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Long distance tank move
- Thread starter dave601m
- Start date
APISTOBORELLI
Bass in pic swam away
Buckets with lids for the fish. Drill a hole in the lid to run battery powered air pumps. As long as the rock stays damp, you should be ok putting it in styro boxes.
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dave601m
Non-member
ok, that's what i was thinking,but i heard it may be better to individually bag the fish with some oxygen in the bags. the bucket idea sounds much easier!
i'm just gonna use buckets for the live rock too i think,might as well keep it submerged. i'm not worried about the weight of the buckets, more about keeping the rock live so i don't have large cycle when i get there.
i've been running a bio-wheel in my tank now to build up a nice culture of bacteria. i was debating whether or not i should stick the biowheel in the bucket to take care of ammonia/nitrite, or if it would use too much oxygen to keep the bacteria alive (can the air pump replace enough?)
i'm just gonna use buckets for the live rock too i think,might as well keep it submerged. i'm not worried about the weight of the buckets, more about keeping the rock live so i don't have large cycle when i get there.
i've been running a bio-wheel in my tank now to build up a nice culture of bacteria. i was debating whether or not i should stick the biowheel in the bucket to take care of ammonia/nitrite, or if it would use too much oxygen to keep the bacteria alive (can the air pump replace enough?)
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dave601m
Non-member
i got an AC invertor, but it caps at 75 watts, so i can run two airpumps, one for each bucket. i'm not too worried about usign a powerhead since the motion of the truck should have the same effect.
i'll be moving in august and i'll be keeping them up in the front of the uhaul with me to keep them outta the heat. i'm also gonna spray the great stuff foam insulation all around the bucket to help stop rapid temp swings.
any thoughts on keeping the biowheel in the bucket to deal with the ammonia, or will it use too much oxygen? I can also just cut off a small portion of it to use. i plan to junk it anyways once the tank is moved and stable again
i'll be moving in august and i'll be keeping them up in the front of the uhaul with me to keep them outta the heat. i'm also gonna spray the great stuff foam insulation all around the bucket to help stop rapid temp swings.
any thoughts on keeping the biowheel in the bucket to deal with the ammonia, or will it use too much oxygen? I can also just cut off a small portion of it to use. i plan to junk it anyways once the tank is moved and stable again
ScottM
Non-member
bags and Oxygen.
if something goes wrong, it's isolated to that bag. not an entire bucket.
its easier to maintain heat in a stryo than a plastic bucket.
Most LFS have extras.
I have had fish live for days in bags, i think it was 5 or 6 days.
i have had fish die in hours in a bucket.
if something goes wrong, it's isolated to that bag. not an entire bucket.
its easier to maintain heat in a stryo than a plastic bucket.
Most LFS have extras.
I have had fish live for days in bags, i think it was 5 or 6 days.
i have had fish die in hours in a bucket.
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dave601m
Non-member
do you just use the small home depot red oxygen tanks for welding, or did you go to a gas supply place, or where do you go for it? do you think even with a powerhead with a venturi in the bucket they would still not have enough oxygen? i'm not worried about temperature at all, that i can control very well, it's jsut the oxygen that's the hard part.
what ratio of water to oxygen do you use in each bag? how do you control ammonia? thanks!
what ratio of water to oxygen do you use in each bag? how do you control ammonia? thanks!
ScottM
Non-member
dave601m said:
you shouldn't have any amonia unless things in the bag are already dying and breaking down.
i have moved a 30g with buckets and inverters with heaters and powerheads and its risky. my move was only 8 hours. even with heat packs,heaters, and moving it INSIDE an SUV withthe heat on, things were still cold
the key is consistantcy.
and becasue of that, Temp is going to be your biggest enemy with a long move. The more stress (temp) on the fish the more oxygen they consume.
