[Poseidon]

:slap:

Well I moved for the second time in 6 months. This time we found a house in the neighborhood where I grew up, a lovely 2 story with a BASEMENT and a GARAGE! YAY!

So far so good right? Well yes, except I am dreading moving the tank! Last time I moved I had downgraded tanks. I went from a 135 to a 90, and I had the 90 all set up and running before I moved the livestock. This time I did not have that luxury.

Here was the plan:

1) Get 35 gallons of water ready at the new house.
-Easy I used a Brute container and RO water from the grocery store.
2) Get buckets for Livestock.
-another easy one, stopped at Home depot bought 4.
3) Drain water from the tank into a Brute to move to the new place.
-all is well so far. I drained the tank water into the can and a total
of 6 buckets, the ones I had plus the HD ones.
4) Get rid of Yellow Tang, Niger Trigger, and Spotted Hawk to make room for new fish.
-With the LR all out of the tank this was simple, except the trigger
had disappeared into one of the rocks. I settled for the Yellow tang
and Hawk. I tokk them both up to a LFS. WHile I was there the
owner graciously gave me 3 styros to use in the move. He also
offered to help with the MOVE! WOW! All is going well!
5) Actually start the move!
-This is where the trouble starts. I have all the livestock out, in
buckets or cans. It is when my friend and I look at the tank with all
that WET sand in it, I had placed 200lbs of sand in there. We decide
that a trip to the hospital was not a good plan. We decided we
would each end up with HERNIAS if we tried to move the tank with
the DSB in place. So we start removing the DSB and fill a styro and
2 buckets with sand. At this point I find my G. Loreto BEHIND the
tank, apparently he decided to commit suicide rather then move!
6) Pack tank and stand into Jeep.
-I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, I was pretty sure I could put the
tank and stand in the back with the seats down. WRONG! Stand
is too tall to go in standing up. So plan B move the stand and
canopy.
7) Trip #2
-Back to the old house for the tank, and sump. Works out well, we
bring most of the livestock too.
8) Trip #3
-Back to the old house for the last of the LR.
9) UH OH!
-Here is where the fun begins, I start replacing the sand and adding
the prepared water. IT LOOKS LIKE MILK! I remembered the tank
when I first set it up, but was hoping it would not be so bad this time
WRONG!
10) I can't SEE
-I have added ALL the water I brought over, and ALL the water I had
made up, it was NOT ENOUGH! It filled the tank 2/3 of the way. It
was so cloudy that I decided to carefully place my corals as best I
could, so the biggest ROCKs went in first. I did not want to add my
Milli yet becuase I did not want to break it, or the A Yongei, so they
stayed in a bucket. I also left out my Hammer coral and clowns.
11) Milli and Yongei
-I thought since the tank was so cloudy it would be best to leave my
pride and joy corals in a bucket until it was clear enough to see in
the tank to place them. BIG MISTAKE! This was Friday night, and I
knew I had a Wedding on Saturday, so I was planning on leaving
them in the bucket for 36 hours or so. Should be okay right?
12) This morning I had enough water to fill the tank and sump, I did that. Then I moved the corals from the bucket to the tank, both looked odd to me, the bucket water was rather cold too... Well the A. Yongei immediatley started to slime, which I didn't think to much of. But then the MIlli did too... Well it was actually EXPELLING its zoanthea... My milli went from deep brown to WHITE in a matter of hours! Same with the A. Yongei! This move was a DISASTER! I lost 2 of my favorite corals, and possibly my Trigger too... I haven't seen him since I placed the rock he was hiding in, in the tank.

The tank is slowly clearing, I have filter floss in the overflow, in the sump, and in 2 "quick filters" by Hagen. As best I can tell the Milli has a couple branches that still have color, and the A. Yongei has color at the base, up to about an inch. I will post pictures tomorrow, by then the tank should be clear enough to see what I mean. I am heart broken over the loss, but I am hoping I can re-grow the 2 I lost from the little that is left...

Here is my scoop on moving- Buy a SECOND tank and stand and set it all up in advance at the new place, it is so much easier to just move livestock then it is to take it all out, move the tank, then try and put it all back together in a few hours! I know I am NOT MOVING this tank again! I will tear it all down and give away the livestock before I attempt a stunt like this again!

