moving question need advise

[charliethetuna88]

Hey everyone I'm moving my 120gal tank to my dads place soon I sold my co-op I bought a stand and a used 90 gallon for the move to set up at my dads my tank is built into a custom stand so its going into storage till I buy my house my question is how much water do I have to bring from my old tank to thw temp I would like to make new water cause my nitrate is pretty high but I'm not sure what the min I can get away with I also have sand in my tank some people are tellin me to get almost all new and just use a few cups to seed it ,and some people are saying just reuse my sand it has all my bacteria in it so I'm a little confused on what to do here any suggestion would def help I'm thinking save 30 gallon of old water and make the rest new and reuse my sand

 

[KathyC]

Is there any chance you can set up the tank at your Dad's now so that it has a chance to cycle before you move your stuff into it?

I am still with the belief that you replace the sand (a lot of your nitrate is locked in there) and only keep a few cups to seed the tank, replace the rest.
The water itself holds very little bacteria and certainly not enough to warrant trying to move it all. It also is loaded with nitrate, so IMO you should replace at least half of it, but I'd only keep 25%.

Do you have much rock? That is where most of your bacteria is (aside from the surfaces of the tank itself of course!)
If at all possible you want to keep your rock submerged when you move it - THAT will do more to maintain your bacteria than anything else that you mentioned

 

[artie1209]

I Have moved my reef a few times. Bag or bucket your live stock with as much water as needed to keep them for 24 hrs. I recommend getting a few Rubber-maid bins. When you get to your destination you can put the livestock in these bins and drop in an air line or power head for circulation. Be careful with placement to avoid species aggression. Rock can be moved "dry" with wet towels to keep it moist. Sand is difficult to say, Calcium based substrate can bind with phosphate. I would consider replacing at least 50% with new, and throughly cleaning the remainder. Just remember the process takes longer than you plan for. Also you are putting your livestock in a smaller tank, don't forget to keep your reef structure open for good circulation. Your replacement water should be same salinity and temp and acclimate your more fragile livestock if you keep them out for more than 24 hrs. Take your time and double ck every step or make a check list to insure a smooth transition. Good Luck

 

[charliethetuna88]

Thanks everyone kathy I think I'm going to do what u said and change most of the sand I have a ton off live rock probally 2 much lol and I'm gonna make new water ill keep like 30 gallons of old I am going to set the 90 up and get it running before I move I wasn't planning on cyclein it yet I only have one skimmer I don't think I need to cycle the whole tank again right

 

[KathyC]

The tank will still experience a small cycle due to the tank/plumbing/sand surfaces needing to colonize with bacteria.

Your best chance of minimal impact is what I suggested (IMO ) and making sure to keep the rock submerged during the move, not just wet.

 

[charliethetuna88]

Thanks kathy ill take ur advise could I cycle without a skimmer