Moving ray tank from house to house

Hi guys,

I'm going to be moving to a new house within the next 2-3 months. I have a 400 gal with 3 leo rays in it, no other stock. The stand is solid lumber that will require disassembly and assembly. I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions to safely move the fish over a prolonged period of time? Here is my game plan:

Empty as much of the water into totes as possible. Hoping to save 100-150 gallons in totes, each ray will have its own separate tote with an air stone running in it. Should I leave them in the main tank as long as possible or take em out right away? Anyway, drain tank entirely, take down plumbing, move the tank, dissasemble stand, move it all, drain sump right before moving it to go to the new place. I was then going to load the sump to my new place first, put some water from the totes into it to keep bio bacteria alive, and start running the fx5 I already have running on it again asap. Then I was going to assemble the stand, and after that I'm not sure what direction to take. Should I empty the remaining water and rays into the tank and then redo the plumbing and fill? Or should I put the water and rays in the tank, fill almost to the point of overflow and stop it while I complete the plumbing? Or should I keep the rays in the totes while doing the plumbing?

Tbh quite nervous about the move, this will be a 6-8 hour job altogether I guess. Should I ask a LFS or friend to simply hold the fish for me for a week or so to eliminate the time constraint and just let the tank cycle and reintroduce? Anyone have any other tips for doing this effectively, maybe not feed the day before? Things tend to come up when you're moving, pressure situation, number one concern is for the safety of the fish. Any extra materials to have on hand anyone would recommend, or any dosages of prime/safe or anything I should consider adding? Just looking for general tips, thanks in advance.

Thanks for the advice. Tank is acrylic, so 2 people can move it. But absolutely, there will be 6 strong guys there. I am hoping at least one of my contractor friends can make it out because he could take apart and put together the stand himself with his eyes closed real quick, that is where I see my biggest issue tbh (not that I am not handy, but to take it apart preserving the screws as I cant remember what size they were and to put it together FAST and at the same time make it structurally stable will be a bit of pressure on these shoulders). I'll have a uhaul so I can move everything at once. Is everyone confident my rays will survive in a tote with an air pump for 8-10 hours? Also, how do I regulate temperature without putting a heater in the tote so as not to risk burning the ray?

I think I have a few 50 gallon totes I was going to use. I would set up some sort of temporary pond but I am just slightly worried that a) I'll find a ray that jumped ship next morning, and b) I won't be able to cycle it properly in time before I need to move, how would you suggest I bio-filter and cycle it considering I wont be at both places every day? I don't want their temporary home to stress them out like crazy either. Ideally I would like to move the tank in one day with the fish, but if thats a bit too risky then I will do it this way.

Also, if i do just move the setups without setting up a new one, what the best way to prevent the tank from cycling considering I have to drain the sump to move it? My guess is pour a tote of water in there right away and start an fx5 on it that's been there for a while, but thats not going to get water onto the sponges that aren't submerged.

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