Has anyone had to move their Tank?

[Toddww1]

Ive had a 30 gallon tank about 6 months, and my stand has always worried me so i got a heavy duty black dresser to aleviate my concern. went to the LFS to borrow some buckets, only 3, and came home to empty. wow!! what fun!! after the 3 buckets were full and the live rock out, still alot of water left. i had about 15 glass bowls with fish and frags scattered around the living room, spilling water everywhere. after i moved the tank with sand and some water, i mixed the sand around and got the live rock back in. needless to say it was so cloudy for 3 hours i couldnt see in to adjust all my rock. got the fish in right away and they did good. once i could see in, i got everything set back up. it was a stressful nightmare. today the water is clear and everything is wide open and happy. i was very worried about things dying. ill post a pic below. Has anyone else done this before? Any tips or stories about your moving that could be shared. I always enjoy feedback on what other people do. tricks of the trade are appreciated. Please ask me any questions.

 

[Mpfaff77]

I always save my old salt buckets for occasions where I would need to move tank. I own a home now so don't plan on moving tank anymore. But I still use salt buckets to do major cleanings or re aqua scaping

Planning is key as well.

 

[Boomer23]

Well i have fresh water so idk about all the salt scenarios, but wen i moved my 29fal i waited for my periodic water change nd brought water lvl down to 40 percent but i had water ready for the occasion as well, nd a buddy to help me move it

 

[Oceangirl]

yeah i've been there

I went from my ten gallon to a twenty high, I am short person. I keep my aquarium in the kitchen. I laid down towels, all over the floor. I also had to move this same aquarium into our current apartment 4 months ago. here how I upgraded the tank.
I set up one right next to each other. I use a clean tupperware to scoop all my gravel out and into the new tank. Then I used my gravel vacuum and transferred a good amount water, then moved my plants, then my livestock once I had a good amount of water in the new tank. then when the old tank was light enough of the water, I picked it up and switched spots with the old tank. I let the gravel vac transfer the water for me, it allowed the gentle flow not to upset all the gravel. All my fish survived. even my six year old black neon, darn thing has survived every disease.

 

[200 gallon reef]

Here is my nightmare. . . . I bought a 200 gallan reef tank from a guy on craigslist. . . I was brand new to the hobby and he told me that it would be best to save all of the water in the tank to put back in it. . . .makes sense now but I was lost that day. Went out and bought 20 - 15 gallon tubs from walmart bc I knew they would take them back afterwards. ; ) borrowed my dads truck and got to the guys house at 3 pm . . . . . We caught all of the fish and put them into a 5 gallon bucket with an aerator. Put the 80 lbs of live rock into bucket, then scooped out all of the sand and into another bucket it went. . . By this time it was 5 and we made our first trip to my house with livestock. Went back and laid out as many buckets flat in the bed of the truck as possible (around 5) and took a garden hose to pump all of the water 30 feet to the back of the truck. . . Made another trip to my house . . . 5 trips later we load up the heaviest tank I have ever picked up and brought it over. After it was all said and done it was 4 am and I had most of the water in the tank, but no livestock.

 

[cerulean_blue]

I've moved my 29gal FW 3 times and most recently I moved my 29gal SW AND my 55gal FW at the same time! Took me about 6 hours to move them both.

As mentioned above you need to plan the break down, the move, and the re-build in your head beforehand. Do not just start moving stuff.

I didn't have any coral to deal with, so maybe someone can chime in with some tips on moving coral.

Here is a general outline:
1. Have plenty of buckets and some reusable lids, I currently own 14 5gal buckets and 6 lids.
2. Remove water from tanks and put into buckets - this will be used to hold LR and fish.
3. Remove LR and decorations. Place LR in bucket of water.
4. Remove at least half of the water from tank (save in buckets if possible for refilling)
5. Net fish out and place into buckets. Make sure to put lids on.
6. Unplug equipment only after fish have been removed
7. Move air stone from tank and place in buckets to provide oxygen to fish. The fish can last in buckets with oxygen for a while, I've had them in buckets for as long as 6 hours with no issues.
8. Continue to remove the rest of the water until your down to the substrate
9. Get a plastic scooper, I used a brand new dust pan. Use the scooper to scoop out the gravel/sand and put in a bucket.
10. Move the tanks, stands, equipment. Make sure to pad the glass tanks so they don't scratch or crack during the move
11. If you are moving a tank a big distance it is very dangerous to move without taking out all water and all sand. When you lift a glass tank you are improperly displacing pressure so you don't want sand and water in there.
12. Set up the aquarium and stands at new location
13. Replace the substrate
14. Replace the FW/SW
15. Put in the LR/Decorations
16. Hook up and turn on equipment
17. Let cloudiness settle, do not worry about aquascaping perfectly
18. Once you can see clearly, begin to aquascape to how you want it
19. Once everything is to your liking put fish back in. As mentioned above, as long as fish are in their original source of water and air is pumped in, they can last a while in the buckets.
20. Test water and monitor closely.

Here are some lessons learned:
1. Make sure when you put the stand/aquarium in their new place, you leave room to access the outlet, to put the hood back on, and for the hoses. I stupidly put my tank in place, filled everything up only to realize I didn't leave enough space on the side to put the hood back on and didn't have access to the outlet!
2. Plan ahead of time! My first 2 moves were a disaster, lost most of my fish, my last move was PERFECT
3. Make sure to put water from the aquarium into the buckets to house the fish
4. Use Aquairum salt or some other stress reducer to minimize stress
5. Remove 50% water and decorations before netting fish. Keep more aggressive fish together in buckets away from smaller less aggressive
6. Be patient before moving the fish back into their new homes