How to move a 180g tank efficiently

[playaslk]

Hey guys,
I am considering relocating and am trying to figure out the best way to move the aquariums.
The tank in question is a 180 gal eurobraced. It had a bunch of sps mini colonies which makes this a bit more of a challenge.
I was thinking of different ways of doing this and came up w the following tentative plan.
1. Move my water change station to the new location and make fresh water.
2. Purchase the black feed tub (110 gallons or similar) and move the fish and base rock into it.
3. Use another similar tub or a 40 breeder for corals as a temp holding tank.
4. Use a ton of 5 gallon buckets w lids to keep as much of the original water as I can.
5. Break down the DT and move it into the new location and dump the 5 gallon buckets into the tank at least partially filling it.
6. Move the rocks and corals and fish in these 5 gallon buckets and place into tank ASAP.

That's the gist of it, any suggestions are welcome and if it happens, the move may be maybe 30 miles

 

[SchnitzelReef]

First shoot yourself in the head, that should help. Hahaha. Good luck. No matter which way u do it, it's gunna be a pain. IMO that's the worst part of the hobby.

 

[oredith]

it's a pain in the *** already if you're moving an established 180g 30 feet, 30 miles will be a huge headache.

the water will be a huge hassle, and guaranteed to spill a ton since you'll probably have like 40 buckets of water?

here's what I would do:

1. borrow a 40+ gal tank from someone, bring over water from the 180 tank, and set the 40g up at the new location with a pump, heater, and some rocks.
2. catch all fish/livestock and transfer to the new tank
3. possibly double up the trip by transfering the corals too, not sure how much there is and if that's feasible
4. if transfer of coral isn't feasible with the fish, consider finding a friend close by with enough room to temporarily house your corals
5. rent/borrow a LARGE water container(s) to transport the water. i'm sure there are people on the forum who have 50g drums they can lend for the weekend.
6. move water
7. move tank
8. fill water
9. re-introduce fish
10. get coral, put coral back.

the one takeaway is, i would NOT suggestion trying to go the 5g buckets route.
[*]

 

[SAKTEK]

Where are you located?


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[SchnitzelReef]

Ya. It would be worth buying a couple 30g trash cans from Home Depot with lids. Put the cans in your truck/suv/van and fill them with water and put all the fish and coral in the cans. When u get to your new spot, unload all the fish and corals into empty cans. (Doing it this way will take at least 4 cans. 2 will be full of water and livestock and 2 have to be empty. Unless of course u can carry the 30g trash can full of water) make sure u have an air stone and a heater.

 

[playaslk]

I am in encino. The above suggestions are good and I will work w that but the problem is I have fish that won't easily all fit into a 40 breeder. 5 medium tangs including a powder blue, Achilles and a nice size blonde naso

 

[oredith]

maybe a 5 gal bucket for each fish. that's a lot of pumps though.

 

[playaslk]

Maybe I can split them up into two 32 g buckets and figure out how to run it that way. My enabler friends are telling me to upgrade now to a 72/30/xx tank and set it up there slowly. **** reefers , worse than druggies

 

[mark.a.smith405]

Upgrade upgrade upgrade!!!

 

[lhernandez101]

Upgrade upgrade upgrade!!!

+1


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[suvuong7]

Hire a professional tank mover....easiest and might be cheapest....imo

 

[reefLA1]

My friend moves tanks pm for info if you want


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[newtothis]

it's a pain in the *** already if you're moving an established 180g 30 feet, 30 miles will be a huge headache.

the water will be a huge hassle, and guaranteed to spill a ton since you'll probably have like 40 buckets of water?

here's what I would do:

1. borrow a 40+ gal tank from someone, bring over water from the 180 tank, and set the 40g up at the new location with a pump, heater, and some rocks.
2. catch all fish/livestock and transfer to the new tank
3. possibly double up the trip by transfering the corals too, not sure how much there is and if that's feasible
4. if transfer of coral isn't feasible with the fish, consider finding a friend close by with enough room to temporarily house your corals
5. rent/borrow a LARGE water container(s) to transport the water. i'm sure there are people on the forum who have 50g drums they can lend for the weekend.
6. move water
7. move tank
8. fill water
9. re-introduce fish
10. get coral, put coral back.

