Moving Advice

[Ron]

Need advice on moving from Houston to Ft. Worth (a five hour drive).

My reef is a well established (10 years) 60 gal flat back hex Clarity Plus acrylic tank. It has an assortment of live rock, corals, and fish with a sand bottom.

Currently use a CPR CY92 Wet dry. Am planning to upgrade to a CPR CY192 model when I move or before, as I have been unhappy with the performance of the protein skimmer.

Currently do not use RO water, but intend to at my new location because I will be using well water and am uncomfortable as to its quality. So, expect to set up an RO unit and fill storage tanks before move.

Generally, my plans are to put the rocks, coral, fish and as much water as possible into plastic or rubber buckets or maybe igloo coolers. Will use battery driven air stones for the 6 hour drive.

Should I purchase and set up a new tank first? or move tank and livestock at same time?

Any suggestions would be appreciated??

Thanks,

Ron

[kevinpo]

Hi Ron,
Air stones are nice but not required. You can use buckets, bins, or coolers to transport the rock and livestock. No need to buy another tank (unless you want to upgrade ). Be sure to have 20 gallons or so of new saltwater mixed and warm at your new house because some of the water (like the water the rock is in) you may not want to reuse. Also some of the water gets lost during all the transferring and shipping.

HTH,
Kevin

[AquariumSpecialty]

Ron,

Moving an aquarium can be a tough task. Make sure you have everything maped out in advance...

Plumbing, parts, glue...
keep temperature stable...
extra water as the previous person expressed...
RO/DI Filter with propper connections...
Extra Salt...
5 Gal. buckets with lids are also a great way to transport water and animals and rock.

Good luck. I have done this in years past and it's a tough undertaking. On one of our moves we moved about 900 gallons and we didn't have any losses but what a nightmare!

[Poseidon]

I just moved my 90, and had a couple losses. I say if you can afford to have a new tank/stand set up and running, then do it! It is MUCH easier to move livestock then it is to move the tank AND livestock! Even if the new tank is only 1/2 full and then you move enough water to fill it the rest of the way. THat is what I did when I downgraded into my current 90, and that was WAY easier, then when I moved my 90 to my new house!

[Little Luey]

Definatly plan ahead. Do you know where in the new house the tank is going? Can you mix some water in advance and then just put it in the tank once you get there? Most of the transport water may not be usable due to fish waste. It is posible you may have a mini cycle with the rock/sand if they do get dry.

Good luck.