Tank Journal Archive

MQ-9

Member
Nov 25, 2014
281
108
I am lucky enough to be able to borrow half cut down IBC tubs, these have a very large surface area so they allow you to really spread corals out. The liverock I add into 160L plastic barrels. With summer, as mentioned, getting a chiller onto the tub is a priority. I am lucky to have a lfs where I bought my chiller that has lent me a loner chiller for a day. If you are mixing coral types in a tub, maybe a small powerhead packed with carbon will help with toxin from corals in panic mode. Another option is one of the commercial clay treatments like geoliquid or easylife. Neither have much of a following among reefers, but they are very effective at removing some of the more exotic toxins from water.
 

Agent M

Member
Oct 21, 2011
3,536
1,586
Melbourne
I would prepare as much as you can before the move - the details like making sure your glass is clean up until the move, move some rocks around and give the sand a stir to assess how much detritus build up you have, as you don't want detritus soup and sand rinsing in saltwater on moving day. I've seen so many people say the same thing over the years about how they can't believe how much crap they stirred up when moving the tank, even when the tank looked pristine.

I don't know how big your tank is but I'd be rinsing rocks and sand now and doing a big water change to siphon out as much crap as possible, not on the day.

You need to give yourself time to catch the fish as well, they can be real buggers and I don't know about you but seeing my pets stressed stresses me out as well - if you can move rocks and corals to one side one or two weeks beforehand and round up the fish to one side of the tank with a divider, catching will go a lot faster.

What the others have said about having a place to put the fish and not having to add them in straight away is also a good idea.
 

holly

Member
Jul 10, 2013
1,806
832
Melbourne
What a great LFS @Lesley !

My tips:

Bins (bunnings 60L black bins with lids are $16 each), airstones before moving and once arriving at new place with some cheap heaters will keep things ticking over for hours. Keep the rock and corals and fish all separate to prevent damage (as in fish in one bucket, rock in another, coral in another). If you've got coral that stings keep them separated by bagging them up, you can still then place them in the tubs or a foam box. Using prime or similar products are essential. Forget the newspaper unless you are shipping zoas. Otherwise everything becomes newspaper soup.

I've also moved about 5 times and have had a few disasters. The most important thing is to have coral and fish in those buckets in enough clean salt water that is adequately warmed and aerated. Then, you can take the right amount of time (took me 9am-2am with two people helping to unpack and transfer 3foot tank contents the last time) to move your tank and deal with the inevitable problems that will happen. Start earlier so you have time to get to bunnings if you need to.

When you remove the rock, your tank water will be a disgusting soup of crap (think poo brown if the tank is older than a year, even with regular cleaning) - use new salt water to put your rock into after you rinse off all the crap in your tank water (it's already going to be useless to you). Pods and snails and things live on the rock and plenty should come along for the ride.

Your tank will be better off by putting everything into fresh salt water with rock that has been rinsed well and transported wet. Don't stress about element differences between your tank water and new saltwater - just make sure salinity and temperature is roughly equal and the corals will love it. Arrange to have your fresh water around the right temperature at least the day before as it can take sometime to cool down or heat up (depending on the weather). The new water will have the perfect balance of everything that your tank water doesn't (assuming the new water is collected right etc). But, there are differences of opinion over whether this creates a 'shock' so it's just my personal opinion.

Good luck with the move!
 

Buddy

Member
Mar 13, 2012
3,142
1,526
The last time I moved my tank, it was the morning after Soundwave, I woke up with a shitty cold and I could hardly walk from rocking out to Metallica lol... and it was a 35 degree day lol. It sucked!
Anyways enough sooking. Earlier that week I went to my LFS and asked for some foam boxes and a heap of bags. I also had about 1.5x the volume of my tanks water in fresh nsw.

So first thing I did in the morning was disconnecting and packing up everything except a powerhead in the tank. It was a warm day so I didn't need heaters.
So everything including the sump was packed away in the Ute and just the bare tank and one power head was running by the end of that.

So then I took out the power head and bagged every coral individually (It's a pain but it's the best way in my opinion). I did this first because it didn't make the water dirty.
Next I drained the water in to a few bunnings containers and loaded my rock in to that and put them in the ute.

Next I bagged all the fish individually. (I had some water saved for the bags) This was easy because the tank was almost drained.
I ditched the sand from the tank and gave the tank a quick scrub and now everything was loaded in the ute.