the one takeaway is, i would NOT suggestion trying to go the 5g buckets route.
[*]

This is the best option you have. They do sell those long storage containers at HD That should be sufficient to house your corals, fish and rocks . I would transfer the rocks, catch the fish, rack up the corals(make sure they don't sting each other) set them up in the containers. So on move day, you won't be so rushed to get evrything set up and running. Believe it or not ,no matter how early you start their wont be enough time to get everything done in one day without stressing the F out and doing a half ***. Plan it out get some reefer to help you.

 

[Six2seven]

I moved my 180g work tank a couple of months ago.

Weeks Before the move siphon all the sand out of the tank, set it to the side and this can be the last thing you add back in weeks later after you wash/replace it.

A week before the move cut the power to the return and remove the sump and drop the water level down just under the overflow. Aim your pumps to the surface and add more pumps in the meantime. Add a bubble if you're scared but your tank will be fine with just circulation and some surface agitation.

Days before the move, remove all rocks first with some tank water in a 35g trash bin. I was able to fit over 100lbs with a power head for circulation.

When you're ready for the move, put fish and corals Into the 5g buckets. Snap the lids on well and you won't spill anything. Drain water into the largest buckets you can move. I had 3 55g drums and that took all of the water from the display. It was easy that way, otherwise it's a lot of trips with 5g buckets.

Add all water up to the overflow and add fish and corals as soon as you can. Add circulation pumps and aim them at the surface. You're set from there. After that you can slowly add rocks that day or the next day. You can set up your sump, re-do any plumbing that you've been wanting to change and get it going on your own time. The less time you have fish and coral in buckets the better. Tanks are fine with just surface agitation and circulation. Don't forget to add a heater

 

[playaslk]

some excellent points but im assuming you left all the corals inside the tank while you removed all the rocks? alot of my flat pieces have sps encrusted on them so I am not able to "remove them" without damage. I can remove some rock but not the top layers. Its probably ok as long as those top rocks dont get crushed (and damage the corals) during the trip.

Also you moved the fish in 5 gallon buckets with lids tight? what about the air? (or do you think that a few hours is ok in a closed bucket?)
As far as the sps go, i can remove the sump and use it or buy another 40gallon and set that up on the floor in the new place with lights/water movement for a day. Of course the corals will all be sitting on the bottom of the tank or on eggcrate but its better than nothing im assuming.

 

[Six2seven]

some excellent points but im assuming you left all the corals inside the tank while you removed all the rocks? alot of my flat pieces have sps encrusted on them so I am not able to "remove them" without damage. I can remove some rock but not the top layers. Its probably ok as long as those top rocks dont get crushed (and damage the corals) during the trip.

Also you moved the fish in 5 gallon buckets with lids tight? what about the air? (or do you think that a few hours is ok in a closed bucket?)
As far as the sps go, i can remove the sump and use it or buy another 40gallon and set that up on the floor in the new place with lights/water movement for a day. Of course the corals will all be sitting on the bottom of the tank or on eggcrate but its better than nothing im assuming.

All my corals that I couldn't remove from the rocks went into 5 gallon buckets with rock and all.

One fish per 5g bucket filled with 4 gallons of water can stay in a bucket with a tight lid with no air for 3 hours at least. You can always open the buckets and swirl them around for agitation. Or add a battery powered bubbler for 15 minutes on each bucket

 

[RVJ]

take a picture of everything you gonna move.

 

[Ryecoon]

Whatever you do. Dont Re-Use your Live sand. Once that sand is stirred up its a wrap for the water.

 

[Usingthejohn]

Whatever you do. Dont Re-Use your Live sand. Once that sand is stirred up its a wrap for the water.

You can reuse the old sand as long as its thoroughly rinsed

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[Ryecoon]

I guess i didn't rinse good enough. Gave me an ammonia spike. Your best bet just replace with new sand if its old.