Moving to new home - Advice

Moving to my new home just over two weeks and was looking for any advice on how this process works (75g dt). What I was planning on doing was :
1- Drain DT water into buckets
2- Live rock into tub with water from DT
3- Bag all fish and inverts I can get my hands on
4- Bag Coral
5- Take all sand out??? - Confused on this, just think it will be too heavy to move with all the sand + any water. Is it okay to remove all sand? Cycling issues?
6- Fuge water into its own bucket

ONCE THERE
I have no idea really, other than put everything back together? and do a water change and keep on the parameters?

 

looks like you have a good grip on it!

Make sure the fish have enough air in the bags with them

you should have some new water mixed up incase the need for a waterchange upon arrival at your new home.

If you can move your tank with the sand in it go for it but know they arent meant to be moved with anything but air in them, so if you do leave your sand in leave it barely covered with water then add the old water upon arrival and test frequently as you may have a small (cycle) again.

 

I may be moving 8 hours away in September and may have to deal with this too. Although it is only a 20gal but the drive is going to suck. Fish and coral will be in bags for over 10hours it looks like. But I did have to dismantle the tank once to change the stand. I drained the water into a huge tub. Put all rock, corals, and fish into the tub. than I left the bottom layer of rock since my watchman goby and pistol shrimp where in the burrow I didn't want to cave them in or risk them not pairing up again if I removed them. Than I took apart all the equipment, moved the tank, stand, put new tank in place and work backwards from there.

About the oxygen situation. I went to the MAX convention over the weekend and they were showing this new bag at the Kordon booth. Supposedly it allows fish to breathe. They had 5 bags with no air, just water, and they claimed that the fish had been in the bags for a few days. If it really does what they say than that might be a great option, besides ammonia build up. At the convention, they had these bags completely heat sealed shut with fish in them, not even a rubber band. You could probably stop feeding a day or two before though.

Kordon LLC - Kordon - Breathing Bags
Here is a link to the bags.

 

You have to remember a good chunk of the fish at your LFS fly in from other countries! so they have to be in a bag for a while ( maybe a bigger bag that had more air ? ) Good luck on the move let us know how it goes!

 

don't under estimate the amount of buckets or tubs you will need

 

I think you can get oxygen tablets (the lfs gave me once when I wasn't sure when I'd be home)

 

Just think of what the fish need. Oxygen and clean water and 78 temps. 5 gallon bucket, air pump and heater on a dc/ac converter and your golden. Dmp the fish into a bucket with half new water and half tank water and your golden. Corals can go in a bag for a while to keep them from banging around too much. Just make sure you tap them lightly so they shrivel up in the tank before you put them in the bags. This way they will expel thir goo in the tank water which will then get diluted instead of doing it in the bag. Once at the new place, I would use a big 30 gallon tub from walmart or something with the old tank water to keep the fish and corals in. Put new tank water int he tank, the sand, let it settle, vacumme it out and watch your perams for a few days to a week. If there is no cycle, stuff everything back in.

People make this so hard and its not, it is just time consuming if done correctly.

 

If you disturb the sand you are asking for trouble, better to throw it away and start with new.

 

That isn't all to true honestly. You can move the tank and not mess up the sand if you really want to.

 

My $200 clowns were shipped this way and acclimated very nicely when I got them. The bags work like they say they do. I would suggest 5 gallon buckets from Lowes ($3 I think) and just everything happier and less stressed.