Drove to my new house, set up the tank, put in pre washed sand, filled with new nsw and got it up to temp.
Next I connected the sump, all the plumbing and the rest of the equipment and made sure everything was operating properly.
Gave my rocks a quick swish around in fresh nsw and then loaded all of it back in and then corals. I let the water clear up for about an hour while the fish were acclimatising and then released them back in to the tank.
Everything went well and all of the fish are still with me today.
The only other thing is move your tank on the day before/after your furniture and what ever time you are estimating, just double it lol.
 

Mr.Reeefer

my name is Brock
Jul 8, 2014
252
108
The last time I moved my tank, it was the morning after Soundwave, I woke up with a shitty cold and I could hardly walk from rocking out to Metallica lol... and it was a 35 degree day lol. It sucked!
Anyways enough sooking. Earlier that week I went to my LFS and asked for some foam boxes and a heap of bags. I also had about 1.5x the volume of my tanks water in fresh nsw.

So first thing I did in the morning was disconnecting and packing up everything except a powerhead in the tank. It was a warm day so I didn't need heaters.
So everything including the sump was packed away in the Ute and just the bare tank and one power head was running by the end of that.

So then I took out the power head and bagged every coral individually (It's a pain but it's the best way in my opinion). I did this first because it didn't make the water dirty.
Next I drained the water in to a few bunnings containers and loaded my rock in to that and put them in the ute.

Next I bagged all the fish individually. (I had some water saved for the bags) This was easy because the tank was almost drained.
I ditched the sand from the tank and gave the tank a quick scrub and now everything was loaded in the ute.

Drove to my new house, set up the tank, put in pre washed sand, filled with new nsw and got it up to temp.
Next I connected the sump, all the plumbing and the rest of the equipment and made sure everything was operating properly.
Gave my rocks a quick swish around in fresh nsw and then loaded all of it back in and then corals. I let the water clear up for about an hour while the fish were acclimatising and then released them back in to the tank.
Everything went well and all of the fish are still with me today.
The only other thing is move your tank on the day before/after your furniture and what ever time you are estimating, just double it lol.

lol morning after soundwave, either you didn't go hard enough at soundwave or your just a straight up trooper!!!

I have almost or exactley the same plan, hopefully it goes smoothly like yours did.

thanks for your story, i feel better now that someone with the same plan made it happen
 

Mr.Reeefer

my name is Brock
Jul 8, 2014
252
108
I believe it was stinging/chemical warfare while in the tubs. Ended up losing a few hammers almost instantly (brown jelly the next morning) And a few Acans and Favia declined in the weeks after the move.

thats always sad, especially if they were some nice pieces, thanks for sharing mate
 

Mr.Reeefer

my name is Brock
Jul 8, 2014
252
108
:D@Buddy @holly @Agent M @gtrxu1 @Buddy
Thank you all for your input, its all helping me!!

I am preparing now, i have purchased all fittings for plumbing with extra fittings for mistakes, i am going to start gluing them together from now, the parts that can be anyway.
I have also made a whole new fish tank stand over the weekend, the current RSM cabinet doesnt fit my sump and fuge underneath so i currenlt have them sitting on the side, but with the new stand they fit underneath.;)

I sift my sand about 3 times a week currently, i know there is allot more shit under rocks and places i can't reach, but i do the best i can to keep everything clean.

All corals will be bagged individually, I will put some corals of the same genus in the same bag, but no corals of different species will be bagged together, they will all be placed in foam boxes, i have enough laying around from coral purchases over the years, rock will be in seperate boxes to everything else also.
I will take your advice and put the LR into NSW after rinsing.

The sand will be discarded and new sand will be added on the day, im going white this time, i want to work out a way to keep it clean as possible, and if i can keep it sparkly white, i will definatley use white in the new tank upgrade.

Big water changes are starting next week, as i have about 3 weeks till move time, so i definatley will be trying to remove as much crap out of the water as possible during this time. I have already given my sump and fuge a big clean over the weekend.

sine the tank will be almost empty when i need to catch the fish I think the fish will be easy to catch as they will be removed last from the tank before moving, i will be siphoning water from the tank first thing in the morning for the fish and for the drums, this is for when the tank is at the new house and for the fish to be transported in, so it will be clean, i know that after i start picking up rocks the water will turn to shit and wont be usable.

Yes difinatley, i am going to revise the first plan and make another and post it up here, but i will be including, as soon as i arrive to the house, fish will be added straight to a tub, with NSW, power head and whatever cooling or heating device is necessary, do you think an airstone is required with a power head in?

I plan to start at 6am in the morning, but i am thinking of brining it foward to 5am.

Regarding all NSW in tank, i plan to use about 100L of sw from the tank before it was transported and 210L of NSW then add everyhting, IMO everything would deal with the NSW fine, its just the fish that scare me.

