Moving established 55 gal reef setup across town

[nawlins9175]

I am moving this 55 gal reef setup about 30 miles and need some advice on doing it safely. I've read some of the other posts about getting large tubs from walmart and bagging the fish and coral. Any particular kind of tubs will work? I plan on putting LR and water in them. Do I need to wrap LR in newspaper for such a short trip?

Also, there is currently crushed coral in the tank and I would like to switch to sand. Live sand or argonite....what's the best?

Will this cause a problem with my tank (bacteria levels) when it is back set up even if I'm using all the same filter and LR. No new LR or fish will be added.

Do I need to cure the LS....for how long? I've read how. Just nervous about move.

Any other advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[roka64]

You can probably put the LR in the tub with your tank water, or just use wet newspaper.
As for the tubs, watch out some of them are coated w/an anti mold or bacteria (not sure which) coating. I believe I've seen mst people go with rubbermaid.
Live sand should by aragonite. I'm not really sure LS is really live, since its been sitting on a shelf at room temp or higher.
You don't want the silica based sand, that is very sharp.
I think if you remove all of your CC at once, it might cause problems, since the bacteria lives in the substrate. I removed about 1/3 of mine at a time and replaced with sand. I did leave a little of my CC in the bottom.
I would have a batch of premixed water ready at the new place, if possible. Moving that CC will stir up the nasties in the CC.

Do I need to cure the LS....for how long? I've read how. Just nervous about move.

You shouldn't if you do the switch slowly, when you remove 1/3 of the CC, the critters and bacteria should migrate to the sand.
HTH

[lando]

Moving a tank is a PITA but, with proper planning, is simple. I say go for 5 gal buckets with handles instead. They will be easier to handle. The key is making sure you have plenty of aged and aerated new SW on hand to use in the process. Put LR in a bucket with some water and cover the top of the LR with a damp towel on top of it. Put the substrate in another bucket and disgard the mirky water at the bottom of your tank. Do NOT rinse the substrate. Fill up some more buckets with as much water as you can and put the livestock in one. Move all and rebuild. There will likely be a disturbance to the biological filtration of the tank so have plenty of aged SW on hand todo waer changes if needed and check parameters daily for a couple of weeks.

[nawlins9175]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to get some fresh SW going tomorrow to let it age and aerate. How much do you think? Maybe 40 gallons or so to do a few water changes over the next couple of days after the move.

Any other advice as far as setting the tank back up? What about my corals and fish? How should I go about reacclimating my fish and corals?

What order should I use to rebuild the tank? I guess what I'm asking is: What steps should I go through once I get the tank to its new home. Setup, add water and then substrate and then LR. I just don't know. Help?

[lando]

Maybe 40 gallons or so to do a few water changes over the next couple of days after the move.

That should be good.

Any other advice as far as setting the tank back up? What about my corals and fish? How should I go about reacclimating my fish and corals?

This may be a longer process. I would put corals in plastic bags from the LFS and fish in a bucket, keep an eye on the temp of the water. Once your tank is set up, the temp, SG and Ph should be the same as the water in the buckets. Acclimate as normal.

What order should I use to rebuild the tank?

I find it easiet to add the substrate, then the LR and then the water. Your tank will be cloudy for a few days. You should lan on serval hours to devote to just this project. Once you start it, concentrate on it until it is finished. This is tough to do when you are moving.