Best way to move a salt tank?

avanc

avanc

Aialik..cutest otter in Oregon!!
Nov 7, 2008
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gettin' hot
So I will be moving from Oregon to Arizona here soon and i was wondering what is the best way to move my salties? I'm not sure if I should ship them over and risk my mother-in-law doing the acclimation or should I just take them with me in the car and bring along a small Rubbermaid, heater and mixed water so I can set them up when we stop for the night?? Any suggestions?:help:
 
hmmm..... worry about your mommy in law doing things right, or taking them with you, with the possibility of a water change, done by you, feeding (if you don't fast them), done by you, and monitoring, done by you.

if it was me, i'd take them with you, as long as the trip would only add another day to the 'shipping' time, and if you feel your fish/corals/etc are hardy enough to handle the trip ok. take extra water, on top of what you are already planning on taking, just in case.
 
yeah the trip will take 2 days max (there are small kids involved or we would just drive straight through) and they're very hardy fish and corals, I think I'm leaning towards taking them myself, do you think i should bother with heat packs?
 
what will you be transporting the fish in? if bags, you could put them in coolers, with something, like newspaper, stuffed between the bags in the cooler to keep things from jostling. when you stop at night are you going to set up some sort of tank for the night or keep the fish in their shipping accomodations? i'm not a salty, but i think for both fw and sw, you would have to consider the stresses involved with bagging, travel, unbagging, temporary tank overnight, rebagging, travel, and finally home tank at the end. would this stress the fish more than just staying in the bags?

as for heat packs, i would bring some, and check the forecast of the travelling route before you leave. i wouldn't use them inside the vehicle with the heat on.
 
I would take them with you on the drive. Depending on the type and size of your fish and how many you have, a few 5g buckets with a lids and battery operated aerators can go a long way (or a car power inverter and regular wall plug aerator). I would recommend making sure you can keep the temperature stable and within an acceptible range as much as possible. I'm not familiar with the weather in that area this time of year, but you may need to use a heater / heat packs or cool packs.

Can you list what you'll be moving? Is it just fish, or are there many corals / inverts as well? Would they be traveling in a car, back of a pick-up truck, or back of a moving truck? It might be easier to provide a better suggestion if there's an idea on the scale of which this effort will be.
 
I kept my entire tank in rubbermaid buckets for days when I did a substrate change and installed a new floor underneath with no ill effects. I used aerator and heater and that was it. I did do a partial water change daily.

If you can find a way to power the heater (if needed) and minimize sloshing around you should be fine. I realize those two tasks are not easy in a vehicle!

I would not trust anyone else to transfer them - no one will be as concerned with their comfort and needs as you will be.
 
Yeah I should have given details, sorry. It's my husbands first salt tank and he just has a maroon clown, domino damsel, blue devil and my lil blue velvet, all very tough and some assorted polyps and mushroom corals, all basic beginner tough stuff. they would be coming with me inside the car, the weather in Oregon is pretty mild this time of year though in Arizona it's starting to get pretty warm. So I'm going to bag them separately (so they don't freak and kill each other). You think it would be better to leave them in the bags overnight?
 
I would definitely leave them in the bag, but do a few partial water changes.

The blue devil damsel you can just throw on the dashboard for a couple of days without water he/she will be fine:) Of course I am only half kidding. Have fun catching it!
 
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i have read that once a bag (of bagged fish) is opened, there is chemistry changes that cause ammonia to increase. if this is true, would the partial water changes done while the fish is in the bag be more or less harmful?

there are fish transported all over the world, and are in sealed bags for more than two days, often without problems.

if i were travelling with the fish, as much as i would want to keep their water clean, i would be worried about these ammonia chemistry fluxes that happen when the bag is opened.
 
I am not sure of the ammonia reaction when a bag is opened, but that would be interesting to learn.

When fish are shipped in bags around the world, it is my understanding that they are sedated with a chemical added to the water which slows down every thing including the pooping. When you have a non-sedated fish in the bag I think their anxiety would increase the movement and body functions.

I do think keeping in the bag, is better than dumping them into a bucket and then back in the bag for the next leg of the journey.

Personally, I would call someone like Foster and Smith who shipped a lot of fish and ask for their advice.
 
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