This will definatley not be happening on moving day, i dont think my heart could take it all in one day.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone for your input:D

also i have beefed up my feeding big time for the last 3 weeks and will continue until the move, i want to fatten everything up for the move, live blackworms arrived today also
 

holly

Member
Jul 10, 2013
1,806
832
Melbourne
:D@Buddy @holly @Agent M @gtrxu1 @Buddy
Thank you all for your input, its all helping me!!

I am preparing now, i have purchased all fittings for plumbing with extra fittings for mistakes, i am going to start gluing them together from now, the parts that can be anyway.
I have also made a whole new fish tank stand over the weekend, the current RSM cabinet doesnt fit my sump and fuge underneath so i currenlt have them sitting on the side, but with the new stand they fit underneath.;)

I sift my sand about 3 times a week currently, i know there is allot more shit under rocks and places i can't reach, but i do the best i can to keep everything clean.

All corals will be bagged individually, I will put some corals of the same genus in the same bag, but no corals of different species will be bagged together, they will all be placed in foam boxes, i have enough laying around from coral purchases over the years, rock will be in seperate boxes to everything else also.
I will take your advice and put the LR into NSW after rinsing.

The sand will be discarded and new sand will be added on the day, im going white this time, i want to work out a way to keep it clean as possible, and if i can keep it sparkly white, i will definatley use white in the new tank upgrade.

Big water changes are starting next week, as i have about 3 weeks till move time, so i definatley will be trying to remove as much crap out of the water as possible during this time. I have already given my sump and fuge a big clean over the weekend.

sine the tank will be almost empty when i need to catch the fish I think the fish will be easy to catch as they will be removed last from the tank before moving, i will be siphoning water from the tank first thing in the morning for the fish and for the drums, this is for when the tank is at the new house and for the fish to be transported in, so it will be clean, i know that after i start picking up rocks the water will turn to shit and wont be usable.

Yes difinatley, i am going to revise the first plan and make another and post it up here, but i will be including, as soon as i arrive to the house, fish will be added straight to a tub, with NSW, power head and whatever cooling or heating device is necessary, do you think an airstone is required with a power head in?

I plan to start at 6am in the morning, but i am thinking of brining it foward to 5am.

Regarding all NSW in tank, i plan to use about 100L of sw from the tank before it was transported and 210L of NSW then add everyhting, IMO everything would deal with the NSW fine, its just the fish that scare me.

This will definatley not be happening on moving day, i dont think my heart could take it all in one day.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone for your input:D

also i have beefed up my feeding big time for the last 3 weeks and will continue until the move, i want to fatten everything up for the move, live blackworms arrived today also
This is more organised than I ever was so I'm sure if anything does go wrong you'll be prepared for it!
 

MQ-9

Member
Nov 25, 2014
281
108
I like this planning, if it all comes together like this you deserve a battlefield commission to 2ndLT!
 

Agent M

Member
Oct 21, 2011
3,536
1,586
Melbourne
Sounds like a good plan. Make sure you get your sleep the night before and look after yourself, 5am is pretty early! I was incredibly sleep deprived when I moved my tank and it was the sole cause of everything that went wrong.
 

Mr.Reeefer

my name is Brock
Jul 8, 2014
252
108
Sounds like a good plan. Make sure you get your sleep the night before and look after yourself, 5am is pretty early! I was incredibly sleep deprived when I moved my tank and it was the sole cause of everything that went wrong.
I definatley agree, the previous night I will sleep up more to hopefully carry me through, that and plenty of espresso!!
 

Mr.Reeefer

my name is Brock
Jul 8, 2014
252
108
PREVIOUS PLAN
1. 180L NSW at new house waiting
2. 80L NSW at current dwelling waiting
3. Night before bag up corals and pack in foam boxes(10pm start) (12pm finish)
4. Use 80L NSW to top up what has been used from tank to bag up corals
5. (6am) remove LR from DT, rap in wet newspaper and place in foam box
6. Remove LR from fuge, wrap in wet newspaper and place in seperate foam box. Remove Chaeto and dragons breathe, place in bag with water and in foam box
6. (7am)Drain remaining SW from DT and sump into drums.
7. (7:30)Disconnect all plumbing
8. (8am)Tank, sump, cabinet and all foam boxes moved to ute
9. (8:30)Drain fuge into seperate drum
10. (9am)Add fuge and fuge water to ute
11. (9:15)Drive to house 15min away
12. (9:30)Unpack all foam boxes into garage
13. (10am)Tank sump and fuge moved into position, fill fuge with fuge water and add power head and maybe heater depending on weather.
14. (10:30)Plumb tank, sump and fuge and wait 2 hours to dry.
15. (12:30)Fill tank with with 50% old tank water and 50% NSW,
16 (1pm)add sand and let settle for 10min
17 (1:20)turn on all pumps and open overflows, let settle 1hr
18. (2:20)Check temp and salinity
19. (2:25)Super quick aquascape
20 (3pm)acclimatise fish and corals and inverts
21. (4pm) add most fish (4:30) add agressive fish (5pm) add inverts
22. (6pm) water param check and feed tank.

