175 gallon tank move

[ramsey]

Hey Guys,

I'm interested in hiring someone to move a 175 bow front reef tank from New Braunfels to Austin. Ideally, I'd like them to do all the tear down and set up. Also, there is about 120lb of LR with various softies and anemones attached, as well as a handful of fish and other inverts. Does anyone know someone that can do a move like this? Also, any idea on a price? Thanks in advance.

[ramsey]

And one more thing. I've considered doing it myself but I'm concerned with the tank cycling again and killing everything off. If I can't find someone that can do this, I may be selling some corals and fish cheap. :P

[neogenix]

What you meant to say was moving from Austin to New Braunfels, right?

[ramsey]

Yes! That's exactly what I meant to say!

[allan]

Having just done a tank move myself (from one end of the room to the other) I can tell you it isn't that easy.

Tearing it down shouldn't be too much of a problem although you would be surprised at just how much coral you actually have when it's no longer arrayed in your tank, but lying in a bucket.

Can you set up a temp tank in Brunsfels prior to bringing down your equipment?

This would give you time to properly set up your display tank without having to worry about temperature and stressing the fish. You'd probably only need to put your coral and fish in there. Your rock would suffice in a trash can with little more than a power head and heater.

Trust me when I say you really do not want to be rushed when you reassemble your tank in the new location.

[ramsey]

Well, I did the tank move and everything is doing great so far. I did not have another tank large enough for all the fish and coral. I did keep about 90% of the water. I used two 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tanks (got 'em from Tractor Supply). After filling them partially with water from the tank, I sat all the live rock and corals in one. The other I used just for storing water. The fish I kept in a 5 gallon bucket with an air stone and battery powered pump. When the stock tanks were full, I covered them with plastic drop cloth and put some duck tape around it. I then took a piece of plywood I had bought the day before and screwed into the stock tank. This proved to be an awesome method since we arrived with 99% of the water we left with. Once we got the tank unloaded, I put some of the sand back in, put in some water and added the LR. I then topped it off with water. The only thing that I was not able to get done is get the sump plumbed. We had a slow leak around one the bulkheads. We have since sealed it with aquarium sealant. I added a couple of extra powerheads to keep good flow in the tank. Everything has survived so far. I checked the ammonia and nitrite levels yesterday and couldn't detect any. The next few weeks should be crucial but so far, everything looks great. The fish are lively and the corals and anemones are opening up.

A temp tank would have been much easier and better but I didn't have that luxury. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks but so far, it seems we did a pretty good job all things considered. Just thought I'd let everyone know in case there's someone else in my situation.

[Edit] And yes! Doing a tank move of this size is A LOT of work. It's not for the faint of heart.

[neogenix]

Well, I did the tank move and everything is doing great so far. I did not have another tank large enough for all the fish and coral. I did keep about 90% of the water. I used two 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tanks (got 'em from Tractor Supply). After filling them partially with water from the tank, I sat all the live rock and corals in one. The other I used just for storing water. The fish I kept in a 5 gallon bucket with an air stone and battery powered pump. When the stock tanks were full, I covered them with plastic drop cloth and put some duck tape around it. I then took a piece of plywood I had bought the day before and screwed into the stock tank. This proved to be an awesome method since we arrived with 99% of the water we left with. Once we got the tank unloaded, I put some of the sand back in, put in some water and added the LR. I then topped it off with water. The only thing that I was not able to get done is get the sump plumbed. We had a slow leak around one the bulkheads. We have since sealed it with aquarium sealant. I added a couple of extra powerheads to keep good flow in the tank. Everything has survived so far. I checked the ammonia and nitrite levels yesterday and couldn't detect any. The next few weeks should be crucial but so far, everything looks great. The fish are lively and the corals and anemones are opening up.

A temp tank would have been much easier and better but I didn't have that luxury. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks but so far, it seems we did a pretty good job all things considered. Just thought I'd let everyone know in case there's someone else in my situation.

[Edit] And yes! Doing a tank move of this size is A LOT of work. It's not for the faint of heart.

Good job Mr Ramsey, now if only you'd work that hard at work... ;) I'm expecting my invitation to come see it all shortly !!