Need help - Moving tank to another room

[sobersteve323]

Hello!

I'm looking for some advice from those who have moved a "larger" tank.

We're getting new flooring put in our house and I will be moving the tank to a different room once we're done. It's a 50 gallon long planted community. It's currently in a sunken living room and needs to go up one step that is about 6" tall.

My plan of attack was to remove the largest fish (angel) to a Rubbermaid tub. Then I was going to drain the tank down to about 6" of water. I can't totally drain the tank because there are numerous shrimp, snails and juvie cories that I'd never be able to find let alone catch. I would leave the harlequin rasboras and cories in the tank.

My biggest concern is lifting the tank up the step. I'm worried about the prefab tank stand being strong enough to hold the weight of the tank if we lift it by the edges of the "top" (the part the tank sits on, can't think of what it's called lol). Even with just 6" of water, I'm guessing with substrate included it will be about 200lbs.

Has anyone moved a tank similar in size/situation? Did you run into any obstacles/problems that could have been avoided if you thought about it before starting?

Thanks guys!

 

[Smcoyle87]

Yeah that's gonna be heavy but if you can do it, you can do it. I think your plan of action is a good one. However, I wouldn't move the tank AND stand together. I mean, if it's possible, I would take the tank off the stand and move them separately. Do you have enough ppl to do that?

 

[okapizebra]

I would not move the tank with any water in it IMO. It's a recipie for disaster. Even a small amount of water can cause the seals to break and the tank to crack. I think your best plan of action would be to catch and remove all inhabitants and drain as much water as possible.

 

[GodFan]

I have done this before with smaller tanks. I can tell you from experience that that 6" of water is going to be more of a pain in the rear than you expect. Between the weight and the splashing. I think 6" is risking alot. I would shoot for mord like 2". The tank wont be that low for long and the fish will be ok.

 

[sobersteve323]

Yeah that's gonna be heavy but if you can do it, you can do it. I think your plan of action is a good one. However, I wouldn't move the tank AND stand together. I mean, if it's possible, I would take the tank off the stand and move them separately. Do you have enough ppl to do that?

Yeah the lifting isn't really the concern it's more that I don't want anything to break. I didn't want to move them separate because wouldn't the weight from the 80lbs of substrate alone be too heavy for the bottom pane of glass (or the entire tank for that matter) to hold since it's not distributed evenly?

I would not move the tank with any water in it IMO. It's a recipie for disaster. Even a small amount of water can cause the seals to break and the tank to crack. I think your best plan of action would be to catch and remove all inhabitants and drain as much water as possible.

It's a risk I'll have to take I guess. There's no way I can find all of the smaller juvies or the shrimp. Some of the juvie cories are less than 1/4" in size.

I have done this before with smaller tanks. I can tell you from experience that that 6" of water is going to be more of a pain in the rear than you expect. Between the weight and the splashing. I think 6" is risking alot. I would shoot for mord like 2". The tank wont be that low for long and the fish will be ok.

Good idea draining more water. Actually I miss spoke/typed. It would be about 6" total but that includes 3" of substrate. I've actually moved it once before but back then it only had the angel and a few adult fish so no babies or shrimp to worry about lol.


Any suggestions for the actual moving of the tank/stand? I was debating between just slowly walking it over or putting it on like a large blanket or big pieces of cardboard and kind of half sliding/lifting at the same time.

 

[Fishfur]

I take it the tank has a bottom rim ? If so, all the weight is carried by the rims anyway. I'd get a slab of plywood large enough to use like a stretcher, carefully slide the tank onto it, and lift it that way. Move the tank and stand separately, and if you can, remove some of that substrate too.

You might shove the substrate out of one end,make a hill of it. Let the fish and shrimp find their way to the 'pond' thus created, then take some of the gravel out, to make the tank even lighter, and reduce the water even more. The less sloshing; the easier. The less weight; less chance for trouble.

Plywood will prevent torsion from uneven lifting, which is one of the bigger issues with this kind of move. Just lift one long edge and slide the ply under it, and then lift it, using as many people as possible to make it as easy to do as possible. Ply wood should be a foot longer and wider than tank, to give adequate hand room for lifting.

 

[sobersteve323]

I take it the tank has a bottom rim ? If so, all the weight is carried by the rims anyway. I'd get a slab of plywood large enough to use like a stretcher, carefully slide the tank onto it, and lift it that way. Move the tank and stand separately, and if you can, remove some of that substrate too.

