[mirage2521]

I have asked 3 local "experts" and got 3 opinions that cannot be any further apart. Here is the problem. I purchased a 75g saltwater tank last week (offer I could not refuse) The tank is getting moved this weekend. Total transit time 30-40 minutes. The tank currently has 1 yellow tang, 1 sail fin tang (huge) and 1 clown. There is no rock, live or otherwise in the tank. The water is clear but has some algea. it comes with a wet dri sump with bio balls, heater, and some sort of cartridge filter in the overflow. There is about 3 inches of sand in the bottom. Here are my questions. HOW DO I TRANSPORT....lol. I have been told to change 90% of the water 50% of the water and 10% of the water. I have been told that if I disturb the sand the tank must cycle and all my fish will die. I have been told to add rock now. I have been told to wait till later to add rock till the tank settles.

Here is what I have done so far. I have 50g of RO water that I am mixing with Instantoceans tonight, the putting a heater in to get it up to temp before I move tank. My intent so far is to siphoon off as much clean water as a can out of the tank before I disturb the sand. Once the sand is disturbed I was going to discard the last little bit of very dirty water. I intend to leave the sand in the tank with just enough water to keep it wet. I am going to put the fish in large containers with the cleanest water. I was told to rinse the bio balls in tank water then discard the tank water and keep them wet. (not sure about that step) Keeping the bio balls submerged is in my plans.

Drive all this home, set up tank and sump, add tank water back to tank, top of with ??% of new water and hope for the best..... I would dearly appreciate any and every opinion on this before I do it. Even if you all disagree at least I will have more opinions so I can try to get a concensus.

As to the rock question, here are my 3 options as I see them.

1. Spend all I can afford on cured live rick locally, about 5.99 a pound and add to tank during move.
2. Don't get any rock until the move is complete and the tank is settled some.
3. My LFS has about 35lbs of live rock that has dried out and is dead of course. They offered to give me this and suggested I use the 35lbs of dead rock, purchase 35lbs of live rock and let is go forth and mutiply.

Thanks for any and all opinions on any of these issues. I am excited about this tank and don't want to make to many deadly mistakes. My original intent was to educate myself and start slow but I could not say no to this tank and now I have to learn fast.

[mtfabel]

Sounds like you have most of this under control. First save as much old water as you can. If you cant save at least half it may be unsafe for the fish to go back in immeditly. Second adding any live rock at any time is going to cause your tank to try and cycle. Best bet is add as much dead roack as you want, after you move it and have it set up again. Let that sit in the tank for a while, no less than 2 weeks, a month would be better. Then slowly add Live rock to your tank. Like only a pound or 2 at a time. To much and you will get ammonia spikes. I would get rid of half the bio balls immediatly and replace that half with live rock rubble. Then after the tank is running for about 2 months get rid of the other half of the bio balls and replace that half with more rubble. I think thats all i have for you. I am almost positive others will have some more info for you.

P.S. You would be better off removing the sand from the tank because it will put unneeded stress on the tank with it in there when you move it.

[jvharding]

I used a 55 gallon rubbermaid trash can on wheels to transport my water from my 75 G when I moved. I kept about half my water, you can add your rock I dont think adding both equal parts will hurt your system so long as you ad a supplement like Marc Wiess Bacter Vital. It is expensive, but well worth it! Do what (mtfabel) recomended with removing half the bio balls and put rubble in it's place. One Thing you have in your favor is the BIO Load is small! You mentioned having 50G RO water mixed and made. You could put the rock in there ahead of moving the tank and test to see if it spikes before you move tank. Add a powerhead to the trashcan if you do this with a air pump. This will help the nitrogen cycle. Are there any powerheads in the tank now? You need these for the rock! Lots of water flow will help everything down the road. Common sense wins out in this hobby with a Chemistry Degree! Oh did I mention try to have the same salinity & water temp. Just for the record I do not disagree with mtfabel's suggestions on the rock. It is a good idea. The problem comes when they state that rock is cured and realaity it's not. let us know how it goes please. Good Luck

[glampka]

I've had to move my 30 more times than I care to count over the past few years so I speak from experience. You could try to keep the sand but to do this you must be careful NOT to disturb it. If you have a massive disturbance you can kiss everything good-bye. I agree with mftabel that it's probably best to remove the sand. The tank will be heavy enough to move but with the extra weight of the sand it will be a bear. You might want to check with your lfs to see if perhaps they would house the fish for you until you get the tank up & running again. Wait unitl the tank has been moved to get the LR. All in all you're looking at recycling the tank. Good luck & let us know how you make out.

[mirage2521]

Well the move is complete, ended up using about 40% new water, 2 days later everything looks good. I did lose a yellow tang right after I got the tank set up but I am not to upset about it. It seemed to be in very bad health when I bought the tank, fins were very ragged and the fish was almost white, all color was gone. I have ordered 60lbs of live rock and I should get it monday. I have a 40 gal trach can set up with a power head and a heater to cure the rock.