Moving a BC29 from Boston to Weymouth; tips, tricks, etc appreciated!

[Zackb911]

Hey guys I haven't been on here in years but I've had the itch for awhile to get back into the hobby. A friend of mine needs to sell his BC29 setup. It's complete and running, at least 35lbs of LR, zoas, mushrooms, xenia all over the place. got a clown and 6line wrasse swimming around. some hermits and a tux urchin.

I've been out of the hobby so long that I don't have RO water here or salt to mix up ahead of time. I was wondering if anyone had tips on the best way to move it, it's only a 30 min drive but my concern is the weight of the tank, livestock, etc.

I'm thinking grab ~5 Home Depot buckets and move the live rock into those and siphon the water into them to cover, drain the tank to a few inches of water, put the fish into a bucket with siphoned water, then just carry the tank.

What do you guys think? I want to plan this out so it goes like clockwork with no loss.

 

[jdeb101]

I'm thinking grab ~5 Home Depot buckets and move the live rock into those and siphon the water into them to cover, drain the tank to a few inches of water, put the fish into a bucket with siphoned water, then just carry the tank.

What do you guys think? I want to plan this out so it goes like clockwork with no loss.

That's basically how I did my move a month ago, however I drained tank completely because I was replacing the sandbed as well.

 

[Turbosnail]

How long has the tank been setup? You may want to be careful of stirring up the sand bed.

 

[Mr.Rodrigo502]

yea i would throw the sandbed out and get some new sandbed..................or just make sure u dont stir up the sand bad................btw welcome back! its a fun addicting hobby!

 

[B4tney]

Be careful, what if you drain all the water into a tout or more buckets after you get LR and fish into 5 gal buckets. That way it's lighter no way of mixing up sand bed. Just a thought I am new to the hobby myself. Have fun and welcome back to the game lol

 

[millcityrider]

I agree with replacing a portion of the sandbed, what I typically do is keep 1/4 of the old bed and add new sand for the rest. You have a good amount of LR too so that will help.

 

[jdeb101]

btw... heres a really good read on doing a tank move.
http://www.melevsreef.com/moving_a_tank.html

 

[Zackb911]

Thanks everyone, it's been up for about a year and is healthy. It's only a 20 minute drive, I'll read up on that tank moving thread.

 

[jamesdong009]

As long as you don't stir up the sand bed too much, I think you'll be fine with keeping it. Just be careful pouring the water back in. One trick is to put a trash bag flat over the sand and slowly add the water back in.

Looks like there are only softies, but if you had some LPS or SPS, I would bag those up along with the other livestock.

It's always good to keep extra saltwater, carbon, and Amquel on hand as well.

 

[murph3699]

Hey Zack! If you ever decide to get ride of the BC.......I'll take it off your hands like I did with the Eonon, lol!

 

[WarSea378]

I took over my friend's tank last March and got a hand from a guy out of Skipton's in Dorchester. It wasn't expensive and having the knowledgeable extra hand rather than doing it on my own or with a friend who (with respect, haha) may have ruined more than helped!!

I'm not making a cheap plug here, haha, but having the experience and the tools come for such a reasonable price was way worth it in my opinion. I can get you his number in a private message if you like.

 

[Skeeter7424]

i have been through two tank moves similar to this in the past 12 months, and have it down to (as close as you can get to...) a science... drain your water off first. before you move anything, take at least 1/2 to 3/4 of the water out and bucket it. next take the rock out and put that in the buckets. remember to leave space in the buckets for the displaced water! then have more pre-mixed water on hand than you need! this bit me the first time, as I thought I had enough, and ended up being 5 gallons short. which doesn't seem like much, but will in a 29...

again have pre-mix, amquel (or similar) on hand before you do this. and I have always found that running carbon, even in a flow through bag, has kept everything mostly happy during moves. in my past two moves, I haven't lost a piece of livestock doing it this way. just be careful, and have a very concrete plan before you even start. you cant imagine how helpful it is to write it down, so that in the heat of the moment, you can see exactly what you have to do

good luck! and plan plan plan!!

Cheers
Jordan

 

[JonsReef]

a piece of acrylic cut to the inner dimensions of the tank (hard to do with a BC with the curved front) and then held in place will help to keep the sandbed from being disturbed too much

 

[Zackb911]

Thanks guys forgot to mention I moved everything last week and it went flawlessly... I actually had another tank in place with fresh sand and transferred everything over to it.

Thanks Again!