Moving to my new house and moving to a bigger tank

[tophoo]

Hi all,

I just bought a house and get it on Feb 2nd.  I currently have a 20g reef tank and going to move it into a 40g breeder tank at the new house.  what do I need to do to the new tank? How do I transfer all my rocks, livestock, sand, ect.? All help is appreciated as I have no idea what I'm doing.  Thanks

[robt18]

I just upgraded to a 40 breeder as well, nice! I'm really happy with mine and I'm sure you will be too.

Here's how to make it as easy as possible....

Buy new sand and rinse it thoroughly or put it in the new tank now with some water and let it settle.
Any additional live rock you're going to buy, buy now. Put it in buckets with flow and heat so it cures and doesn't stink up the new place.
On move day, bag your corals and other livestock if possible, then move your rock into buckets and try not to disturb your sand too much - it blows all over and makes a mess, and can also release bad bacteria.
Try to bring some of your existing water for the new tank.
When you get to the new place, put the rocks in, add the existing and new water (try not to stir up the sand), let it settle, then acclimate the corals and fish. Don't forget - the new tank conditions will be very different from your old one.

Good luck!

[rockgarden]

The 5 gallon plastic drinking water bottles work well for moving the water. Find a nearby Costco member who buys their water there.  If you fill three from your old tank (10 - 15 gallons of old water) and supplement with the same amount of new water at the new location you will have the equivalent of a 50% water change and the rock and sand will basically fill your 40 gallon to the normal depth.  Cycling issues should be minimal but be cautious anyway and acclimate fish and corals as carefully as you would when bringing home form LFS. Quarantine not normally a problem when moving your own fish but never know how fish will react to the stress.

Best of luck with your move.

Ron