Tank Transfer Day?

:sick3: Ok, I'm worried sick about the big day that we move everything from my 46 to the new 90. For you folks who have actually transferred tanks, how did you do it??? We are basically going to have to transfer everything out of the 46 into tubs, tear down the tank, move the 90 into the same spot, set up the substrate and additional rock, pump lots of saltwater in, and transfer everything back in. I'm more worried about stressing my fish.

Right now, I'm planning to use three separate tubs...one for the corals not attached to rock (and the corals I can pop off the rock), one for the encrusted corals/rock, and one for the live rock with nothing attached. I have a few extra heaters and powerheads to put in those. I was thinking of moving the fish into the QT, which will be something in the 20-29 range, probably one of the "all in one" tank kits. Should I bag them or just put them in there? My plan was to pump the current tank water into the QT and put the fish in there. I guess I'll need to acclimate them again before putting them in the 90, yes/no? How long did the whole process take from start to finish?

We don't have the day picked out yet...still waiting on equipment, lights, and my son's sump build. I'm picking up the 30L for the sump today. It will hopefully be a Saturday in December when I have some reinforcements...

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated! I want to do everything I possibly can to make this transition smooth.

 

a few tips since ive done this same thing a few times.
-how ever long you think it will take, give yourself at least double that time. you dont want to rush.
-have double the ammount of containers you think you will need. ive always had to go find some random container in the middle of moving a tank because i ran out of room.
-take your time, do it right the first time and double check everything.
- the fish will be fine in a tub for a while with a heater. when the new tanks up to temp acclimate the fish like you normally would if you just bought them.

Fun stuff!

 

I just did it when I moved. I did pretty much what you are talking about. I put all my fish in a 5gal bucket with an airstone. With the advice I got from here, I didn't bag my fish separately cause it would add stress. I drained my tank into a 30gal tub then the rest into 5gal water bottles. I put what little corals I have in bags, then in a Styrofoam box for transport. My new house is only a mile south of where I am now. I loaded up and shot over to my new house and got to work ASAP on set up, water, LR, corals, then my livestock. Start to finish took me four hours including a trip out to my LFS for 20gal of new saltwater.

 

I'm gonna piggyback your thread with this question because I think both of us will need to know.

I know shortly after the tank is back up and running there will need to be a water change of some sort during the cycling process. About how long into the cycle do we do this?

 

Since you are transferring live rock and adding new water, the tank really should not cycle. When I transferred to my 125 I filled it with new salt water, moved over my live rock and corals, rinsed out all of the sand in salt water and added that, then added some new dry rock and sand. No "cycle" at all (no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates). Just the normal diatoms and hair algae from the new rock and sand.

As far as the transfer itself, ideally you will get a second tank up and running ahead of time as you were thinking. If possible, get it up and running now. Move some live rock over to it to get the bacteria established. Ghost feed it until your fish are transferred. Then, you can take all the time you need to swap tanks. Move rocks into a heater container with a powerhead. Get the new tank in place, plumb it, fill it. Once it is leak free, heated, and ready to go, transfer over the remaining live rock and coral. After that is done, put it any new rock or sand. Wait a couple days, then add fish. You can either add them all at the same time, or just a couple at a time and space them out by a week or so.

 

Excellent advice! Thanks!

Good to know. I'll probably plan all day, but I hope it won't take that long!

No problem...ask anything you can think of! Good question!

I wish I could have both tanks going at the same time...I know it would make everything easier. Since the new tank is going in the same spot, I'll have to move everything out of the old one first.

 

I wouldn't bag the fish.If you have them in the quarantine long enough that that you feel acclimation is needed you could do it by removing some water from the quarantine tank and replacing it with some from the new one,kind of like a large scale drip acclimation.When finished acclimating you can just net them and transfer.

 

I just did the exact same thing. I kept the fish and my rocks with coral in an extra 20L I had with a heater and powerhead pointed toward the surface. I took the water out of the tank and put it into the 20L tank and then moved the fish over as I caught them. I put the rock and more water in a big bin and extra in another container. I used the sand from the tank but not all of it but I really should have planned to add a little and then wash the rest really good because I did have a lot of detritus on the sand floor when everything settled. I would recommend putting a plate in and pouring the new water into the plate so it minimizes the sand dispersal. Hope this made sense Be sure to make up plenty of water to include the new tank size and additional for sump. You can then still use some left over tank water or the water in your QT if you run short.

Once I got the new water and tank up to temperature, I added in the fish slowly. I did not have a cycle. The whole process took about 6 1/2 hours. This included our friend setting up the sump and adding on a sheet of black plastic to the back and drilling holes in the stand.

 

I love this idea! I was going to just pump water from the existing tank into the QT and put the fish in there...didn't think of "acclimating" them in the QT!

Thanks! I'm going with new sand from Reef Rocks and a cupful of sand from the old tank. After 5 years, my current sand is full of all kinds of yuck. The plate idea makes perfect sense...I think we did that the last time. Someone also mentioned covering the sand bed with a layer of Saran Wrap.

 

the saran wrap is an excellent idea. I wonder if it would be hard to keep in place though?