Moving a large tank help/Ideas please!!

[CUZ]

I'm expecting my new tank in a couple weeks and need to come up with a few ideas to make thing easier.. I'm upgrading from my current 300g to a new 470g. (she wanted a new house) hehe..
The new tank is 96" long x 40" deep x 30"tall, it has an external overflow that sticks out roughly 6" as well.
The doorways at the new house are 36" wide which leaves me only one option, starphire display glass must face down!!boo Once a tank gets flipped as such the side with the bottom becomes extremely heavy and don't think it will be able to be carried down the stairs.
I can get a ton of help but there's really not room for extra people going down the stairwell. (8 steps). I'm trying to rig something up that will allow me to "slide" it down the stairs. We did it with my 300 and it worked well as long as everyone was on the same page.
Being that is the starphire display glass facing down I need to come up with a method of protecting it from scratches on day one???
I thought about a layer of foam then plywood but don't know how to make it stay in place all the way down??

Any tips or new suggestions is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Breadman03]

What about the paper they put on plexiglass or acrylic? That would protect from abrasion and you would just have to worry about impact.

 

[CUZ]

That might work, I'm worried about missing one tiny rock at the beginning and having it draw a line the length of the tank tho!

 

[Texas]

You could use two sided tape that is used for carpet to hold the foam to the glass. If you are making a plywood ramp all the way you could cover it with carpet or rugs so the foam would slide more easily. That carpet tape is really strong so don't put it solid on the entire surface just put some small pieces in different places.
Good luck,
Pam

 

[CUZ]

I think a ramp is a good idea, help avoid having to lift the last half of the tank down the steps to avoid it from bouncing. But, lol, how would I keep the ramp stationary? Screw it to the stairs?

 

[khowst]

Why not protect the front with some foam, like used to level the tank, then build a plywood square around the tank?

 

[CUZ]

I thought of that, but I need room to use suction cups on the tank. I wouldn't want anybodys fingers under that weight just in case.
What if I attached a ratchet strap to the plywood under the glass/foam, and wrapped them around the tank. (not overly tight)????
Might keep the plywood and foam over the display glass for the ride down the ramp??

 

[Texas]

If you are using suction handles you can always tie rope to some of them to keep the tank from sliding to fast. You could use straps to tie the tank to the plywood or you could just put 2"X4"s around the edges of the plywood to make the plywood less flexible and also hold the tank in place and still have the glass free to suction onto and lift the tank up off of the plywood once at the bottom of the stairs.

As for attaching the ramp to the stairs, screwing the ramp to the stairs would be ok if you have carpet on the stairs since you would not see the screw holes once the ramp was removed. Or if there is not carpet you could fill the screw holes with matching wood putty and never notice they are there. It might also be possible to brace the bottom end of the ramp from sliding if there is a wall you could brace off of. Without seeing what you are working with I cannot think of another way to make the ramp stationary. In the end it may be easier to attach or keep the tank stationary on the plywood and let the plywood slip down with the tank. If that is the route you choose then you will probably want to keep the plywood from flexing.
p

 

[CUZ]

I like the idea of the 2x4's around the tank on the foam/plywood. The stairs are carpeted so I could easily run a few screws into some 2x4's for ramps.

 

[nickjj]

I would suggest using the wide nylon hold down straps that large trucks use to tie down their loads on their trailers. You could cover the sides of the tanks with plywood with holes for the suction cups on the ends. Then strap it up on the length wise, this way you could also use the straps to help lift it.
I've seen many movers use these straps to pretty much move anything with two people.

 

[CUZ]

Sometimes luck is all a person needs!! Lol

I'll have to take a few pics for when I start a new build thread!! I think we've come up with a do-able solution unless something better comes to light.
-layer of tank styro foam under glass
-layer of plywood under that
-2x4 framing around tank on the plywood
-suction cups
-slings and tie-downs
-some luck...lol
-2-2x4's as ramps screwed to the stairs.

From there it should be just one back-busting lift onto the stand!!