moving aquarium. Help

[simple]

Ok, i just bought a 110 gallon aquarium with 100 lbs. of live rock and some live sand as well. I plan to use either my friends pick up or my van to move it. The only thing is that i dont want to have to cycle the tank again since its already been running for a while and the rock is very much live. What do you guys suggest would be the best way to move everything (live rock, sand, water) without causing too much of a disruption, so i wont have to recycle this? It has been running for over a year so it is more than ready for an octo.. The drive will be about 15-20 min.
Any suggestions or advice would help. thanks

 

[DHyslop]

Remember that everything in the tank--the rock, the sand, etc--is full of life. A cycle will happen when an unusual amount of that stuff dies. It is easy to transport things if you don't mind some die-off (ie, covering the rock with wet newspaper) but it is difficult if you don't want anything to die. I recommend getting a lot of 5- or 6-gallon buckets with lids. Fill them up with tank water and put all the rocks in them for transport. You might have to make a couple trips.

Even if there isn't a nitrogen cycle, you should still expect some of the other chemical processes to need a few weeks to reach equilibrium. If you pluck a strange animal from nature, it will do best in a mature tank.

Dan

 

[Animal Mother]

It will cycle again, but it will be a brief cycle AS LONG AS you keep the filtration damp and don't disturb the filtration media too much. That's the main thing. It will probably be ready to go again in a few days after you set it back up.

We got a 60 gallon cube with 13 seahorses, hauled as much of the water and everything else we could 4 hours back to the house, and used the filter from our old tank the new one replaced. Added everyone to the new tank 2 days later, no problems with the ponies or the corals.

During transport everything was kept in containers (5 gallon buckets) submerged in the water from the tank.

 

[simple]

I was planning on using two 55 gallon trash cans (new) and putting all the live rock and sand in there, and filling it with water from the tank (i would use 5 gallon buckets to move water from the tank to the trash cans) then taking it home setting the tank back up and putting the rocks, sand and water back in, that way the rocks and sand are always in water, and i keep the water it had (or at least most of it) in order to keep everything as close to how it originally was. Does that sound like a good idea? any suggestions from prior experience? how long should i expect to wait for everything to settle down again (remember its been running for over a year with everything)

 

[simple]

oh sorry, i didnt see your post animal mother, so i guess a 15 min drive would cause a very minute amount of die off, especially if its constantly in water, and ill make sure to keep the filter media wet. It comes with a wet/dry filter and a big canister filter..should i keep the bioballs wet as well?

 

[Animal Mother]

oh sorry, i didnt see your post animal mother, so i guess a 15 min drive would cause a very minute amount of die off, especially if its constantly in water, and ill make sure to keep the filter media wet. It comes with a wet/dry filter and a big canister filter..should i keep the bioballs wet as well?

Yes, keep the bio balls moist. Otherwise all the beneficial bacteria is lost and you're starting all over like a brand new tank.

There is going to be some cycle issues no matter how well the move goes. As long as you keep everything moist there shouldn't be any serious problems though. 15 minutes is no big deal.

Concentrate on moving everything out of the tank, into containers. As long as the live rock goes straight out of the tank and into a bucket full of water there shouldn't be any significant die-off. Forget about that stuff. Move the entire tank and filtration, get it set up and ready to go. Then go back and pick up all the water/rock/sand, transport it, and wah-lah. Wait a couple days, test the water, and go from there.

 

[simple]

ok, so you think theres a good chance that if i transport it and set it up this weekend that it will be ready for an octopus by friday? My guess is that it probably will but theres always some unexpected obstacles. btw would a vulgaris be okay in a 110 gallon? i heard people suggesting 120, so would the ten gallons make a big difference or is 120 the absolute minimum?
Thanks. (I cant wait, i worked all summer for this tank and it might finally pay off =D)

 

[shipposhack]

110 will work for O. Vulgaris. Make sure you keep the lid tight.

 

[Thales]

I was planning on using two 55 gallon trash cans (new) and putting all the live rock and sand in there, and filling it with water from the tank (i would use 5 gallon buckets to move water from the tank to the trash cans) then taking it home setting the tank back up and putting the rocks, sand and water back in, that way the rocks and sand are always in water, and i keep the water it had (or at least most of it) in order to keep everything as close to how it originally was. Does that sound like a good idea? any suggestions from prior experience? how long should i expect to wait for everything to settle down again (remember its been running for over a year with everything)

Removing the sand is a bad idea, and the bed will surely cycle again. If you can leave the sand in the tank and remove the rocks, your should be able to pull it off. I would put a piece of plywood under the tank and lift that.

 

[simple]

so with the sand in it and maybe like 2 or 3 inches of water to keep the sand "live" how much do you think the tank would weigh? will 3 or 4 people be enough to move this? Because so far i have 3 people in total and i want to know if i should ask more people for help moving this...

 

[Thales]

Nah, just keep the sand damp. So drain the water all the way to the level of the sand or below. Extra water will weigh more and if moved will stir up the sand. I have no idea how many people youm might need - specially without knowing how much sand.

 

[simple]

well the tank is almost cube shaped (slightly rectangular, but very little) i dont know the exact measurements, but it has a 2-3 inch sand bed.. i know its not much information, but estimates would be helpful as well..

 

[cuttlegirl]

so with the sand in it and maybe like 2 or 3 inches of water to keep the sand "live" how much do you think the tank would weigh? will 3 or 4 people be enough to move this? Because so far i have 3 people in total and i want to know if i should ask more people for help moving this...

I would say you should have at least 4 people... I moved a 55 gallon aquarium with about 3 inches of sand and we needed two strong people. Of course, we did have to take it up 34 steps... Thales is right about just keeping the sand damp, you don't need any extra water.

 

[Thales]

If you post the dimensions of the tank, I can try to figure the weight of the sand.

 

[oscarjunk25]

I would say you should have at least 4 people... I moved a 55 gallon aquarium with about 3 inches of sand and we needed two strong people. Of course, we did have to take it up 34 steps... Thales is right about just keeping the sand damp, you don't need any extra water.

I agree with this assessment