Unfortunately, that brings us to this past weekend. I had thought about moving the aquarium with a handful of family and friends. I was going to purchase a bunch of equipment to aid the effort and try to use brain over braun to get the aquarium in place.
Instead, I decided that hiring professionals was the way to go. I called a lot of places, and most weren't willing to entertain the idea. I tried piano movers, rigging companies, moving companies, etc. and finally heard back from three places, all moving companies.
One of the places wanted an absurd amount of money, nearly equal to the cost of the tank itself. A second place was much more reasonable, but they didn't sound very professional, and they didn't offer any insurance beyond their standard policy (which would have covered about $240) in the event of an issue.
The last place sounded very promising. First, they were far more professional than any of the other places. They had great reviews and BBB ratings. They also mentioned specializing in unique moves on their website, including heavy and fragile items. Finally, they offered full replacement coverage insurance for an additional cost.
I offered for them to come out and inspect the conditions before committing and to help them prepare the right equipment for the move, but they opted not to take me up on that.
The team arrived last Saturday morning with four guys, which seemed a little light to move a nearly 800 pound aquarium. They were very nice, but I think they were overconfident in their abilities. They may also not have fully considered the implications of even a small screw-up.
I told them that I would personally keep the tank in its crate until the last possible moment, but they opted to take it out of the crate immediately to reduce weight.
I texted my brother and dad as they started the move. The whole team had smiles on their faces. It was about five minutes later that I had to text them back. "They just broke it."
They hadn't even made it out of the garage when they dropped the corner onto the garage's concrete floor.
I told them to put the tank back and that I would have to open an insurance claim. There was no way I was going to fill the tank with 300 gallons of water in my own home and add dozens of fish and corals after the damage and expect it to hold out in the short or long term.
It was a sad weekend.
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