waltercat

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Hello All,

I am moving to DC in Feb and have never done a city to city reef tank move. Farthest I have done is Manhattan to Brooklyn. I currently have a 55G tank with 4 fish, 3-4 shrimp, 1 dersea clam, assortment of LPS, softie, mushrooms and zoas. I Keep only hardy livestock.

Here's my plan:

? Buy a new 55g tank in DC and have it ready at the apartment (pretested for leaks). I don't want to move my 7 year old 55G there, figure it's done it's time and don't want to chance it.
? Remove the skimmer and some water and base rocks the night before so that I can get a jump start on a quicker breakdown on move day. Can keep the base rock warm in a bucket over night.
? Morning of move, put large rocks with corals in 5G buckets with tank water. Put fish and shrimp in 5G bucket and keep bubbler and heater in it until I drive to DC.
? Bag up all corals and put them in a styro box with heatpacks
? Sand in 5G bucket
? As much water in 5G buckets

The Move
? Transport buckets with water, rock and sand with movers. Seal up buckets with lids and tape over.
? Transport fish and corals in my car strapped down to prevent tipping
? It will probably be a 4-6 hour drive as I am doing this on a Monday, leaving late morning.

Arrival
? Unpack as any other move, get sand in, water, rocks, and livestock
? Make and add new water as needed (probably 10-15G)

Questions/Comments for the group:
? Anyone done a long haul move and have any tips?
? Any suggestions on a transport box and heating solution for the corals? Also not sure how to pack so temp stays consistent throughout box.
? I'll be putting my 55G tank on the street for any takers. More details soon
 

marrone

The All Powerful OZ
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As for Transporting the coral and LR, and keeping them warm, well I would triple the bags and try not to over fill the bag with water, just keep enough water so that the corals are covered. A Styrofoam box and heat packs should be good enough, remember places ship corals and fish overnight with little to no loses, and your trip will be much shorter. I would also take the LR and sand with you, as you're going to need that to setup the tank, and the movers could possible arrive late or even break the containers. It's better that you take everything if you can.

I think the bigger issue would be setting up the tank again and possibly have a small spike. I would have water made at your new place just in case to do some water changes. Also, if there are sponges on the LR just make sure that they're completely under water, as if they die it could cause problems when you setup the new tank, so have some carbon and ploypads ready to use.
 
Last edited:

waltercat

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Marrone, good call on transporting the rock and sand in my car. I'll make sure the rocks are fully submerged in water.

Why would you suggest to cover the corals with only enough to cover them? Is more water in the bags a bad thin?
 

marrone

The All Powerful OZ
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It will be easier to keep a smaller amount of water warmer then a larger amount. I would also triple bag the corals, and make sure that the bags are blown up with air, as the air will help insulate the water and help keep it warm. Most of the corals can actually be shipped with little to no water and just covered in wet paper.
 

waltercat

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The fish I was going to keep in the same 5 gallon bucket. It is a Tomato Clown, A flame back angel, a purple firefish and a Scopas tang. I've done it in the past with moves and been fine, but wondering if bagging them is better for a longer ride.
 

marrone

The All Powerful OZ
Staff member
Location
The Big City
Rating - 98.8%
80   1   0
It's a pretty long trip, and you need to make sure that you have something to keep the water from getting too cold and something to put oxygen into the bucket, like a battery operating air pump. In the end bagging them separately may work better and is something that you can easily do and keep them in a Styrofoam box with heat packs.
 

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