Best way to upgrade a tank in the same location

[125mph]

Not sure if this is the best forum for this question..

I have a 6 year old 120G tank.. its a beast.. Last time we moved it to a different room, took 6 guys to carry it and they almost dropped it going through a tight door. It's 3/4" glass. Using tank weight calculator site, shows its only $332 lbs empty so I guess my guys were weak lol.. The stand is pretty solid and probably 100-150 lbs?

I am going to get a new 180G. I want to put it in the exact same place as the current 120g.

In preparation for the transfer, I would do the following:
I was thinking of moving the fish in smaller tanks, and then removing the rocks/corals and putting them in buckets temporary. I have wood floors and I already have large felt pads under the stand. Do you think if the water is empted out and the rock removed, I could slide the tank about 10 feet to make room for the new tank? Then I would fill it back with water and put the rocks/corals back in and keep it in that location for a week or two.

Then when the new tank and stand comes, I could set it up slowly, and easily transition things over there. The key thing is, can I really slide the tank by 10 feet.. Guessing 500-600 lbs of weight that needs to slide.

If thats a stupid idea, let me know a better one!

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Roll it with pipes.

 

[marper331]

I just did something similar but smaller scale. Upgraded from 60 to 90 gallons in the same location and did it all in one day. I used some furniture movealls I picked up at Home Depot and slid my old tank and stand on my hardwood floor. Apparently they are good for up to 1000 lbs.

 

[125mph]

I just did something similar but smaller scale. Upgraded from 60 to 90 gallons in the same location and did it all in one day. I used some furniture movealls I picked up at Home Depot and slid my old tank and stand on my hardwood floor. Apparently they are good for up to 1000 lbs.

Did u empty out everything? How did u get the moveralls under the stand? lifting?

 

[marper331]

I did empty everything into buckets and barrels. I had a couple of guys lift the stand and tank one end at a time and I slid the movers underneath. It only needed to be an inch off the floor for 5 seconds.

 

[Wazzel]

I upgraded from a 60 to a 120 in the same location. I set up my 8 ft frag tank to hold the contents of the 60 and attached 20 gal frag tank. When empty the 60 was light enough to lift on the stand. The 120 was built with magic sliders on the bottom so I could drag it around fully assembled. The bulk of the move took one day and the tidy up work took another.

 

[moondoggy4]

I put a large 150 rubber sump in the garage and put everything in there and then broke down my tank and put the new bigger tank in the same place, I got that one up and running and past the cycle and then I started to move stuff slowly. I only lost two fish because they got stuck in the pump.

 

[125mph]

I put a large 150 rubber sump in the garage and put everything in there and then broke down my tank and put the new bigger tank in the same place, I got that one up and running and past the cycle and then I started to move stuff slowly. I only lost two fish because they got stuck in the pump.

You had corals? You put lights over them? How did it take for you to move all the corals over?

I've done a tank move before, didnt have to let the tank cycle because I used the old live rock, and and some water.. But that was an easy task since the tanks were in different locations but in the same room.

 

[lionfish300]

I did this 2 times. First I broke down a 150 completely move fish and corals into smaller containers, set back up the 180 same location. This was a long day and night. Second time I broke down the 150 and set up in another room so the floor can be tiles ( wood )floor)and then set up the 375 in the same location. I did this both times with one helper also with the 375 I bought a lift table to help raise the tank to the level of the stand. Moving the tank and the stand together will be tricky ( you might want to strap the two together so tank don't slide of). If you floor is smooth and pads under with a couple of guys I believe you can slide 10'. Good luck

 

[PilotMaximus]

My 180 slides on the floor when empty. With 2 people you should be able to get the movers under the stand. 3 would be ideal. Then it should slide no problem. I was able to get under it to start shims for leveling with just 2 people

 

[125mph]

My 180 slides on the floor when empty. With 2 people you should be able to get the movers under the stand. 3 would be ideal. Then it should slide no problem. I was able to get under it to start shims for leveling with just 2 people

Do you think I could slide the tank, stand, sand and have some water in it still with the movealls? I can definitely get the movealls under the tank because of how the leveler installed on the tank are positioned.

Estimate tank is about 350#, stand is 100-150#, sand is 100-120#, if I leave 20 gallons would be 200#.

Or ditch the water?

Basically I have a carpet nem that I rather not relocate in a container unless I have to.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tkeracer619]

I'd get a large rubbermaid and empty the entire tank before moving it. If you have the new tank ready sliding it all in place should be pretty easy and make the swap somewhat painless.

 

[PilotMaximus]

Do you think I could slide the tank, stand, sand and have some water in it still with the movealls? I can definitely get the movealls under the tank because of how the leveler installed on the tank are positioned.

Estimate tank is about 350#, stand is 100-150#, sand is 100-120#, if I leave 20 gallons would be 200#.

Or ditch the water?

Basically I have a carpet nem that I rather not relocate in a container unless I have to.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was able to slide my tank around fairly easily. my tank however was bone dry. I did have the substrate in it and that was an extra 120lbs. Emptying it completely will be your best bet if your especially in regards to saving your floors. Ive moved tanks with small amounts water in them before but after wards i always wish i just removed all of it. The water moving around justs adds to the difficulty and it constantly transfers weight. it just fights the while way. My tank is 1/2 glass with dual inboard over flows. The custom stand is approx 150lbs.

Good luck with the move if you havent done it already

 

[125mph]

When I position the new tank, do you think it would be okay to leave movealls on the new tank stand.. I have to do the phanom overflow and will need to move the tank in and out a bit initially.. would be easy to have the moveralls.. but It would be hard to get them off afterwards.. Its a 180G and I imagine when filled, it wont really move around right?

 

[dutch27]

+1 to the people who said get a big rubbermaid tub to temporarily house everything, I've done then when upgrading smaller tanks, and it really allows you to take your time setting up the new tank.

I wouldn't suggest keeping the movers on the stand/tank in the long run. IMO, you don't want anything between the stand and the floor, so it bears properly along it's entirety. Most tank stands are intended to bear in full along the floor, it better distributes the weight, and avoids putting four dents in your hardwoods over time.

 

[ReefToLive1]

+1 on the large rubbermaid...It works great

 

[marper331]

Get a couple of 55gal Brute barrels and premix and heat up extra saltwater if you plan on moving all your livestock into your new tank on the same day. I would also get a bottle of bacteria to throw in the new tank.

 

[alazo1]

I would try with the felt pads that you say you already have in the stand.

The sliders would work. However, I would get the bigger ones that I think are 8" round. They seem to be more flat in the bottom then the smaller ones that I've gotten from HD. Make sure your sliders and floor are free of any debris that can scratch your floors.

 

[Wazzel]

I used 8 of the rectangular and 12 of the medium circle magic sliders on my tank. 2 of the rectangular ones went on each load bearing corner and I spread out the little ones under the rest of the stand.

 

[steallife904]

I went and bought 4 55 gallon rubbermade trash cans from home depot to put tank water and rocks in them. fish in one of them as well as corals. then moved the tank, setup the new tank, put in new sand and new rocks, made about 100 gallons of new salt water and added then added old rocks and rest of water minus the coral and fish one. waited for the tank water to heat up... it took almost all day. once it was good added a few cups of tank water to the trash cans every 15min for a bit (acclimating) and then added all to the tank. had no issues. I went from a 75 to a 150 by the way.