Moving Tank Question

[alexwolf]

What is the safest way to move a tank to minimize loss? How much water do you normally retain? And, how do you move 150 gal of water???

[dan]

very slowly. bucket by bucket. i would save at least 50 percent of the water. have the other 50% mixing and ready to go. are you moving your tank? bought another tank? come on you can tell us. :o :o

[RobertG]

I used large 45G trash cans & lots of elbow grease. I always did the best to not disturb the sandbed. You moving already, you just set it up. I put the cans in the back of my truck, then pumped the water into them. Lots of hose, & time. Luckily I had a big trailer at the time so tank, stand, water, & all the rocks ( in trash cans) BTW. All fit on the trailer. Of course all the other equipment. Livestock I out in buckets, ice chest, whatever I had that was clean enough for this use. I kept all the water I could. Then added what I needed.

Good Luck, HTH

[DeAngelove]

I agree with Robert & Dan -
Its also a good idea to have a few people to help with the transport and unloading of the tank and especially the livestock. Someone to keep an eye on the critters during transport helps too.
Good luck! :-)

~Denise :-)

[alexwolf]

we are buying a bigger house, and i didnt want to disturb much.........does anyone have a big tank or something for water?

[DeAngelove]

Alex -
I know you can rent 5gallon jugs from Austin Aquariums for very cheap... maybe someplace in SA does the same thing.

~Densie :-)

[z28pwr]

Alex, I would suggest you buy a 100 gallon rubbermaid stock tank and move your rock, fish and corals into the stock tank, then move the tank and set it back up.

A stock tank will run from $75 - $110 . LockHill Feed Carries the 100 gallon RubberMaid stock tank for $100, They also have the 150 gallon one.

[Brett Wilson]

The only issue with moving it all in one large tank is that the rock can crush anything else in the event of a wreck or maybe a sudden stop.

My suggestion for live stock is to get a container of some sort like a rubbermaid trash can , fill it part way with water, and put in your corals in bags full of water (but not closed).
You can stack corals against each other this way and they wont sting each other.

You will end up with a container mostly full of water and each coral individually bagged but taking up VERY LITTLE room. I fit a 75 gallon fully stocked SPS tank into two 15 gallon containers. I didn't lose a single coral and brokes the tips off of only a few of the huge colonies.

Hope that helps and good luck.

[alexwolf]

how about moving 100-150 gals of water without losing it all over the back of a truck?

[Brett Wilson]

Three rubbermaid tough trash cans at around 40 gallons each. if you ahve a lot of rock/coral you don't have exactlly 150 gallons in there.

They are around $20 at home depot last time I checked.
They are blue and quite sturdy.

[alexwolf]

no i have a 175 bowfront, with a 20 gal fuge and a 39 gal sump. I figure 100 gal would be approx 50% of the water.

[Brett Wilson]

oh ok. well i'd use those trash cans and/or multiple trips with 5 gallon jugs...

I've never saved all of the water from anything over 120g though.

[R.Allard]

alex if you need help moving the heavy 40 or 50 gallon trash cans etc of water i have a low-boy 8x10 tilt bed trailer.. if you get the trashcans with wheels we could roll them rigt up on the trailer!!!
Robert

[Brett Wilson]

When using the wheel units be careful that they don't tip.

[R.Allard]

i have some comercial winch straps.. they wont go anywhere..

[alexwolf]

so Robert, that means you are going to help right? After all, it WAS you that caused this moving frenzy anyways :D

[BA]

i rented some huge suction cups, (just for moving glass and acrylic), when we moved the 375 and they helped A LOT!!!!

[obtusewit]

You can buy plastic 55 gallon drums for about $40 from several sources. They are black, heavily built and dont cave in or have the splashability of trashcans. They are also handy for storing RO or premix. I have one if you want to borrow it, PM me

[GaryP]

Alex, I have lots of containers for water and livestock. Give me a call. I have moved tanks across country 3 times in the last 2 year. A Python would also be helpful for moving the water out to the truck. If you don't have one, I can loan you mine. Its only 50 feet long, so I don't know if it will reach your driveway or not. I have some 30 gal. plastic drums that I used and have only been used for SW. They are big enough to carry a fair amount of water but not so heavy that two or three guys can't lift into a trailer or push up the ramp of a U-Haul. They can also be moved on a 2-wheeler. You can get used food grade 55 gal. drums fairly cheap and clean them very well with bleach, but the problem is that they will weigh close to 500 # when full. They would work OK if you are able to pump into and out of them from a vehicle. I know a lot of LFS use them for making and storing SW.

My best suggestion is to hold your livestock in rubber made tubs with a small powerhead like an MJ until you get the tanks set up at the new house. Then move the livestock. Have a lot of extra SW made up in case you need it. Try to keep at least 50% of the old water. Remember that the LR is going to displace a lot of water when you add it to the tank so be ready to drain water as needed. Also have something ready to filter the water. I use a poly filter and a magnum. A lot of sediment is going to be stirred up in your LS when you move it and the water is going to look nasty for a while. Running a lot of carbon through a forced flow carbon filter is a good idea too. You are going to be releasing a lot of nutrients from your LS and from some die off. Finally, be ready for a hair and bubble algae outbreak. It seems like it comes with the territory every time I have moved tanks. It seems like I end up making an order to GARF for reef janitors after every move.

I would also think about re-doing the lights and adding cooling fans to your hood while you have the tank broken down. You can go without lights for a day or two while this is being done.

The main thing to remember is speed. Do everything you can to make the move as fast as possible without taking short cuts that will endanger your livestock. If you know someone that can babysit your fish and corals for a few days until you get everything stabilized that would be good too. Don't add any new lifestock for a few months, except maybe clean up crew, after the move. Be ready to check your ammonia levels to make sure you don't get a spike from die-off. Adding a phosphate filter might not be a bad idea either.

Gary

[wkopplin]

I have one on wheels that I only use for fish stuff you can borrow. It has a flip lid and is the heavy duty rubbermaid.

[alexwolf]

BTW Gary, when i added that fan, it brought the temp down from 86 to 80. LOL cheap $7 clip on fan.

[dan]

when is all this going to happen? i thought the house you have now was great.

[alexwolf]

Its for sale :)

[dan]

the house or the tank? he he

[GaryP]

Alex,

I sent my wife to get a couple of them yesterday. I had to shut my MH off today because of temp. It was up to 85. When I get my new pump hooked up it should help a lot.

Another thing I would suggest that you take into consideration is that you are measuring your temp in the sump. The temp of the aerated water in the sump will probably be 1-2 degrees cooler than in the tank.

[R.Allard]

when are you gonna move the tank???

[Tim Marvin]

The temp should be the same throughout the entire system, otherwise you don't have enough flow.... In theory if you are surface skimming the water in the sump would be warmer because that water is being slightly heated by the lights. Anyway, if it measures different you need to up the flow through the sump.

[alexwolf]

I think i have enough flow through the sump. I dont know what hes talking about!!! I think we close on July 31.

[Tim Marvin]

Your temp measure the same right...?

[GaryP]

Tim,

I suggested he measure both the sump and the tank to confirm that they are the same. That's easy enough to do. You may be right.

Gary