You might shove the substrate out of one end,make a hill of it. Let the fish and shrimp find their way to the 'pond' thus created, then take some of the gravel out, to make the tank even lighter, and reduce the water even more. The less sloshing; the easier. The less weight; less chance for trouble.

Plywood will prevent torsion from uneven lifting, which is one of the bigger issues with this kind of move. Just lift one long edge and slide the ply under it, and then lift it, using as many people as possible to make it as easy to do as possible.

Yeah it has rims. It's a planted tank though so I was trying to avoid disturbing the substrate and plants. The plywood idea is a good one though I didn't think of that thanks.

 

[Fishfur]

I've seen it done using plywood as a stretcher, it worked pretty well. Best of luck.

 

[GodFan]

I would just get a couple of guys together and pick it up stand and all. IME it will be nearly impossible to get a 70+ pound tank to come off the stand and then move back onto it.

 

[bob mccoy]

put the plywood under it. go to home depo get some 2 or 3 inch round wooden dowels. cut the length of plywood or close. put them under there and use as rollers and roll away

 

[TOMatt]

My vote goes to the plywood stretcher/ rollers too.

Get as much water and fish out of the tank as you possibly can before hand, every inch of water will decrease your load and risk of damage. The tiny fish that you can't catch should be fine for a short period in barely enough water to swim in (but refill it as quick as you can).

 

[FishieMomma]

Let us know how it goes. Many of us may someday be in a similar predicament.

 

[sobersteve323]

All very good ideas thanks everyone. Will be doing this Sunday so I'll update once were done.

 

[sobersteve323]

So we successfully moved the tank. Up a 6" step and 30' away to its new home. Ended up having a delay with the flooring so didn't do it until last night.

We decided to just go simple and lift the tank and stand together. I drained the tank to about 4" which was about 1" of water and 3" of substrate. I removed the angelfish and left the rasboras and cories in the tank. The rasboras weren't too happy and kept breaching but they're fine lol.

The stand I have has two cabinets, one on each side with openings in the back. The lip of the tank stand surface was too narrow for our fingers to grab with one guy on each end length wise so we stood in the middle. One guy in front of the tank and stand and one behind grabbing the openings where the cabinet doors are. We side stepped all the way because we couldn't take long enough strides to make any decent ground going forward/backward.

With the stand included it had to weigh at least 200 lbs (stupid me didn't think to include the stand weight in my planning lol). We had to take a break at the base of the step and at the top of the step to rest our hands.

Everything seemed to work fine and so far everyone is doing well. I was also kind of worried about stirring up mulm and waste if the water was churning too bad since I don't vacuum the substrate. But all my shrimp are still alive and I kind of use them as a first warning that something is up. I think our side stepping helped keep everything steady in the tank. Probably helped that my friend and I are similar height so we didn't have to worry about one person having to hold higher/lower to compensate.

 

[GodFan]

So we successfully moved the tank. Up a 6" step and 30' away to its new home. Ended up having a delay with the flooring so didn't do it until last night.

We decided to just go simple and lift the tank and stand together. I drained the tank to about 4" which was about 1" of water and 3" of substrate. I removed the angelfish and left the rasboras and cories in the tank. The rasboras weren't too happy and kept breaching but they're fine lol.

The stand I have has two cabinets, one on each side with openings in the back. The lip of the tank stand surface was too narrow for our fingers to grab with one guy on each end length wise so we stood in the middle. One guy in front of the tank and stand and one behind grabbing the openings where the cabinet doors are. We side stepped all the way because we couldn't take long enough strides to make any decent ground going forward/backward.

With the stand included it had to weigh at least 200 lbs (stupid me didn't think to include the stand weight in my planning lol). We had to take a break at the base of the step and at the top of the step to rest our hands.

Everything seemed to work fine and so far everyone is doing well. I was also kind of worried about stirring up mulm and waste if the water was churning too bad since I don't vacuum the substrate. But all my shrimp are still alive and I kind of use them as a first warning that something is up. I think our side stepping helped keep everything steady in the tank. Probably helped that my friend and I are similar height so we didn't have to worry about one person having to hold higher/lower to compensate.

Cool deal. Glad it went well