Moving advice.

Never can have too many bins as an aquarist IMO.

 

I always empty all my tanks completly before moving.
100% clean everything up. tank,pumps,etc..
need 6 5g buckets or better 10g plastic rubbermaid bins.

1 for liverock
1 for fish
1 for sand/inverts
1 for corals/inverts
2 for water

I use a bait battery operated air regulator with air stone for fishes.
I try to save atleast 25-50% old water.
As long as your tanks setup within 8-12 hours, everything should be fine. I'll even rotate air stone around to corals/invert bucket then back to fishes.

move tank, setup everything.. drink some beers.

 

I moved my tank not too long ago and used the 18 gallon rubbermaids from home depot for all the water, rock and fish. I used like 12 of them and only filled them half way up to allow for the sloshing of water to not spill out.
Although I do like that garbage bag idea....that would stop any spillage.

Another thing to note is have water ready on the other end...RO water...matching temp and salinity. You will need it....not only for water that spills, but your going to want to do a water change at this time as well.

When you leave sand in there it will stir up so much detritis that your nitrates are gonna shoot up....maybe vacuum this stuff a little bit as part of the water change. But its almost inevitable.

Just have a plan, follow it....go slow and easy and you'll be fine.

Get heaters and powerheads for the rock and fish too!!!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I'm also considering getting a professional to do it, or help me. We got a really good price on the house we bought, but we had to compromise on the closing date. It all depends on the price, and how reliable he seems. At least the referral came from a good source. I'm thinking that if the guy has all his own equipment, it might not be much more expensive to use him than it would be to buy all the bins, rent a truck etc.

I just want to be prepared in case I have to move it myself.

 

Another thought....if I do end up moving the tank myself, do you think it would be worthwhile to document it with pics, commentary, and then post it on 3reef?

Or has that been done to death already?

 

I moved not too long ago. I left the sand and anything living under the sand in the tank with about 1-2 inches of water. I used a rubbermaid and various plastic containers to transport my livestock. I also moved almost all of the water that was in the tank so nothing was terribly shocked.

 

i know for a fact , it would almost be expected of you to do this. lol. i dont think anyone ever gets tired of documentation of this. and everyone loves pics here.

 

please document it - i do not think that can ever be overdone. I have subscribed to every "move related" thread on here that was started after i joined, including yours!

everyone's move is different in one way or another - there is always something to learn and at the very least you have a cheering section here for you!

good luck