"Danny B." wrote in message
...
We have a 150 gallon marine reef aquarium established about three
years ago. We have a 4 to 6 inch sand bed and about 200 lb live rock.
Thriving within are numerous corals, critters and fish.

We're moving across town in a couple weeks and need advice about the
daunting task of accomplishing the move of our aquarium.

There are two of us, and we know we can handle the empty tank and
accoutrements. What's the best way to move everything else?

We've got a Ford F-150 truck. It's about a 30 minute drive between
the two locations. We're moving from a first-floor location to a
first floor location. We're in Atlanta, so we're expecting outdoor
air temps to be cooperative.

We'd greatly appreciate tips, pointers, advice, etc, from anyone who
has accomplished a similar move.


i moved a 125 FO and a 55 reef about 30 miles. each took a complete day to
move and setup, and except for the tank itself, i did it myself.

save as much of the water as possible. lots of 5 gallon water jugs (see if a
company near you has 5gallon water cooler bottles you can 'borrow' for a
day). i found a source for square 7 gallon jugs, which don't waste any space
when nested together. lots of the largest coolers you can get/find/borrow.
go to the fish store and get plastic bags and see if they'll lend/give you
styrofoam boxes.

bag everything individually. put in coolers. put live rock in coolers
covered with water. put live sand in coolers with some water. (this will
make them HEAVY, so don't fill the cooler). i left about 50% of the live
sand with just a little water in my 55 when i moved it.

move everything loose that you can beforehand. everything may not fit in
your truck for one trip. you obviously have to move the tank, stand, and
water in the first one, then go back for the livestock for the 2nd trip.
doing this lets you set it up in the 2nd location, lets the water settle
out, temp change, etc. leave someone there in case it leaks, or watch it for
a while. things break when you move or adjust them.

if there are any changes you were planning on for the plumbing, that would
be the perfect time to do it.

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az