moving my tank

hey there can anybody tell me the best way to transport a tank that is full of rock fish and coral

 

Moved my tank a bunch and have only lost one fish. Last time the move started at 8 am and I didn't stop until 4am. Had a lot of problems with equipment and us brutes handling the tank. Regardless I only lost 1 fish and look would have it, it was a damsel that was harassing some fish.

Anyway moving has been pretty simple for me. Here is what you'll need;
Trash cans equal to the volume of your tank.
Large cooler about 20 or 30 gallons (for livestock)
Hose long enough to reach from tank to truck then truck back to tank at new location
Good pump (LFS may loan one to you or if yours is big enough...probably mag12 min)
3 or 4 friends...water ways about 8lbs a gallon
Truck, hopefully a friend above has one
About 20% of your tanks size of freshly mixed water at new location
Buckets
As much extra water as you can mix, you can always use it in the next week for water changes

Fill the cooler with tank water, if it is not a new cooler you can line it with a trash bag but don’t seal it until the move. Depending on the distance you may want a battery powered air pump but if it is less then two hours I wouldn’t worry.

Once the cooler is filled about 80% of the way start removing the rock from the tanks and putting it into buckets for the move. Once these are out or while you are doing this drop the pump into the tank (away from everything and with a sponge) and pump it out to the truck that will have the trash cans in it(again I line them with 2 bags to be safe and new hose assures that nothing too bad will be in there). Now start loading the corals into the cooler. When the water level gets about ¼ of the way down in the tank it will be easier to catch the fish and put these into the cooler as well. Also it is a good idea to put a power head in at this time while you empty the rest of the tank. The sand you can leave in depending on the tank…it will way an extra hundred pound or so. I was always afraid of what it may do to the bio-load so kept it in. Made the 120-gallon HEAVY! Once it is empty take it, the buckets and finally the cooler to the truck to move. If someone is following, the cooler can go in a backseat to help keep it cool enough. Be careful when you all are moving it the sand will shift and the weight with it.

Once you get to the new place take the cooler up, plug in a power head and heater right away and make sure it is out of the way. Open up the bag as well. Next get the stand and tank where it is going, level the tank and now drop the pump into the trashcans to pump the water back into the tank. Obviously put the sand in first if you did bucket it, I always put a plate on the bottom to keep the water from stirring the sand up too much. Check for leaks and start getting things plumbed again. At the same time have someone put the rock back in.

Once all the water is back in the tank you’ll be short water that you lost and what is in the cooler. That’s why you need the 20 gallons ready to top it off. Once you get it filled fire up the pump and rest of the stuff to get the water back to the correct temp, maybe an hour or two. Keep an eye on the cooler (keep it open once you get there) and if they look like they are struggling you may not want to wait for the water to clear. Acclimate the fish the way you normally do and you are done.


You may want to make sure that you have these extra things as well;

All bulkhead sizes on you tank if any
Heater
Air pump
All possible PVC fittings if you are hard plumbed or hose if not and o rings

If you don’t like the sound of this call the LFS they usually have maintenance crews that maintain tanks and are more then willing to do the whole thing for you for 100-150 dollars. At least they did here 5 years ago.

 

If I'm taking your meaning right, I believe you're asking how to move a tank while full. You can't. The physics of that glass box aren't made for stresses of lifting and shearing while it's full. You can't even lift a corner safely, it will start to leak.


If you mean how to transport it correctly, such as emptying it, correctly stowing away the livestock and sand, etc. that could be done. Jakerupe's answer above will work. I don't feel good about leaving anything in the tank--including sand, but that's just me. The extra work of removing the sand before transporting the tank is insurance that you're not going to break any glass.

 

take the fish rock and coral out of the tank then move the tank, rock, livestock to the desired location. put everything back in the tank. oh make sure you take the water out before moving and put saltwater back in after you've moved it lol.


seriously though i would put the stuff in new plastic trash cans.