moving saltwater aquarium

[baxter65]

Greetings:
I am new to saltwater aquariums but have had a cichlid tank for 4 years and am thinking about getting into saltwater. My question is related to the feasibilty of moving an existing saltwater setup which consists of corals and the following live stock: foxface,1mated pair of clown fish,sailfin tang,1 greenmandarin fish {male} 1 yellowtail blue damselfish,1 orange skunk clown,and 1 bicolor anthias. This setup is located about 4 hours away and am wondering if it could be done safely without losing the live stock.
Thanks for any insight you could provide.

 

[SarahSmile]

Where are you located? I wouldn't try it in the winter around me...

 

[ErinCahir]

It's definitely doable... but Sarah has a point. How big is the system?

Also welcome to the site!!

 

[baxter65]

Where are you located? I wouldn't try it in the winter around me...

We are located in the Midwest, so realize the weather is an issue, but realize of course would need to do it in a heated van...

 

[baxter65]

It's definitely doable... but Sarah has a point. How big is the system?

Also welcome to the site!!

Thanks for the welcome.
It is a large 200 gallon setup, so realize this in itself would be a feat and realize I would need help etc. and know the weather could be an issue. I would expect to do this in a heated van that could maintain the right temperature. Thanks for your input.

 

[SarahSmile]

It certainly can be done, it'll just take some careful planning. Moving substrate can cause issues and you don't want to start a cycle. Moving a tank is a topic that has been discussed frequently on here so try doing a search for it and you'll find lots of threads with good advice and warnings.
Good luck!

 

[Northstar24]

Going to want to remove all the rock / water / substrate and transport those in rubbermaid containers, and the fish would need probably need to be moved in several 5 gallon buckets. The issue I see with moving them this time of year is even in a heated van, I dont know how you'd keep the water in the 5 gallon buckets warm on a 4 hour road trip

The tank, stand, and any other misc stuff would best be moved in an open top trailer behind the van

 

[active]

power inverter that plugs into cig lighter so you can keep a few heaters in the pails with fish and other living things - long move long tear down long set up - i have done it in the past with success garbage cans for water 5 gal pails for fish and a bunch of friends are needed - proper planning you will be fine