!! yet another newbie asking for help !! (pretty pretty please...)

[josh1e]

Hiya folks,

firstly, i've been reading rc for a while & therye are alot of really interesting reads. I wish i had even half your enthusiasm & motivation... maybe that will come, so far its all fear & dread !!! (maybe just a little excitement!! )

I am buying a 2ndhand reef setup, complete with soft corals, fish, live rock, refugium & deep sand filter (sump not fluidised)

I would really really like any advice on

a/. moving it all from current location to my house (1.5hr drive)
b/. setting it up at mine
c/. crash course in getting it right as i will have living fish, rock, corals etc & would like to keep them (happily)

I realise before anyone gives me the third degree that this isnt really the way to do things, although no local pet shop near me or the seller can take the fish as theyre over stocked at the start of the season & have "boarders" already in theyre customer holding tanks, (we have checked)

I have organised some 40gallon water butts to take his matured water with me to re-use but am not sure this will be sufficient. I have heard that fish & corals dont like being caught in a net & bagged after being taken out of the water & into open air, is this true? would leaving the bags of fish in the top of the tank & mixing water every 10mins be enough after 3hours out of the tank?

I know this sounds stupid, but how would i know how much salt to mix with the RO water? anyone know where a link on how to use kalk is i can read? I am buying a refractometer & tds meter this week.

theyre is alot of places that say add ro premixed water, then sand, then live rock, then turn on filters, pumps, heaters etc & leave to mature, but nowhere says keep the rock moist or how much salt to add per litre, how to measure, when to stop.... or the best way to mix the stuff, or if you have bought a setup 2ndhand then how to move the da*n thing without killing everything !!

I will have the following kit

4x 4ft actinic t8 tubes on tank
4ft x 2ft x 1.5ft tank drilled
4ft x 1.5 x 1.5ft sump
1x ehiem professional 2 (for uv)
1x 25w UV
1x eheim hobby pump (return from sump)
1x deltec AP600 skimmer
degassing kit
4x powerheads
1x 4stage RO/DI unit
1x nitratereducter canister with bioballs
1x heater
25kg live rock
4" live sand in sump
1x 4ft light in sump
lots of macroalgae in sump

An emporer angel (juvenile), a purple tang, 2 clowns, 3 green chromis, an Anthias, a mandarin and a goby. Oh and a big spiny urchin, also 25 hermits, 3 Mithrax crabs, 2 serpent stars, sand shifting starfish, shrimps & crabs....

I will be honest & say i havent got a clue, no matter how much reading i do i still feel like i dont know anything & i have been keeping tropical community tanks for about 15yrs !!

ANY help would be appreciated, the move is this saturday coming ..... aarrgghhh

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Well, as a raw newbie this is going to be tough. Will the seller come to your place and help set up? If nothing else, you'll need somebody w/ experience to hook up the filtration, etc. And you'll need another pair of strong arms at the very least.

The basics are to put the livestock, rocks and sand in buckets (make sure they won't be crushed) and carry as much of the existing water as you can. Keep powerheads and heaters on the buckets with your livestock and set up the tank as fast as you can with good water, test it, and return to the rock and livestock, making sure you match temp and pH, etc, and acclimate them appropriately.

Lots of work, but a smart way to set up a new reef if done well.

[josh1e]

@ mud shrimp moe.

thanks for the very speedy reply !! I have 4 polystyrene boxes with about ten BIG bags from the local fish shop for catching them & trying to keep them the right temp. The seller cant get to mine the day were doing this & splitting the tank / sump to keep them at his seems stupid as i cant put water in the tank without the sump cos its a drilled tank. if i am taking his ready matured water then theyre should be no need anyway? feel free to correct me if i am talking crap...

should the sand & live rock be covered with water or can some of the rock be exposed ok (ie half a barrel of water with some of the rock exposed to the air to stop spillage in transit) also will the livestock need to be in a barrel of water for the trip or okay bagged & in the polystyrene boxes? (theyre proper fishkeeping ones...) i wasnt sure about the fish jumping out or being bashed about while we stop / start in the van for an hour & half journey...

when you say acclimate them properly, can you elaborate, remember i am a newbie, i dont want to guess what you mean & loose them all... especially after the temperature drop for a total of 3hours out of theyre tank. should i feed them once theyre in? let them settle? leave the lights on, off, pumps on / off etc....

thanks again, i know its alot to ask, maybe someone can go through the steps as though they were moving a tank? i know it sounds stupid but i am more bothered by killing these than i am flooding the place, plumbing is the easy bit....

thanks again

[Fursphere]

If its going to be in the tank underwater, if should be kept wet / underwater during the move.

I use large rubbermaid tubs for moving things.

[SSweet1]

wow, you sound just like me I got a reef setup from someone moving and I never owned a tank in my life. Not the best way to go but...... Check with local fish stores for experienced tank/coral movers. If they are reasonable like $300 I would so strongly suggest having them break it down transport it to your house and set up. If this is not an option than make up some salt water ahead of time and put an airstone in it to keep it circulated. Also some RO/DI water unsalted because this is probably what you will need for topoff if you can save almost all of his seasoned water. His water is extremely important to save especially with the fish you mentioned. Live rock corals and of course fish need to be in the water for the move. Temperature is important too, try and keep everything at 75-80 degrees. You will have to get your sump in place since your tank is drilled but the power heads and skimmer and all can wait until you get the main tank going.Your live sand bed is going to be the last out and the first in.When you are pouring the water back in hold a flat plate under the flow so it doesnt make a huge sand storm. Try and wait about an hour after adding the sand because the sand will settle some. Then start adding your rock corals and fish last. Everything will be cloudy overnight and begin to clear the following day. Put the fish in a large bucket and put a small powerhead in there. I would put all the inverts (crabs urchin etc.) together in another bucket and add a small powerhead to that. Corals and liverock the same way just remember to keep the temperature under control. get a plastic hydrometer until you get your refractometer. Before adding the topoff water check the specific gravity/salinity. If the tank water is under 1.022 you will use a gallon of premixed salt water at 1.023 keep adding premixed salt water until the main tank is at 1.023 also. This is where you want to keep your salinity level. For evaporation or to lower your salinity just use RO/DI water. You should not have to add premixed saltwater hardly ever except when doing large water changes. Sounds like a beautiful set up. The fish are very sensitive be super careful and anthias like to jump keep a lid on those suckers, but take it off every so often to let air exchange!! Good luck man, I would help you if you werent so far away but do check on the movers it would be worth every penny!! Carrie

[josh1e]

gotta goto work thanks for the replies....

does anyone know if it will harm the corals / rock / fish to be brought out of the water to be put in a bucket? coral is ok (briefly) in the open air? also the banging around in the bucket will be ok for them on the journey home?

thanks again, appreciated...