The Puffer Forum

I want to buy a running 40 gal marine tank this weekend. The question is how do I move it and keep the critters well? There is not a lot of LR in it and 4 fish. I want to preserve as much as possible obviously and make sure the fish are fine.

water coolers are a a choice selection

if you don't have enough buy more .. wash them and return them the next day (keeping the reciept of course)

those 5 gallon buckets your salt comes in are great transportation units too.

great for carrying rocks and salt. view it as a big water change too because its better if you put a lot of new water too. remember not to put the water the fish were transported in.

we had a company move our 125 g tank once, they had a modified 5 g bucket with styrofoam insulation on the inside, and battery operated bubbler and heater.

How far are they going to be transported, and how long before they are in a stable place? What type of temp are they going to have to be exposed to, ie are you from alaska and going to transport them 6 hours away...

I moved about 2 hours away and the weather was about 75f so 5g buckets were just fine, I had saltwater pre-mixed and heated, and there was no cycle despite 100% water change, the transported live rock was more than enough, but I had probably 100lbs in my 90g...

They are only going to have to move about 20 min drive. I think I am good with the fish and having them ok. The stuff I don't really understand is the sand and rock. As long as I keep them moist and set it up quickly (couple of hours) shouldn't I be ok?

What size tank?

Sand: Depending on how deep, old and dirty the sand bed is, you might want to rinse it out heavily with a garden hose, I find 1/3 5g bucket at a time and you can get the sand really clean. Sand can hold tons of waste, not good to risk it. The live rock will hold more than enough living creatures to re-seed a tank.

Rock, for a 20min drive I would just put it in a storage bin or 5g bucket like container with little to no water, nothing really should have a problem with that, think of the way they ship live rock, no heat, just damp rock in plastic bags, in a styrofoam container which really just keeps the rocks from punching threw. When you get there take a few cups of tank water when ever the rock looks dry and pour it on it.

When re-doing the aquascaping I set the rocks out on a tarp and stack them there before so I know how they are gonna fit in the tank, its much easier to get it right out of the tank, then transfer it in. For me this means at least an hour of the rocks sitting on the tarp, lol, I need to get the aquascape just right.

If possible, to keep the bacteria alive in there, rinse the sand off in tank water. Keep the rocks submerged or at least very wet (cover in newspaper saturated in SW) & get them in the tank, asap. I'd be prepared with premixed SW for in there at the new place.