After everyones input, this is what i have now
NEW PLAN

STAGE 1
1. 180L NSW at new house waiting
2. 180L NSW at current dwelling waiting
3. Night before bag up corals and pack in foam boxes(10pm start) (12pm finish)
4. Use some NSW to top up what has been used from tank to bag up corals
STAGE 2
5. (5am) Siphon 140L sw from tank into drums. Siphon sw into two30L tub with heater inside and wave maker. (by this time sump should be dry, besides baffles)
6. (5:30am) remove LR from DT, rap in wet towels and place in foam boxes.
7. (6:15am) Disconnect all plumbing and discard all pvc plumbing
8. (6:30am) Use water from 30L tub to bag up fish and inverts, and place into foam boxes
9. (7:30am) siphon remaining water out of tank and discard
10. (7:45am) clean tank, & sump, load into ute.
11. (8:30am) siphon as much water out of fuge needed to be able to carry and load into ute.
12. (9:00am) load all foam boxes and drums into ute and commence drive

STAGE 3
13. (9:20am) arrive at house
14. (9:22am) Unpack all foam boxes into garage
15. (9:30am) Move refugium onto stand, fill with water from drums, add heater and wavemaker
16 (9:45am) Fill 30L tub with NSW80% and 20% drum water, add heater, wavemaker and fish
17 (10:10am) Move tank and sump onto stand and commence plumbing
18. (11:00am) Clock starts 2hrs glue dry time

STAGE 4 (eat lunch before commencing)
19. (12:00pm) Fill tank with drum water and NSW, heat, circulate and add sand
20. (12:30pm) Siphon 50% water from 30L tub and add 50% NSW
21. (1:00pm) Turn on pumps, open overflows and let settle for an hour.
(in this time check salinity and monitor temp)

STAGE5
22. (1:30pm) Siphon 50% water from 30L tub and add 50% NSW
22. (2:00pm) add rock, aquascape and water param check
23. (3:30pm) Add fish least agressive first most aggresive last, while doing this corals are being added while letting least agreesive fish settle in before adding others.
24. (4:00pm) Siphon 50% water from 30L tub and add 50% NSW
25. (5:00pm) Siphon 50% water from 30L tub and add 50% NSW
26. (6:00pm) Siphon 50% water from 30L tub and add 50% NSW
27. DONE!! (14hrs)

Any tweeking needed?
 

Buddy

Member
Mar 13, 2012
3,142
1,526
Probably the most thought out tank move I have ever seen! good job :)
 

macca_75

Member
Apr 22, 2012
2,125
844
Haven't read all the responses, but why not take some of the stress out.

Buy one of those kids pools - about $50 from BIGW, Target, Bunnings, etc. Carefully place all stock in there with a heater and powerhead. It'll be OK for a day or 2 while you set the tank and carefully transfer stock back.
 

Mr.Reeefer

my name is Brock
Jul 8, 2014
252
108
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Hi All,

as you can see the move is well under way now.

we moved in a couple of weeks ago and have been doing the usual move in stuff, clean, unpack, tradesman in and out, clean etc etc. Now that it has calmed down and i have done my pre-garage stuff, enamel floors and paint a feature wall etc, i can focus on bringing my tanks home!!!!

Over the past month and a half i have been slowly siphoning the sand out during water changes, last night was my last big sand siphon during a big water change.

This afternoon i set up two 140L tubs, filled them up with NSW, heater in with water circulation device of some sort.

Got to my inlaws at about 830pm, started bagging and tagging, the missus helped me out which was a huge time saver. Finished at about 10pm, drive through coffee on the way home, made a sanga when we arrived, then started un-bagging and dividing the corals into the tubs, friends with friends, trouble makers in the naughty corners on there own.

Its now 12am, time to do the finishing touches on some plumbing, making some big changes from what ive had in the past, going for a quieter overflow, smoother taps, increasing flow through my small frag tank, and im moving from running the two tanks of separate sumps, to both tanks off one sump and refugium.