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I have a lead on a great deal on a 44 gallon salt water tank with 4 fish (angle, tang, gobi, and clown) and all equiptment. The price really is too good to pass up. I am wondering if anyone has any good tips on how best to move it. I am going to go look at it next weekend. Not sure how soon the current owner wants it out but I could probably move it then if it is as good a deal as it sounds and we agree on a price.

Since I currently have a 30 gal freshwater tank and no supplies for saltwater I am hoping to preserve all the water so I can have it up and running to give me some time to learn what I need for making salt water, testing it, performing water changes etc.

I was thinking I could put the water in 5 gal buckets but I would need 9 of them and have only 1 dirty bucket (weed bucket) with no lid. If I can get buckets I assume I could put the contents of the tank into them and load everything into my truck to bring home. It is probably a 20-25 min drive, almost all highway so smooth and straight. Would the fish be able to handle a bucket ride? Any ideas on where I could get 9 buckets cheap or free? Any better way to do it?

not that tough

put compatible fish in a bucket
say 2 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket

watch out bucket with fish does not get over heated in the sunlight

you might want to save old water
(get buckets at hardware store)
or just make new water
when you get where you are going

you need to keep the fish safe for around 4 hours while new water dissolves
air pump and air stone should do it

do NOT move the tank full of water
water is too heavy
and could slosh in the truck and break the glass

bring equipment back
set up
drop fish in tank
drink beer
watch fish

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/movingaq.htm

Give yourself PLENTY of time, it always takes longer than you think it will and always makes a bigger mess!

Good Luck!

I just read your post again. Because you are new to salt water, my advice is to start reading and learning ASAP. There is alot to take in, depending on the complexity of this guy's system. When you buy a used/established system, you are jumping in with two feet and there is little time to learn as you go. When you go to look at it, pay special attention to the problems you may be inheriting....

Why is the guy getting rid of it? Does he have constant disease problems? Tank in neglect? Inadequate equipment?

Is the tank drilled with a sump or does it use hang-on filtration? Is there salt crust in places that could be leaky? Pay special attention to plumbing/fittings/filtration that might not take the break-down/set-up and might need replacing immediatly upon moving.

Buy some salt mix and have water ready. A good portion always seems to disappear and you want to have aged water on hand to replace it.

As for buckets... I once got a bunch free from a donut-shop. Their jelly and fillings came in them. Just be sure they weren't used to hold chemicals, soaps, etc...

Thanks for the advice. I am going to take at the tank before moving it. Mostly to be sure I am familiar with what connects where since I probably won't be lucky enough to have it using the same filter etc. as I am on my existing tank. That way I should be able to minimize the stress time on the fish.

As for condition it is being sold because the owner is moving, not due to illness or dying fish so I am confident it is pretty good, but now I have some good ideas about what to look for to be sure. The price is so good that even if it needs a few minor upgrades or repairs it will be worth it.


Now I am thinking that rather than getting 9 5-gallon buckets maybe I can get a large tupperware tub for the back of the truck and 1 5 gal bucket. Use the bucket to hold water and fish and put the rest of the water in the large tupperware tub. I'll make more water at home prior to moving the tank so I have some to add to it if need be.

if you're going to move a lot of water in a truck

invest in a good quality (round) rubbermaid barrel

and a submersible water pump
and a python water changer

Good idea bout the rubbermaid barrel, we are in need of a new trash barrel anyway. I could buy it for the move then use it for trash. I don't plan on doing this often so I think I'll stick with siphoning instead of a submersible pump though to save money. Same on the python water changer. I use a long piece of clear hose I had left over from another project to take water out of my esixting tank, flows quickly enough.

I was also thinking that if I could round up enough people willing to let me borrow their coolers that could work even better. Low profile and square with a cover for easy packing without tipping or sloshing, and they usually have a drain spout that I could use to cart water out of the cooler and into the house. Plus the insulation would prevent the water from heating up too much.

I moved a 45g SW between states, and it was also all set-up and my first dabble into the SW world. We used used 5g buckets, with a plastic bag inside. The plastic bag kept the water clean, and let us fill the buckets almost all the way up and just tie them. We put the fish inside one of the buckets and made sure that one was in the back seat (not the trunk), and he did fine in there for a 4.5 hour car trip. We wrapped the live rock in wet newspaper inside more plastic bags, and that also survived just fine.

What kind of plastic bags? I like that idea, will new trash bags work? I wouldn't want any chemicals from processing the bags to leach into the water during transport. It is only a 20 min drive but accounting for breakdown and setup time I am sure the water will be in the containers for a couple of hours.

we have plastic bags

price is $0.12 - $2.00 each depending on size

These were like trash bags, big and white/clearish. Big enough to fill the buckets almost completely with water, except for the one with the fish-we left air in the top of that bag.

After asking and asking and asking I finally got my way and have the perfect solution! Got permission to borrow 8 empty poland spring 5 gal jugs for the weekend! Narrow necks so sloshing won't be an issue, used only for water, no chemicals or food so no issues there and free! I should be able to easily (relative to an open top 5 gal pail) bring them back into the house and pour them back into the tank. I know I know 8 x 5 is only 40 gal and it is a 44 gal tank, the other water will go into a bag lined 5 gal pail with the fish in it.

I suppose I should have another pail to scoop the "gravel" into too.

Now, anyone know how much an empty 44 gal pentagon corner tank weighs?

I left the sand in the bottom of the 45 when I moved it, just kept the tank upright in the back seat with the sand still wet. You definitely wanted 2 people to lift the tank, but it wasn't too bad.

Thanks to everyone for the tips. The tank move was a smashing success... ok, not literally phew! Everything went smoothly. The tank was emptied and everything in the truck in just under an hour. A 20 min drive home and another hour to refill. Of course now I can't see the fish since refilling stirred up so much silt but I think we brought them along... should know in a few hours

Ned,

Do you sell filter inserts for an Aquarium Systems Millenium 2000? The filter on this tank seems like it could use a replacement of the mechanical filtration pack, looks like water is having difficulty flowing through it and I am guessing it hasn't been changed in a while.

If so what does it go for?

Also, the tank has 2 light bars on it. 44 gal tank with 2 18" light bars. One bulb is dead, the other is 15w and likely old. Tank only has 4 fish and a hermit crab (plus potentially living rock). At very least I want to replace the dead bulb, what wattage can I get in an 18" bulb? What do you have in stock? Cost?