Help - moving!!

[SLynchie]

Hi everyone. I need some help, and wanted to ask you experts here on the site.

I am going to be moving, within a driving distance, and will need to relocate my aquarium. Beside the fact that I am scare to damage it, kill all my fish and coral, and lose everything, I don't know how I should tackle this problem. Here are some stats:

75 gallon saltwater aquarium (aquarium and pine stand)
200 lbs live sand
100+ lbs live rock
coral (candy cane trumpets, polyps, buttons, mushrooms, and other cool things i don't remember the names of - all soft corals)
2 clowns,
1 mandarin goby
1 sail fin tang,
multiple snails, hermits, starfishes, shrimp
5 emerald crabs

Accessories (power heads, refugium, canister filter, protein skimmer, heater, lights, etc).

Ideally I would want to try to leave the sand, and just a little bit of water covering it to move it, but I do not know if that will be possible because I dont think I can lift the aquarium off the base without damaged full of sand and just an inch of water.

What do I do? And how much damage will it cause it I take all the sand out, then put all the sand down again??

HELP!! Thanks in advance!

[cuttingras]

I left my sand and about an inch of water in my tank when I moved it. I had two big guys lift it but I did back my car up to the front door, so they didn't have too far to carry it(55 gal) and all my snails/crabs were in there. I put the rocks into 3 rubbermaid containers that were half filled with water and closed and taped the lid. in another container I put the fish/shrimp and anemone, heater and air pump and taped the lid shut too. Everyone made it except for one crab.... you'll need lots of towels and extra salt water already made up...7 hour move for me...

It seems as though everyone is moving lately! Good luck with the move and if you have more questions ask!!!

[reef_guru]

i just moved a 72 gallon bowfront reef tank. 44 gallon rubbermaid heavy duty trash cans work wonders. one with sand and some water. another with the top shelf rock/corals and water. another with bottom rock/water. a 5 gallon with fish/water. have about half the tank in new water on standby. dont use the water from the sand bucket or bottom rock bucket.

i posted this in another thread similar to this one

[baugherb]

I'm moving my tank! Need Advice Here's the post...

[superclouds]

How far is the drive and how fast can you set it back up? I used 5g buckets when I moved but only moved 15-20min away. Also I read that your suppose to keep as much water as possible, I kept about 1/2 the tank. If your driving for a long a distance I might worry about the oxygen in the water with putting lids on the carrying device. I aslo left all my sand and aragonite in the tank which made it heavy as he77 but it road in the truck good. Hope that helps.

[SLynchie]

Thanks all!! Our house is on the market, but we have not bought a new one yet. I am just preparing myself for the move. I am soo nervous about moving that baby already.

To cuttingras - with leaving the sand and a bit of water - did you have a difficult time getting the glass aquarium off of that stand? A friend recommended a piece of wood to put under once you get it off the sand to help stabilize. I might get some wood too. What are your thoughts?

Thanks everyone for your help. I am sure when it gets closer I will be back with last minute questions. I am going to start making extra water soon, then rotate from bucket to bucket an air pump.

[cuttingras]

My hubby and my son lifted it off the stand, if I recall correctly, they slid one side so they could get their fingers under it.(my son is 6'6" and can lift a bus by himself if he wanted to lol) you might want to look into using furniture movers(small 4 wheeled, low to ground, padded and wooden) Great Plains Wood Dollie w/Carpet Pads - Dollies at Hand Trucks Also, when I was emptying the water from the tank, we put a few of the bigger containers into the back of my car and I filled them up that way, a bucket at a time, the fish being the first ones(that I could catch) into their bucket, then the rock, then the rest of the water.... I did keep the rock wet the whole time.

[baugherb]

Good luck when the time comes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!