[CaseyH]

Hi eveyone,

I might be switching to a larger apartment soon, probably in the same complex, I wish it could be the same building. I have a 46G tank with live rock and about 6 fish and a few corals at the moment. It has been running for about 3 years. I have been thinking about how I could move the tank if I have to.

My question is, can this be done without killing everything in my tank? I figured I would have to catch the fish and put them in containers with airstones/filter and tank water. Then remove the rock and put it in containers with tank water. Save all the water in bottles, but leave the sand bed wet in the tank. Diassembe the tank, move it, re-assemble and fill it and get filtration going for at least a while and then add the rock and fish. I'm dreaming right? Would I be better advised to take the fish and coral to my LFS, and simply reset up the tank with my rock and sand and start the cure cycle all over? Then get fish and coral at a later date? What a scary thought all this is!

Any advice GREATLY appreciated!

[jvharding]

I have moved tanks many times and here are some ideas 55 gallon trash can on wheels to store your water for the move keep say 35 gallons in it for the move then rubbermaid containers for your live rock and a little water to keep them damp. I kept fish in the tank with a few inches of water. so as not to stress them to much by putting them in something way small or covered so I could keep an eye on them. I did not lose any live stock you could trash some water and do small water change at the time of the move make it easier for the move. Hope your move goes well.

[medic]

I have just moved mine for the first time and WOW what a process. It really takes alot of time and patients. It has been a huge learning process. I agree with the rubbermaid process. I had mine in small buckets and that was a real pain.

I did move the fish in smaller buckets and this is not the best way to do it. It really stressd my fish. I lossed a couple. Everything else turned out well. I think next time I would get a smaller square rubbermaid and keep some rock, tank water, heater, and then put the fish in while i'm moving the rest of the tank. That way i don't think it would stress the fish to much. And would give me more time to set the tank back up without have to put the fish in while the tank is still a reck.

After the move it kicked up a ton of sediment, so i wanted to let that clear a bit before putting in the rock and fish. Its really hard to place rock when it cloudy. LOL. I had to move mine via a truck some 20 miles so leaving the fish in the tank i don't think would have been a good thing for me. The CC got tossed all over the place so i had to smooth it out again.

Jmo. Hope the move goes well.

[reefaddict]

I am moving in a couple of months and I am not looking forward to it so I bought a larger set up to get up and running first so I can just transfer from one tank to the other. I am excited about the bigger tank though. I am going from 120g to 200g 8' x 2' x 20".

[glampka]

Big thing when moving the tank is to try to not disturb the sand much. I've moved my tank far too many times over the past few years (4 times in 5 years). Take the fish out. I've found the best thing for the water is 15 gal drums. They're still a manageable weight to handle. Get out as much water as possible to keep the sand from sloshing around.
If you have a new tank like reefaddict is doing, remember that basically it's a new tank & will cycle like one.

[CaseyH]

Thanks guys, you're the best! I called my LFS and they said the same. Luckily my tank is an acrylic, so it is durable, but not scratch proof. The one thing I do worry about is that smaller fish bolt INSIDE the live rock holes when ever I have tried to net one. I may have to just take the rock (with fish hiding inside) and transfer both to moving containers. I know I will have to work fast and save the livestock as much stress as I can during the process.

Thanks for the advice!