I hope others can learn from my mistakes, don't leave corals in buckets for more then a night... And DON'T MOVE!

[Reefland]

Oh man that sticks Mike. I would say that the cold water did the most damage to the corals and then the shock of moving back into an 80F water. Maybe something will be salvagable from them and you can regrow them again. I know it didn't take too long for them to grow out before.

[scubadude]

Sorry bout the loss Mike! I would offer some replacement but all I got are softies. If you want some kenya tree let me know

[charlie]

Sounds like a disaster Mike. Hope things turn out for the good.
You got a PM!!!

[Reefland]

Originally Posted by scubadude

Sorry bout the loss Mike! I would offer some replacement but all I got are softies. If you want some kenya tree let me know

What about snails with Kenya Trees growing on them?

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by Reefland

What about snails with Kenya Trees growing on them?

THat is a good one!

Thanks Charlie for the PM!

The tank has cleared significantly as of this morning, I will try and post some pictures tonight of my personal devastation. It might not happen though, with Halloween and the Kids wanting to go out for FREE Candy! I also have a few last minute details to work out at the old place. A little cleaning and such...

[Poseidon]

Well here they are....

I put in a Full tank shot too, I will work on Aqua scaping as soon as I can!

[charlie]

Well........................ here's to hoping they come back Mike.

[Poseidon]

I was thinking of taking them out, do you think I should leave them in for a while and see what happens? I will keep the Milli for dry display, heck even the A Yongei might look cool in the right place...

[charlie]

Do you see any polyps at all???

[Poseidon]

not on the A. Yongei, so it is out and on the counter top. The milli has an area that may still have life in it. So I am leaving it in for a few day to see what happens. I tried arrainging a little and the tank went WHITE on me again, so I changed the poly fill in the quick filters and the overflow. I guess I better leave it be for a few days to let the sand settle in better.

[zhenya]

Mike,

So sorry to hear of this.

Let me ask you this, are you sure the tissue is completely gone from the corals that look white? If they just bleached than there is always a chance that they may survive( albeit a slim chance).
And, don't worry too much, I know it is a devastating to see nicely grown out colonies die...but, I can send you couple of A.yongei frags and mille as well. I don't know if you want them or not but the offer stands, I know it won't be exactly like your corals but still,those particular species will grow very quickly and fill the void hopefully.

[vtec si]

Sorry to hear about your loss! Moving tanks is one of the hardest things to do. I agree with you about get another tank or let your live stock go.

Good luck,
Marin

I hope that your mille comes around.

[Samper]

Mike, very sorry to hear about the loss. If you need any frags or anything I have some nice digitatas you would enjoy.

[ghofmann]

Sorry to hear about your losses. I know what a PITA it is to move a tank. I just moved mine at the end of August and lost a couple of things too. The one thing I found about moving a tank is that it never goes just the way you want it to.

[Poseidon]

WOW! Thanks everyone for the offers! I will certainly consider them. I want to make sure everything comes around and stabilizes first though. Looks like I did some damage to a Stylophora too, it should come around though. The Milli is out of the tank now, I couldn't bear to look at it. I am going to keep my hands out of the tank for the next few days, and make sure everything is OK. I will do some testing tomorrow afternoon, but I am going to leave the scape alone for now.

This has certainly been a learning process, NEVER MOVE!

[Poseidon]

Well 2 days later and I have managed to keep my hands out, and NOT KILL anything. The tank has cleared nicely, and I will be doing tests tomorrow for all the basics. So far everything that made it this far is looking better and better, so I think I am getting back to normal.

Also the RO unit is all hooked up now, so no more trips to the grocery store! YAY!

I am having a hard time finding more LIME though, it was so easy last year, this year I can't find it anywhere.... WEIRD!

[Reefland]

If all else fails, you can order some off the net or if need be let me know and I will take a look around here for you a few bags.

[scubadude]

Mike whats the status on everything else? The hammer is ok right? And you have some caps that appear to be doing ok? I know it probably doesnt make you feel any better and I can understand but atleast you didnt lose everything

[Poseidon]

Thanks Scott, I will keep that in mind.

Rocky, yes everything else seems to be doing okay. My hammer is expanding out to its full size, and the few softies I had left are coming around too. I think everything will turn out ok, it just needs some time.