Another tank moving thread

[parvo99]

Purchased a 150gal fully stocked tank and, unfortunately, the seller said he could get some guys to help, but now he can’t. Anyone available this Sunday?  Mostly just need some muscle to move the DT. Located in Tigard.  Of course food and drink provided

Also, is it possible to move the tank with just the sand left in the tank or will it be too heavy?  How bad of a cycle will I get?

Here’s my plan of action  please give any suggestions

Remove corals and rock and place in a temporary 55 gal with existing water

Catch fish and place in 55

syphon rest of water and save as much as possible in buckets

move tank with sand, or remove sand and move tank  

set up tank and add rock and livestock right away or wait and check cycle?  

Also, approximately how many hours will it take?  Should I start in the morning or can I start in the afternoon?

[Taylorhardy1]

You're gonna stir up the sand alot while moving it. Ime it's best practice to just replace the sandbed. Otherwise you run the risk of stirring the detritus all throughout the sand, creating an enormous nutrient factory. It's hard enough controlling the variables of new sand, and 5x as hard to fix the issues an old sandbed can create. If it were me, I'd remove the sandbed first keeping 1-2lbs, then move the tank, then add the live sand you kept, then add the dry sand and your base rocks. Then I'd let it run 24-48 hours to clear up, then add the livestock. You wont have much of a cycle, if any by going this route. The rocks will contain enough bacteria to keep things balanced, and help aid the live sand in seeding the dry sand.

[jtarmitage]

Not sure I can help, but definitely pull the sand. It will add a ton of weight you don't need while trying not to drop your new tank lol. You can rinse it and reuse, but you will still get a bit of a cycle no matter what you do. Good to have some bacterial additives on hand to help. 

[Mandinga]

One thing you want to be sure you get your temps right....put the fish in the buckets, but really try to make sure they don't get cold(try to keep the temp up on the rock too! this will minimize your cycle, or eliminate it all together). And wait for your new tank to fully stabilize the heat when you get it set back up. It may take a long time depending on how far/how cold it is this weekend.

 

I would probably use half the water, and then swap the other half for a nice big WC.