*warning long read but very informational*
I've moved my reef 3 times. The last time I moved I lost 1 coral.
Here's my strategy. which worked perfectly. For only a 30 minute distance your pretty much all set. I like to limit breakdown and bringing up to about 4-6 hours. From the second I take the fish out to the moment i put them back in.
stuff you'll need.
Coolers x2 (one round that screws on. and 1 flat that swings open/closed) (like the ones you see at little league that serve gatorade) . I'll explain later
bins x?? (just typical plastic storage bins will suffice
buckets x??
brute barrel(s) depending on tank size.
paper towels
battery operated bubble aerator thing (dont know name)
ziplock bags or pee cups
*NOTE* the day of the move go lights out the entire day. To not stress the fish*****
The night before your move put all your corals in pee cups (thats the easiest way). with caps off. Let them float in the tank. The weigh of the plugs usually holds them down pretty well. lower water flow so they dont go everywhere.
If you don't have pee cups then zip lock bags in the morning of the move. It just makes the moving day a little longer cause of the bagging involved.
The morning of the move date.
1. put all the coral into a cooler and close the lid to keep the temperature controlled.
2. take all the rock out and have a bucket fill with old water. Take this chance to wash out all the detritus off the rock in the bucket (just shake them around) then put them in the plastic bins with a little bit of water. Maybe 1-2 inches tops. cause it gets heavy quick. Layer your rock with paper towels to keep them moist. Rock, paper towel, rock, paper towel. etc. and top them off with paper towels. make sure you wet the towels with RODI water (obviously).
3. Fill the water cooler (square flap open/close *not screw on* )around half way and put the fish in there "free to swim". Close the lid to control temperature (but dont close it shut) if your scared for their safety you can use the aerator bubbles to make sure they got oxygen. Usually not necessary for under 3 hours.(*NOTE* some folks put a power head in the cooler as well. I throw a small maxi jet in there with really low flow)
4. since your putting new sand. gather the sand you want to seed with and dump the old (easy enuff) otherwise if you were keeping the sand you could leave a bout 1 -2 inches of water above sand level and move the tank that way.
5. keep about 30% of your old water for the new tank.
Now you have covered all grounds. fish in coolers, rock in totes and coral in zip lock/pee cups. and water (however you want to store that. it's up 2 u.
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Now for arrival.
At the new place assuming your sand is ready. (people argue here that rock should go first then sand. I like sand then rock because I dont have to worry about rock cracking the glass ( i have no fish that sand sift so it's safe for me to do so)
1. put the sand in the tank. fill it with the 30% water you saved. and put your rock in. Top off the tank at this point. (you can use the plate trick so you dont get a sand storm. google it. But if you have an overflow i let the water leak out the overflow and it avoids any type of sandstorm.
2. after sand, rock and water are in. introduce the coral.
3. introduce the fish.(Drip them first) (again, lights out for the whole day.
4. get your skimmer going . Wet skim for sure. for at least a couple days.
After 24 hours you can let the light cycle return to normal. expect diatom/algae blooms from the die off on the rock but it should be minimal if caution was taken to keep them moist.
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First time I did this it was a mess. I wasn't organized and lost 2 fish and a hand ful of coral.
2nd time I lost 0 fish and 1 coral. (sps).
3rd time was perfect. no fish loss 1 coral loss.
The difference between 1 and 3 was that i winged it my first time and took notes for #2 and eventually #3. These are my notes. Good luck my friend
I'll keep everyone up to speed on my move plus I'm going to start a thread on "my fishtank over fireplace" thread...he he should be interesting. and Jason I will defiantly call if I need you. Thanks again for the offer.
