Just moving an aquarium, reef or not, from one side of a room to the other can be extremely stressful or even catastrophic to the aquarium inhabitants. But what about moving a 150 gallon SPS-dominant aquarium 2000 miles across the country?? Oh yeah, we successfully moved our reef aquarium across the country, and then we did it again two more times after that. Several of our coral have lived in four different states and survived the three associated moves. This is how we did it one of those times, along with tips and lessons learned. Each time we’ve moved, we’ve learned more, so as every move will be very different, doing homework to prepare is essential.
Moving a Reef Aquarium Homework:
Well before moving the tank, I started doing some homework. Our move was across the country; however, a move across the room, up several floors to a new apartment, or across town to a new home could have similarities.
Before this move, we previously moved a smaller aquarium across the room. In that scenario, I just set up a huge tub with saltwater, a powerhead, and a heater. Easy. (Note the tub bowing; this was not a long-term solution!)
T-7 (or so) Days to the Move:
First, I needed to figure out the best transportation plan. For such a long distance, I could ship everything, or I could put everything into cargo on an airline flight. There were substantial benefits and risks with the various options. I went with a hybrid solution to balance speed with cost.
Next, I estimated my time backwards. I had to get everything to the post office and an airline to ship before they all closed, so I gave myself a two-hour margin from the worst-case scenario. I absolutely did not want to be holding a box of my babies while standing in front of a “Closed” sign, and even then, I barely made it.
To Do List (definitely not all-inclusive):
- Driving to the shipping location(s), waiting in line, etc.
- Driving to and having the local fish store add oxygen to fish bags (if available)
- Physically moving stands, tanks, and equipment
- Disassembling equipment and cleaning
- Draining the aquariums
- Removing rocks and letting them drain (they can take forever to drain)
- Removing sand (grab a wet-vac!)
- Catching and bagging fish
- Removing and bagging coral
- Catching all the little snails, crabs, etc.
- Getting supplies (see below for a suggested list)
- Extra time for some tears after accidentally breaking that gorgeous, huge, coral colony…
- Margin for things to go wrong (Murphy’s Law)
T-2 Days to the Move:
I stopped feeding my fish for about two days prior to the move. This caused them to produce less waste during shipping (which could otherwise lead to deadly ammonia). They were healthy, so I was not worried (and the fish likely found some pods or algae in the tank on which to munch in the interim).
The Big Day – Moving Time:
Moving Supplies:
- Fragging supplies:
- Bone cutters of various sizes
- Hammer (for those big pieces attached to rock)
- Chisel (to go with the hammer)
- Safety equipment (gloves, safety glasses, etc.)
- Super glue for any fragging accidents
- Tongs
- Preparation supplies (especially for a local move):
- Buckets
- Tubs
- Heaters
- Battery-powered air pumps
- Shipping/Moving supplies:
- Thick, insulated boxes (with a surrounding bag to catch water)
- Packing tape
- Extra-thick plastic bags
- Rubber bands
- Newspaper
- Heating/cooling packs
- Glass suction cups, crating, blankets, etc.
- Cleaning supplies:
- Towels (lots and lots!)
- Floor-protection sheeting (e.g., plastic sheets, drop cloths)
- Extra-thick bags and/or well-sealing containers
- Pipette or a turkey baster
- Siphon and tubing to drain the water
- Febreeze or other good smelly stuff
- Wet-Vac
- Other supplies:
- Permanent marker
- Scissors
Getting Started:
Personally and Emotionally:
First up… I grabbed coffee… lots of it… (I needed a good kick-in-the-pants to get going). Here, I chose a lovely three cups of iced black coffee (ok, you’re allowed to say “ew”). I also had some easy-prep food available. Pizza is good for this, especially as a bribe for friends to help. If you’re tackling this project, your friends are going to remember this day for a long time. Treat them well.
Overall System:
Before starting, I made note of what the aquarium parameters were. There’s no point in shipping fish or corals that are in bad water already. I corrected all incorrect parameters before bagging the coral and fish. (And no, I no longer use an AquaController. This is an older photo, but the point is still the same!)
Livestock:
After gathering all the supplies, I took a deep breath. It was time for the real work. I put on all safety gear needed. Then, I started with the coral to bag and box, as they are likely to last the longest out of the aquarium. Soft corals came out first, then LPS, then SPS corals. Often it’s easier to remove the entire rock in order to break the corals off.
I placed each coral in a labeled bag with tank water. I recommend labeling the bags with the name of the coral as many corals will “brown out” during shipping and become hard to identify.
Next, I set up a few large containers. As I pull out the rocks to let them drain, I pick off the snails and crabs and place them separately in bags for shipping.
