock back in, have some new pieces I’ll be adding too. Place corals on rocks, get lights, filters, heaters running, toss fish back in (after some float acclimation).

Seems too easy in my head....what am I missing, overlooking, overthinking, going to screw up haha?

The rock and sand I’ll be adding is dry so I am little concerned about a minicycle but will probably do 2 water changes (10 gal) a week for the first 2 weeks to try and keep things balanced

 

[Tangina20]

Well folks, the time has come....I've been dreading this day for some time now, however, living in an apartment, it was inevitable.

I’m moving out and into the in-laws (temporarily). It’s about a 30 minute drive down the road so not too far. Here is my plan...

Current set up is 40 breeder with all HOB equipment. Going to drain about half of water out into buckets. Take out rock and place into buckets. Place coral and fish into individual bags. Not sure how to handle Nems on rocks —any suggestions?

Going to dump rest of water down the drain (will replace with new salt water). Going to scoop out sand and toss. I’m replacing with new tropic eden Reeflakes. I will rinse beforehand.

Take will be empty at this point. Going to hose it out and give the glass a good scrape. Put stand and tank in new home and begin the refilling process. New substrate goes in, a little bit of water. Start adding rock back in, have some new pieces I’ll be adding too. Place corals on rocks, get lights, filters, heaters running, toss fish back in (after some float acclimation).

Seems too easy in my head....what am I missing, overlooking, overthinking, going to screw up haha?

The rock and sand I’ll be adding is dry so I am little concerned about a minicycle but will probably do 2 water changes (10 gal) a week for the first 2 weeks to try and keep things balanced

I moved my 40b 2000 miles with no coral or fish deaths! As long as the livestock maintains a good temperature you should be fine moving 30 minutes! I definitely think you should have a Rubbermaid container on hand Incase anything goes wrong. What I would do is set up a 30g Rubbermaid at the new house with a powerhead and heater and put all of the livestock in it so you can take your time setting the tank up. You’ll be fine without having a light mounted for a couple days (I had my livestock in my Rubbermaid for a couple weeks before I set my tank back up but found a way to get my light on it). If you are worried about a mini cycle you can start barebottom and slowly add sand back to it maybe a few cups a week! If you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

[Deiblerj]

Hmm the Rubbermaid is not a bad idea! Thanks for your input!

 

[Tamberav]

As long as the sand and rock are CLEAN and free of organics...it won't cause issues. Some dry rock is pretty dirty though.

 

[Deiblerj]

As long as the sand and rock are CLEAN and free of organics...it won't cause issues. Some dry rock is pretty dirty though.

I was going to rinse the sand and rock with tap water then do a 50/50 vinegar and water soak. Then rinse with RODI

 

[Tamberav]

I was going to rinse the sand and rock with tap water then do a 50/50 vinegar and water soak. Then rinse with RODI

If it is dirty/used rock with dead stuff on it I just cycle it in a bucket for a few weeks with a powerhead then add to the tank. I have also seen people use diluted Muriatic Acid (use caution) which is cheaper and much faster than vinegar.

Vinegar would take awhile to dissolve the outer layer of the rock if that is what you are going for.

 

[Deiblerj]

It’s brand new dry rock from BRS

 

[WallysWorld]

Moved my Reefer 170 about three weeks ago - not a single loss of life. I hired my LFS to help me with the move, money well spent!

I replaced the sand. Gave it a good rinse in salt water before putting in the tank. Used a fish net and hands to place sand after rocks were in place and tank was about half full. Only issue was a small diatom bloom for a few days, then the diatoms died, or the cleaning crew got to it.

I gave my pumps and skimmer a good soak in citric acid to clean....was over due on that maintenance task anyway. Had to re-adjust overflow valve as the clean pump had greater flow than when dirty.

Have extra saltwater and RODI available. Take your time, most live stock can survive 24 hours of shipping!

 

[Deiblerj]

Moved my Reefer 170 about three weeks ago - not a single loss of life. I hired my LFS to help me with the move, money well spent!

I replaced the sand. Gave it a good rinse in salt water before putting in the tank. Used a fish net and hands to place sand after rocks were in place and tank was about half full. Only issue was a small diatom bloom for a few days, then the diatoms died, or the cleaning crew got to it.

I gave my pumps and skimmer a good soak in citric acid to clean....was over due on that maintenance task anyway. Had to re-adjust overflow valve as the clean pump had greater flow than when dirty.

Have extra saltwater and RODI available. Take your time, most live stock can survive 24 hours of shipping!

Do you like citric acid over vinegar?

 

[Tamberav]

It’s brand new dry rock from BRS

You should be fine with just a regular soak then

 

[WallysWorld]

Do you like citric acid over vinegar?

Citric seems to do a better job of removing calcium deposits, and its really cheap in powered form.

Vinegar works too, just takes longer and more work.....

 

[brandon429]

what a great plan for tank transfer here, pls update w pics we'll promptly link this work to the sand rinse thread of 25 pages of moves

 

[Deiblerj]

Well the process has begun!

Started getting everything prepped and ready to go. Currently got a piece of my rock soaking in vinegar to kill off some Aiptasia and GHA. Started rinsing my new substrate...definitely underestimated this task. Pretty sure I clogged my tub drain :mad:

Going to do the second bag in two different batches.

I’ve got 6 buckets ready to go. 4 have new saltwater.

More to come!