moving a working reef setup

[bioteacher]

So, I bought a 125g reef set-up from a guy on CL today. I am super excited but really nervous for 2 reasons. First, here is some info from the listing:
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Maroon Clown
Blonde Naso Tang
True Precula Clown
Fox Face
Zebra Damsel

Tons of Coral and Mushrooms

There is also a ton of Glass Anenome in there I've been trying to kill them off but have been unsuccessful.

Comes with a Metal Halide/T-5 lighting making up 800 Watts of true lighting power. Has a sump, I have the filter to Make R/O Water. I have 2 55gallon drums to put the extra water in either for water changes or for adding extra water into tank when needed.

I have tons of Chemicals and food left for them all of that will be included. Tank is all glass has about 100-125lbs of Live rock, and about 30lbs of Crushed Coral."
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He is giving me pretty much all of his stuff. My first concern is that I was not planning on a reef setup. I am a newbie to SW, and I wanted to start with fish and LR and move from there as I learned. There are a lot of cool species of corals that I do not even know the species. You might be able to help me out by looking at the picture. I do know that there is A LOT of Glass Anemone becuase the owner has not had time to fight them off. So, I will have to deal with that....lemon juice, kalk, nudibranches, peppermints here I come!

My biggest concern is moving this whole working system about an hour from its current location to my house. I wanna clean it up a bit while the fish and corals are out. I would love to paint the back black. I am concerned about what I should do with the fish and coral if I go this route. Can I just keep them in a rubbermaid for a couple days with some LR and a powerhead (and light probably for the corals???). Or am I better off just setting the whole thing up ASAP and skip the paint?

I actually have access behind my tank because of the way it is built in to my house. Can I paint the back of the tank with the inhabitants in it?

Any advice?

 

[FlopNewsom]

I hired the LF to move mine. It wasn't cheap and he wasn't nearly as careful as I would have been but so far it's okay.

 

[Retired_AF]

To paint the back you can get a glass enamel that goes on with a roller. Thats how I painted mine. The paint is available at some hobby stores and at some Walmarts. Just be sure it is for glass. The bottles say that it takes about 3 weeks to fully cure when air drying but it is dry to the touch and can be coated again the next day. On my 90-tall tank it took me 3 coats before I was satisfied with the coverage. Each coat took 1-1/2 bottles at $2 each and I used a little 4-inch roller found in the paint department. Make sure you dont drip on any carpet or rugs. Cleanup is with soap and water before it dries. Using this method there is no overspray to get into the tank.

 

[jjamontan]

You are getting a reef tank and in my opinion it is a step up from FOWLR. I think you should keep it as a reef tank.

 

[bskerrichard27]

The corals will be stressed but I would not.keep them in buckets morethan 48 hours with light and flow and water temp maintained

 

[bioteacher]

To paint the back you can get a glass enamel that goes on with a roller. Thats how I painted mine. The paint is available at some hobby stores and at some Walmarts. Just be sure it is for glass. The bottles say that it takes about 3 weeks to fully cure when air drying but it is dry to the touch and can be coated again the next day. On my 90-tall tank it took me 3 coats before I was satisfied with the coverage. Each coat took 1-1/2 bottles at $2 each and I used a little 4-inch roller found in the paint department. Make sure you dont drip on any carpet or rugs. Cleanup is with soap and water before it dries. Using this method there is no overspray to get into the tank.

Cool, thanks for the info. I will check it out.

 

[bioteacher]

You are getting a reef tank and in my opinion it is a step up from FOWLR. I think you should keep it as a reef tank.

All I know is that the guy I am buying it from bought it from somebody else on CL a couple years back. I am not sure if he bought it with inverts or if it was FOWLR and then he added the inverts. I definitely intend to keep it reef, assuming I don't kill all the inverts due to moving stress followed by lack of experience. Gulp! Nervous!

 

[bioteacher]

The corals will be stressed but I would not.keep them in buckets morethan 48 hours with light and flow and water temp maintained

I think that I decided that I am going to get everything moved and set up ASAP. I just want to get everything back into the tank, so they are not too stressed. It will limit my creative ability with repositioning rock and such, but it is probably better for the inhabitants.

 

[bioteacher]

Does anyone know if I should be planning a large pwc for the day of the move? If so, that is something I am going to have to get set up earlier this week so water has a little time to age.

 

[edwardclaxton]

An hr away isnt that bad. Many aquarium stores online ship fish coral,inverts and it usually takes a day and a half. So rlly no worry there.. If I were u my main concern after the fish that is, is getting the water back into the and getting the right temp. If u divide the water if u can that is Into 2 amd only have 2 totes or wjatever u use. This will help bc when u have more of substance at the same temp it takes lomger for it to change. But ur live rock when ive bought some the lfs just wrapped it in wet newspaper. And your coral most can live out of water for up to 6 hrs bc in the ocean theres low and high tide. Inverts,fish,and anemones keep in water of course. Amd if u think ur not rdyfor coral then take them to lfs most of the time they will do some trading with u. other than that when the day comes remember to pace yourself, becareful, and finish no matter what. Also stay calm when alot is goimg on it gets overwhelming and things start to go wrong.. Hope this helps

 

[bioteacher]

An hr away isnt that bad. Many aquarium stores online ship fish coral,inverts and it usually takes a day and a half. So rlly no worry there.. If I were u my main concern after the fish that is, is getting the water back into the and getting the right temp. If u divide the water if u can that is Into 2 amd only have 2 totes or wjatever u use. This will help bc when u have more of substance at the same temp it takes lomger for it to change. But ur live rock when ive bought some the lfs just wrapped it in wet newspaper. And your coral most can live out of water for up to 6 hrs bc in the ocean theres low and high tide. Inverts,fish,and anemones keep in water of course. Amd if u think ur not rdyfor coral then take them to lfs most of the time they will do some trading with u. other than that when the day comes remember to pace yourself, becareful, and finish no matter what. Also stay calm when alot is goimg on it gets overwhelming and things start to go wrong.. Hope this helps

Cool, thanks for the input. Good tip on the lfs trade. I wouldn't have thought of that. I will check with mine to see what they do, but I think I am going to give a try. Any thoughts on rearranging rock formation after everything settles in? I think I wanna try a different arrangement than is shown in the picture, but I'm not sure if it is safe to move things around after everything is set up.

 

[bioteacher]

Also, any experience with glass anemones? The picture I put up was a "before" picture when the owner had more time. In reality it is pretty infested. The owner says lemon juice injected at the base of the stalk works. Any advantages/disadvantages to this vs. kalk?

 

[bioteacher]

Here's another one: after the move, do I use the old tank water, or do I mix new?

 

[FlopNewsom]

I saved what I could of the old water. It ended up being half old and half new.