Moving established tank

[TANKSTER]

I have been doing a lot of reading (the book recommendations in other threads were very helpful) and am starting to look for a used reef setup, 100 gallons +. I am not sure how far away I want to expand my search; I am willing to travel up to 7-8 hours one-way. Can I reasonably expect to transport an established system this far without losing some? Or am I better off looking for an empty system?

Also, I am in Michigan, does anyone know if there are any problems bringing livestock from Canada through customs?

Thanks

[mogurnda]

I just talked to a guy who transported his whole tank from Texas to DC without losses. He put the livestock together with the live rock in coolers, using bait pumps for circulation. Not really that different from the tank conditions, except for a bit more surge. Your big problem will be temperature in MI this time of year. Hot water bottles?

Dunno about customs, but I bet it would be time-comsuming.

[frazin78]

I moved my fish tank in Canada during December. It was extremely cold and I had no loses of fish at all. I had a friend that bought a cheap 400Watt inverter for his cigaratte lighter in his car. I then placed an air stone attached to my water pump and a 150 w heater into a cooler. I filled up the cooler with tank water and a few pieces of Live rock. I moved only about an hour but it was -36 degrees outside and my water stayed nice and warm. If you are moving over 7-8 hours I would maybe remove the lid once and awhile to have some fresh oxygen replaced into the cooler.

btw keepin the cooler in the front seat helps as well as you can pump some heat alot easier in the car. As well make sure to put a thermometer in the cooler and check it every 30 minutes or so.

Jc

[liquafaction]

I just moved one (only 45 minute though) the only thing I lost was an emerald crab. I just put all my live rock in tubs, and my live stock in its own tub. The thing I did not like was how nasty the water was when I put it all back together. I was afraid that I would lose fish from gill problems. I used a suburban and branco "s.u.v's." for climate control