moving a tank

[viking1]

We are planning to replace the carpet in the room that my tank is set up in and replacing it with a laminate wood flooring. I need suggestions on how to move the tank (75 gallon) without tearing the whole thing down. I am doing the project myself, so it can be done in stages. I plan to remove the carpet up to the tank, lay the flooring up to that point, then move the tank and stand about four feet onto the new flooring, and complete the job and move it back. Any ideas or suggestions ??

 

[Randall_James]

can not be done (safely)

You are going to have to tear down the system to some extent. You can tear the tank down and put it back up in a couple hours if you are not changing anything. It goes amazingly fast..

Get a pair 35Ga brute rubbermaid or similar containers
Fill the first container to about 75% and move all your live rock to it. Drain another 25G or so into the second container. This should leave you with a pretty close to empty tank.

In a 5 gallon bucket, go the fish, another 5 gallon gets all the inverts.
Sensitive corals and delicate stuff can go in the second large container without the live rock

This will take less than an hour and more like 30 minutes to do. Really very easy. It is also a great time to powerblast all the live rock of detritus while it is in a bucket. Leaves all that trash behind when you refill the tank.

If you have a sump, it will need drained as well. 2 guys can move the tank and stand if the stand is sturdy at this point. (I have dragged them across the floor by myself but do not recommend this lazy method)

 

[geekreef_05]

...you need david blane.

If he's not around, do what Randall says.

 

[godoggo]

Additionally, go and buy a set of those furniture moving "feet" plastic skid pads that you can put under the stand - makes moving much easier and doesn't put so much pressure on your stand and tank.

 

[jsdratm]

Yeah, trying to move a tank that is full is asking for disaster. Just imagine all of the weight that is being transferred to the floor (~1000lbs) and then imagine yourself trying to overcome the friction from that weight. Picking up the tank is pretty bad since it could shift more weight to one side of the tank, which it is not designed for. If too much pressure was placed on one side, it might break.

I recommend emptying, moving, and refilling like these other posters.

 

[Phoric]

As others have stated, if you don't break the tank down entirely, it will likely explode as the weight is shifted even slightly. You will loose not only your tank but the new flooring as well.

 

[Queezyviper]

I just got done moving my 55 gallon w/ stand this morning b/c I was getting floors done also. Well, i drained it til about 1/4 left and put the water in a 20 gallon bucket that I had bought brand new. I removed some of the coral that I could not place in the bottom 1/4 of water inside the tank into a 30 gallon plastic bucket with water from the sump mixed in w/ a little bit of fresh saltwater. There was detritus galore of course...

3 people (3 average build guys 5'10 180lbs) were able to pick up the tank fairly easily. Here is a photo of my tank.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/folklegends/IMG_shri.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

 

[Queezyviper]

whoops, sorry i meant to post a photo with coral and all that. here it is.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/folklegends/IMG_0028.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

 

[viking1]

anyone else have an idea?

 

[vanmo92]

could you just leave the tank and put in the new floor AROUND the tank, and not have the new wood floor under the stand. Just a thought.