Moving from San Diego to Phoenix

Next month I am moving to Phoenix and I have a few concerns about moving my tank. It's a two year old 25 gallon tank. Fish include two clowns, a royal gramma, and a dwarf angel. I also have crabs, snails, and about a dozen corals/mushrooms. Here are some of my questions:

Do I keep my existing sand or replace it?
Do I bag the fish or just put them in buckets? (I'm moving the water and rock in 5 gallon buckets)
How long can things survive out of a running tank? It's a 6 hour drive

I have a RO/DI unit and plan on bringing at least 5 gallons of new water. This is my first move and I'm a little nervous. I am open to all help and suggestions.

Thanks,
Brittanie

 

Deep sand bed?


I'd put them in a bucket with as much water as possible, then get one of those things that plugs into the cigarette lighter that acts like a power strip. Hookup at least an air pump with an air stone. However even that is not really required, but it would reduce stress.

 

I too am here in San Diego and wish you the best in your move.

If you have access to O2 I would put the fish in bags and fill the bag with O2. If no O2 then fill the bag with air as much as possible. I would also only keep a cup or so of the existing sand and sees the new sand with the cup of old sand.
I do not know how long fish can live in bags. If you leave them in a bucket I think there will be to much sloshing around and stress them out.
I would keep the rocks in a 5g bucket with water to prevent any die off of the rock.
I would also recommend saving the tank as the last item to pack and the first to unpack. I know you'll be busy with the move but the quicker the transfer the better.
I'm sure someone else will chime in with better or more advise but this is just my $.02

 

It's about 1.5 inches. I have been wanting to transition to a bigger grain, maybe this is the time to do it.

You don't think the sloshing around will stress them out?

 

I don't have access to O2; wish I did. The sloshing around was my concern. I was thinking about bagging them and then putting the bags into a paper grocery bag to keep it dark. I don't know though, I might be way off. And I'm having help moving so pretty much I will be in charge of the tank, and he's going to start moving everything else

 

Glad you have some help.
Here is a good link to check out.
http://www.melevsreef.com/moving_a_tank.html

 

We do a whole lot of aquarium moves a year. For what you have its pretty basic and straight forward. Use buckets instead of the bags, and simply keep everyone aerated properly.


supply list:

2-4 five gallon buckets (heavy duty totes will work as well, jsut make sure they are heavy duty totes) depending on the amount of rock and coral

battery air pumps for all buckets/containers or a car adapter that can run regular air pump off of.

spare batteries for changes on the rode.



for a 6hr ride, I doubt you'd need to do any water changes. Just remember to not feed your fish for 24-48hr prior to the move to minimize waste in the moving containers.

 

Never even thought about not feeding them for a day or so to prevent waste. You guys are making me feel better about moving. Thank you.

 

Well...bags have a smaller amount of water in there, then they are prone to leak possibly so it would be best to use Buckets.

 

I was also thinking about switching over to black sand. I've seen pictures of them and they look really cool. Has anyone done black sand?