I am sure there are many ways to transport and with luck you may have sucess with all of them. but IMO with moving livestock, proper bagging (Corals - stryo/rubberbanding Fish- oxygen),proper heating, and packing are ket to being suscessful.
naturebatslast
Senior Toad Licker
You could take your fish with you, it's been done, but I don't reccommend it. Break the tank down, bucket your subtrate, wrap your rocks in newspaper and box them. I really recommend having someone ship you your fish, that's alot of stress to put on your fish, and to minimize it with an overnight package is probably best, IME. I've done a couple coast to coast moves and had excellent success and zero mortality.
If you get stuck driving out and your fish are with you (we are talking Uhaul here, they suck!!!), you are in deep doo-doo.
If you get stuck driving out and your fish are with you (we are talking Uhaul here, they suck!!!), you are in deep doo-doo.
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dave601m
Non-member
thanks reefdom, sounds like i'll be duplicating your setup - foam board on the tank and sand, oxygen in the bags. i luckily don't have a live sand bed yet (it's very new) so i shouldn't have any die off, all my bioligical filtering is my live rock and biowheel.
so is the live rock ok to just toss in a bucket of saltwater, or do i need to really worry abotu temperature here? it'll be august, so it'll be hot, and the live rock will prob be in the back of the uhaul, so it will be probably too hot if anything instead of too cold.
also, will the oxygen used in welding work, or are the impurities or stuff to worry about? cause i can use this as an excuse to have the misses let me get that welding setup i've always wanted
so is the live rock ok to just toss in a bucket of saltwater, or do i need to really worry abotu temperature here? it'll be august, so it'll be hot, and the live rock will prob be in the back of the uhaul, so it will be probably too hot if anything instead of too cold.
also, will the oxygen used in welding work, or are the impurities or stuff to worry about? cause i can use this as an excuse to have the misses let me get that welding setup i've always wanted
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dave601m
Non-member
naturebats, it's not a full cross country move, so the fish will be in transit for only one day either way - either 24 hours in uhaul, or shipped overnight and subjected to who knows what temperature from the altitude changes - i think i may be better driving with them where i can at least adjust the heat or A/C and monitor temp, etc. also if i bring a portable oxygen tank, i can open the bags halfway and give them a refresh if i need to, though that may be more trouble than its worth.
naturebatslast
Senior Toad Licker
I just recommend that route because moving sucks already, you probably have enough to do to get settled.
You might want to also do a Google search on 'moving a reef tank'. There are a bunch of old article that might help you out.
~Flighty~
Now with more baby
Anyone know where that article about comparing the different methods of moving fish would be? I thought it was bt calfo or borneman or something, but I can't find it. It compared full open containers, full bags, partially full bags and partially full open containers. I know the result was that the closed bag was best, but I can't recall the details or find the article.
Jeepman3sk
Non-member
I moved from Ohio to Brighton. What I did was since I didn't want the water to cycle or anything I broguth 75% of my water with me. I bought 2 25 gallon rubbermade tubs filled them up half was with water then put my LR in htere. The LR created "bafffles" which made the water move arund alot les (it did not leak). Second I put a few lines of silicone between the top and the container of the rubbermade to seal the container completely. Next I taped the rubbermade containers shut and sealed them to have a second seal for the water and rock. I also had two 5 gallon buckets with water to hel balance out the trailer. THe water and LR was in the trailer. I packed the fish in bags and double bagged them. Every time I stopped ont eh way out here I would check on the fisht o make sure they were oke. Over all the fish were in backs for 48 hours plus of minus. I had to sleep over on my way here so I brought the fish up into my room. The fish were in HUGE bags which might of helped. No one died on my way out here. When I got here I put some fresh water in the bags and they had to stay int he bags for another 2-3 days due to my waer being cloudy from pouring the water back in the tank. It wasn't really that bad moving with them. It tooj me about 30 minuts to tear down the tank to about 3 inches of water then it was easy to catch the fish. Total time of tear down and load up of the tank was about an 1.5 hours. If you have any questions please let me know. Make sure you bag every thing seperate that is key. You dont want your fish fighting while you are driving.
