Tank relocation suggestions?

Hello,

I am thinking about moving my tank. The tank is a 10 gallon aquarium with about 10 lbs of live rock in it and a sand bottom. It is in an office enrironment and moving to my house. I want to try to do things without causing another cycle to happen.

The tank is completely cycled right now. There is one clownfish and a cleaning crew residing in it. It has been this way for a few months now.

I was wondering if it would be alright for me to do the following:

Prepare some newly made saltwater (RODI) in a bucket to submerge the live rock in and transport it today after work (leaving the fish and the cleaning crew not living in the rock in the original tank until tomorrow afternoon, and then bagging and moving them as well as the tank (obviously after the tank is empty).

If I leave the fish living in the tank without the dry rock, will there be enough beneficial bacteria with just the sand for one day? If the following plan is acceptable, should I pick up another heater from the pet store to keep the live rocks in the bucket heated at the appropriate temperature until I can move the fish and tank tomorrow?

Thanks in advance for any input!

--Eric

 

you can't move it all in one day?

I would put the LR in the bottom of a bucket full of the tank water with your fish in there, maybe bagged and floating so they don't get injured from any shifting LR.
Leave a bit of water and the sand in the tank and just move it like that.

That seems like the easiest way.

 

Is it OK to to leave the sand in the tank while moving it with a skimming of water at the bottom? Also, how should I move my filter media?

 

hi Eric

how far have you got to move everything?
I am with FatBastad on moving it in 1 go, as it is only 10 gallons, and hopefully not far to move it?

if the journey is going to take less than a couple of hours
the filter media could be transported damp rather than submerged IME
I have moved live rock, in a polysyrene tray with an inch of water the rocks covered by wet towels and the lid on to ensure humidity is maintained

you could transport the filter media which I assume is sponges? ceramic rings? or live rock rubble? in the same manner or in a 2 gallon bucket submerged

how deep is the sand bed? as it is mostly disturbing sand beds that creates issues when moving a set up from 1 place to another

you say it is a "few months" if it is less than 6 months old and shallow, then I would leave an inch or so of water in the tank and move it like that, trying to disturb/ mix up the sand bed as little as possible

if it is older than 6 months and more than an inch deep
I would be tempted to throw the sand away and replace with new dry sand when setting the tank back up at the other end

Steve

 

Thank you all for your input. The tank is less than the 6 months old and there is only about an inch of sand max in some places. I will leave about an inch of water at the bottom of the tank. I was planning on just putting the live rock in a bucket completely submerged in water. The filter media I was referring to was the bio wheel in my marineland filter.