Steal or raw deal?

I brought my first tank livestock and all.
Not a bad deal considering but as there was a leopard wrasse somewhere in about 2" of live sand in the near empty tank with a bit maybe 4" of water in it the tank was brought back "wet" everything was cleaned on returning home and the water rock fish coral etc put back in and observed till the third day when the tank split causing problems beyond belief (they only leek in the middle of the night you know)
So don't bring it back "wet" it puts to much strain on the seems.
All good now though and i wouldn't of changed a thing .
Good luck
 
1wizz said:
I brought my first tank livestock and all.
Not a bad deal considering but as there was a leopard wrasse somewhere in about 2" of live sand in the near empty tank with a bit maybe 4" of water in it the tank was brought back "wet" everything was cleaned on returning home and the water rock fish coral etc put back in and observed till the third day when the tank split causing problems beyond belief (they only leek in the middle of the night you know)
So don't bring it back "wet" it puts to much strain on the seems.
All good now though and i wouldn't of changed a thing .
Good luck
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YIKES! That was exactly what I planned to do if I got it. Put the delicates in their own buckets and bring the tank back with rocks and live sand and a wee bit o' water still in it. Crap. That will be a major pain in the neck to get all of that stuff out...any other ideas??
 
I would get a couple of 15-20 gallon plastic tubs from target or somewhere, large coolers would work too if you already have a few. Put all the fish in one, the rock in a seperate one (it could move during the drive and crush the fish) and a third to put some of the substrate in (wet sand is really really heavy). I would bag the tube anemones and anyone else fragile seperatly just to be safe, and float them in one of the tubs. Fill them up 1/2 - 3/4 or so with tank water (as much as you think you can get in there and still be able to move them, not so much that they spill sloshing around in the back of your car) Then drain the tank till the water level is down to the substrate for the move. ive done this several times over the last few years with both my 75 and 125 gallon tanks and its worked fine, but it takes up a lot of space and you might have to take several trips. I would get an extra heater and small pump for each of the tubs so you can leave the live stock in there over night if you need to while you set the tank back up, refill it and get everything going, and maybe even some silicone in case of an emergency leaky seam (never happened to me but better safe then sorry). This also gives you plenty of time to reaclimate everyone and deal with any potential problems. As a warning tho, even drained to just substrate and water the tank is gonna be very heavy so make sure you have a strong friend to help, especially if there are stairs involved.
 
Personally I'd ditch the substrate and replace it
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Or completely scrub it.
While I love DSBs for maring tanks, they are next to impossible to move because the density of the sand keeps all kinds of crud, and when disturbed or removed it trashes the ecology living it. So, plan on a massive decomp causing some ammonia spike when oxygen hits the deeper parts of the bed – if you remove it and pour it back.
My advice would be to remove everything in the tank except for the DSB and enough water to cover it,and put the tank on piece of plywood for extra bracing. Then move it. This will keep the DSB as intact as possible.
I disagree about keeping all the fish and inverts in a cooler over night. They'll be stressed enough and have nothing to remove ammonia from the water. I agree you shouldn't have big chunk of LR rolling around in a cooler in a car with fish in the came container. Not a time I’d like to be a snail either. However, I would put the LR back in with the fish ASAP after the physical move to keep the biological filter as healthy as possible.
I’d also get some more LR, but I might wait until the moved tank has settled before adding more variables.
I’d also chuck the Magnum 350 and stupid biowheels and get one of those variable powerheads for water movement. If the Penguin HOBs are decent enough size they are great for water movement, but you should have one or two more powerheads at the ends of the tank for horizontal water flow.
 
In the moving method I mentioned I always place some of the rock in the bin with the fish once they have arrived at the destination if I plan on leaving them in the tub a while, dont know why I didnt mention it, just got carried away in the moving process and forgot. In my experience there is never enough room in one bin for the fish and all my live rock to stay submerged, so i move some rock into the fish bin to provide hiding spots and shelter, but I never move fish into the rock bin- In my opinion the extra stress of moving them yet again is not worth the worry of a little filtration over night as long as the water quality is good to start with and you have adequite aeration. I also dont feed for a 2 days before the move to prevent unneeded water fouling while the fish are in the tub. You could probably call ahead and ask the seller to do the same. After the tank is filled and at proper parameters I add the left over rock from the rock bin and give it a few hours before I begin acclimating the livestock bin.
My experience with moving a DSB has never been a major problem, the water gets cloudy, the surface gets stirred but the bottom few inches dont really move. I always get a small increase in ammonia (i assumed as much was caused by the shock of adding 60%+ new water to the sand and rock in the tank as to the move itself but really have no idea) but the biological filtration remaining in the tank always seems to take care of it pretty quickly. In my experience it usually takes about 2 weeks for all my livestock and coral to fully recover from the move.
 
this is going to take some serious plotting if I make it happen! The drive is two hours so somehow, we'd have to get it all in one shot. Buying extra heaters and filters, however, and chucking some of the merchandise that comes with the tank has me wondering if the financial savings are really big enough for the trouble. :headshake2:
 
Ha ha, this hobby, even when you have yet to get a marine aquarium the thoughts of money and its worth are entering your head, believe me, cash leaves your wallet faster than water evaporates form the tank you've yet to get.
Having said all that i have never gone into anything in my life which such enthusiasm in the beginning and still years later have more and more as each day passes, i think i can speak for all when i say this is a truly fantastic hobby and well worth the sacrifice's you may have to make along the way.
If you can afford it its worth it, join us salty's on the journey, it absorbing.
jmo.......
 
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