Once the corals and rocks were out of the aquarium, the fish were rather easy to catch. I bagged them in two to three 3-mil bags, size dependent on the size and energy of the fish (see one of the lessons-learned at the end) and taped temperature-regulating packs to the top of the cooler. I also had oxygen added to the bags by my LFS. If you are not comfortable with bagging fish, speak to the experts at a LFS that you trust. They should be able to guide you on your fish needs and may even bag them properly for you.
After the corals, fish, and inverts are bagged, tagged, and ready to go, I placed them in the box. I added the lid (ensuring the temperature-regulating packs were adequate and secured to the top of the box) and taped it shut. Then, I secured the bag around the box to prevent any water leaks from damaging the outer box. Next, I taped the outer box shut. The box was quite heavy from all the water, so I had to be cautious. Before delivering the box to the shipper, I doubled-checked to make sure someone was available to receive the shipment at the appropriate time.
Once I returned to the aquarium after all livestock was safely on the way, the rocks were adequately drained. I placed them in insulated boxes and surrounded them with wet butcher paper (unwaxed). I’ve used wet newspaper, but it tends to fall apart too easily. It’s not much fun to pick out wet paper from rock. Obviously, if the rocks need to be shipped with the fish/corals, then do that but in a separate box. Also, the rocks can usually be shipped a slower route (i.e., cheaper route) as die-off will not be as severe, especially if they are kept damp.
To ensure I didn’t miss some livestock, I double-checked everywhere for any remaining. Next, I started draining the water. This is usually a slow process, but using a pump can help speed it up. Make sure to turn off and/or disconnect all devices that may have issues with low water (e.g., heaters, powerheads).
When moving an aquarium, I absolutely do not reuse sand. It causes more problems than it is worth; saving a few dollars here is just not worth the risk, in my opinion. Used sand usually contains so much microfauna that massive die-off is next-to-impossible to prevent, despite thorough washing. If I absolutely need to be frugal, then instead of throwing it away, I rinse it out well (which is beyond time-consuming and gross) and let it dry while spread out in the sun. I reuse it in a future aquarium, but not in the one I’m immediately setting back up. I use all new, dry sand to prevent problems in the new setup.
Equipment:
Of course, I turned off all electrical equipment before removal and then gave it a good, thorough cleaning in a hot water and vinegar mixture for a few hours. With a little elbow grease, most coralline algae and other detritus comes off with no issues. Once cleaned, rinsed, and dried, I used electrical cable ties to tidy up the equipment before getting packed. I also keep and reuse the original manufacturer boxes for the weird or expensive components, such as light fixtures, Vortech powerheads, etc.
Probes:
Generally, I don’t reuse pH probes during a move, but that’s only because they’re typically due for replacement by then anyway. If you have pH probes that you plan to reuse, you’ll want to keep them capped with fluid and then have extra calibration fluid on hand to calibrate them after the move. Some other probes require submersion and/or capping during transportation, so consult the manufacturer’s instructions.
Lighting:
I usually remove light bulbs from fixtures and pack them separately, but I seem to have about the same breakage rate whether they’re in the fixture or packed separately. Thankfully this is much less of a problem with LED lighting fixtures.
Tank/Stand:
Moving the tank/stand can be physically exhausting and dangerous if not done correctly. I made sure to have more than enough people to help move (this is size/weight dependent on the tank/stand). I taped all doors shut so they didn’t open during the move. Since my stand had delicate pieces (fancy trim work), I used painters tape to mark off that section and wrote something like, “Do not lift here.” Unfortunately, that did not prevent people from lifting from that area, so I had to make multiple repairs after the move.
Then, the stands were wrapped in moving blankets since they were large. Our aquarium was professionally crated in a plywood crate the company made on site. This is not necessarily a requirement, but it was what our moving company required.
Reassembly after Successfully Moving:
Reassembly depends on the length of the move. For our move across the country, I was in Ohio packing and shipping everything. My husband was already in Utah with our new house. He set up a very… sketchy… 40 gallon breeder “holding tank.” He cycled some rock and sand before I shipped the corals/fish out to him. He picked up the boxes at the airport, brought them to the new tank, and acclimated them. When the equipment arrived with the moving company a few weeks later, we set the tank back up and started moving things over.
Lessons Learned from Moving a Reef Aquarium:
- There is never enough time. If you plan for 8 hours, it’ll take 16.
- Don’t ship in extreme weather, if avoidable. We shipped in the middle of a heatwave and lost some things.
- Some cargo companies have live animal shipping insurance. Consider it seriously. It’s often 1%, depending on the company.
- Very large, active fish (especially those with sharp areas) may need substantially thicker bags. Otherwise, they may puncture the bag.
- Things happen. Our cargo company lost our box, and it took four days to arrive in Utah. We lost a few corals and a purple tang (hence insurance). No amount of preparation will fix that, but accepting the risks can help emotionally.
