Moving Tank Across States: Can it be Done?

[maxfrenkel19]

Hey All,

I'm moving to AZ in August, and I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to try to move my tank, or sell it and start from scratch. I have moved my tank across town a few times in CO, and even that small distance was PAINFUL. It took most of a day and I still very nearly lost some fish. I'm thinking that moving between states may be more effort than it's worth, unless there's a company that specializes it for a reasonable cost.

Does anyone have any experience with this, or have any opinion on difficulty level?

Appreciate the opinions,
Max

 

[Munch]

I'd use it as an excuse to upgrade

Sell it, and start fresh. Moving by itself is no fun, can't imagine dealing with fish n corals...

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

i've done it. was a total pita! everything was fine in the end though. On the other hand, I moved a tank 2o feet last year and lost almost everything! solo. I'd sell it, at least the livestock.

 

[SkyShark]

How big is your tank. I could see that making a big difference.
I do have to agree with Munch in that it sounds like a good excuse to upgrade!

 

[maxfrenkel19]

I'd use it as an excuse to upgrade

Sell it, and start fresh. Moving by itself is no fun, can't imagine dealing with fish n corals...

HAH if I do scrap it there will absolutely be an upgrade waiting in AZ. Well this may turn into a tank sale thread if most people share your opinion...who's ready for their brand new 40gal

 

[maxfrenkel19]

How big is your tank. I could see that making a big difference.
I do have to agree with Munch in that it sounds like a good excuse to upgrade!

Sorry should have mentioned it's a 40gal, w/ a 20gal sump. Not big enough to be UNMOVABLE, but certainly a pain in the rear.

 

[SkyShark]

If it were me, I'd see if someone could "babysit" some of your most prized colonies and fish and then sell the rest. Much easier to collect those later when you are set back up.

 

[BryanF]

I struggled with the same decision just in the last few weeks. Decided moving is hard enough. Moving a tank is a pita! Doing both at the same time is too much! Plus you never know what size tank is ideal in the new house until you get settled in.

 

[Ambrosio Aquatics]

best and imo the only way to do it is have someone house the livestock. move, setup the tank than ship everything to you. not cheap but trying to move them with you is a nightmare. unless you pack them like they do when they are shipped. just be sure to keep them at the right temp just my 2cents

 

[Shaunv]

I moved my tank (17gallon) a year ago from Lake Tahoe. It took 3 nights to make the drive since we had left so late the first day. I did not have any losses. I used 4 Lowe's buckets, placed the fish in one bucket, placed rocks with corals in other three. I used battery operated air stones to pump in oxygen and used a power inverter hooked up to my truck with heaters in each bucket. When. I would get to a hotel, I would bring all the buckets inside and hooked up power heads and the heaters to a wall outlet to keep the water nice and warm and circulated over night. When I got to our new house, I put new live sand into the tank with some of the live rock and let it circulate for a few days to make sure it wasn't going to cycle. I placed everything else in a 20 while I waited and did frequent water changes. After about a week, I got everything in the 17 and everything did fine. I am moving again tomorrow and will be doing something similar but will be upgrading to a 40 breeder when I move in. It is a PITA but worth it to me.