MOVING A TANK WITH LIVE ROCK AND FISH

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omegafish

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 5, 2007
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USA
Hi I might be buying a 49 gallon bowfront aquarium with stand and live rock and fish.
THe tank has a grouper and 2 other saltwater fish and live rock and some sort of substrate what would be the best way to move the tank with limited space but i want fish to still be alive?

i was woundring if we drianed the tank half way put water in buckets and most of the live rock in bucket and left fish in tank with remaining water would that suffice i am only going to go 61 miles?
 
I'd put the fish in plastic tubs with batery powed bubblers power heads etc. I would put the sand and rocks in another tub in water if you can. I would move the tank EMPTY so that it gets to where you are going whole.
just my advice
Max
 
Agreed.. Tank with water or sand/rocks will just increase your potential for tank failure.

Tubs and buckets are the only way to do it.

TIP: You only need half of the existing water as you can replace the other half with new clean water when setting it back up. Basically it's a 50% water change but it will help after you stirred up all the crap in the rocks and sand.
 
DEFINATY move the tank empty...tubs for the rock and the fish and as much tank water as you can get. Use a seperate tub or bucket for the substrait.
 
Iv'e done 100% water changes before (Usually when building new tanks) so that should be ok as long as the temp, PH, and salinity are exact you shouldn't have a problem. If they are not then just take the extra time to acclimate them.

Also this will only work if your filters and/or liverock do not dry out and cause stuff to die off. This also applies to livesand as well. Keep these tumbs with the rocks and sand alive by a battery powered air pump as well as something to the circulation as well like a powerhead on a batterbackup unit for a computer or a cigarette lighter to AC converter unti which are fairly cheap now.
 
We just moved a 150 gallon tank with live rock and coral. What we did was to make enough salt water to fill half the tank a day or two in advance of the move. In your case, between 25 and 30 gallons should be plenty. Get several 5 gallon plastic buckets (or buckets big/small enough for each item you are moving) with lids to hold the rock, substrate and fish. We first syphoned off about half the water into buckets that would go with us, then as we filled a new bucket, items that needed to be moved would placed in them. The water that is in these buckets will be tossed once the move is complete as you may get a significant build-up of waste that you don't want to introduce into the new tank. I agree with the bubblers, etc for the fish since it will take several hours to half a day from start to finish. The rock and substrate will do fine without it, just make sure they are covers with water to keep all the living organisms in good shape. You will need to drain the tank because they really aren't designed to be moved with any water in them. Place the substrate in a bucket and cover it with water. Now you can haul fanny to the new location. Do a quick clean of the tank, if it needs it. Then set the tank up just like it was new. Put the water you made in advance in first. We had a ton of mushroom coral on our live rock and didn't lose a thing in the move. Good luck!
 
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