Shipping aquariums??

[Esoteric Backbone]

How would I go about doing this? Should I go by USPS? Or UPS? Do they have boxes big enough? How much would it cost? I want to send a 20, and Hopefully a 29.

 

[rich311k]

It is not very often done. Would be expensive and risky.

 

[tlkng1]

It is pricey due to the ease of breakage...it would be cheaper to send it by ground freight vice UPS or USPS. The best way to ship is to crate the tank, build a wood box around it, and pad it extremely well, then ship.

Depending on the distance, you might want to contact a regular moving company. If they have a shipment of household goods going out for someone else to the same area, they may take the tanks as well, again, as long as they are crated. Obviously you would have to pay for the tanks yourself.

I was in the military and got very familiar with how these moving companies ship tanks My 75 went from Louisiana, to Virginia than Virginia to Maryland without a chip....although, the movers from Louisiana to Virginia did break the glass cover.

 

[jetajockey]

It wouldn't be worth it unless they are some awesome custom pieces, if they are standard 20/29g's they'd be better off bought locally.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

So there is nothing I can do?

 

[Dylan5359]

It could be done, just risky and pricey.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

Is there any other methods besides UPS, USPS, DHL, or Fed Ex?

 

[jetajockey]

it'd be cheaper to sell the tanks local and then buy them locally at the destination.

I mean you could send them via ground, but you'd need to pack them with some serious cushioning. One nice thing is you could put the 20 inside the 29, but you'd need a lot of styrofoam between them and lining the box. Even still, if the box gets tossed or dropped then you are going to have wasted your time and money.

I shipped a large box through UPS a few months ago, it was about the size of a 29g, about 15 lbs, it was around 40-ish dollars.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

it'd be cheaper to sell the tanks local and then buy them locally at the destination.

I mean you could send them via ground, but you'd need to pack them with some serious cushioning. One nice thing is you could put the 20 inside the 29, but you'd need a lot of styrofoam between them and lining the box. Even still, if the box gets tossed or dropped then you are going to have wasted your time and money.

I shipped a large box through UPS a few months ago, it was about the size of a 29g, about 15 lbs, it was around 40-ish dollars.

Just to clarify, you sent a box the size of a 29 gallon, or you sent a 29 gallon tank through the mail?

 

[jetajockey]

i sent a box the size of a 29 gallon tank and about 15 lbs in weight. I wouldn't ship an aquarium in the mail unless it was a really expensive one and I could not find a replacement in the area its being shipped to.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

i sent a box the size of a 29 gallon tank and about 15 lbs in weight. I wouldn't ship an aquarium in the mail unless it was a really expensive one and I could not find a replacement in the area its being shipped to.

It was 15 pounds, that's why it didn't cost much.. aquarium's are a lot heavier.

I've seen the AA Classifieds and there selling aquariums on there, how do they do it?

 

[jetajockey]

$40 in shipping cost is a lot, especially when both tanks can be had for about that price at a $1/gal sale or even cheaper on CL.


I don't know what the shipping rates are for buying tanks online but it's probably not very cheap. It'd be cheaper for a business to do it since they'd have a business acct with the shipping company, plus they have all of the supplies needed to properly pack them, but even still it's probably pretty costly for larger tanks.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

So there is no point in shipping the tanks and I should just sell them? How much should I sell the 20? Because I am taking the filter and heater.

 

[HUKIT]

With Petco's dollar per gallon sale on tanks up to 55g I would just buy new and skip the headache and hastle of packing and shipping. Toss the old ones on Craigslist and purchase new.

Heres a good link on packaging, it's a sump but still relative.

Melevsreef.com - Shipping Costs

 

[jetajockey]

If you aren't in a rush to sell them, start out at approx $1/gal and be happy to take anything from that down to $.50/gal.

Prices vary from region to region, but that's what I go by.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

With Petco's dollar per gallon sale on tanks up to 55g I would just buy new and skip the headache and hastle of packing and shipping. Toss the old ones on Craigslist and purchase new.

Heres a good link on packaging, it's a sump but still relative.

Melevsreef.com - Shipping Costs

Thank you HUKIT! I really appreciate your input, I didn't realize how much of a pain it would be.

If you aren't in a rush to sell them, start out at approx $1/gal and be happy to take anything from that down to $.50/gal.

Prices vary from region to region, but that's what I go by.

Thank you jetajockey! I value you input aswell, I suppose I'm just going to have to sell it.

 

[Gnarls Gnarlington]

It is not very often done. Would be expensive and risky.

Not really. Just make sure you take the water and fish out first.

 

[tlkng1]

One nice thing is you could put the 20 inside the 29, but you'd need a lot of styrofoam between them and lining the box.

Ugh...no, no, no...no double stacking. A "professional" mover put a 10g inside my 38 (which had a mirror back and was my favorite tank) with styrofoam packed between the two tanks on all visible sides except the top. They cracked the 38 and tried to tell me it was the temperature difference between Connecticut and Louisiana. Have to love people who think all women are stupid idiots.

Unfortunately, I had to report in to my new unit prior to the household goods being shipped so didn't see the idiocy of these movers. When they packed things up, my parents weren't "tank" savvy enough to catch the issue.

 

[jetajockey]

That's how I packed many of my tanks when I moved them, but I didn't move very far. How do you think it got cracked? That bites.

Sound's like they were rough handling it, if it was insulated from shock and treated well it shouldn't have broken.

I've never dealt with a moving company, I've heard some horror stories though, especially with fragile stuff.

If they couldn't double stack then I could imagine the shipping cost being even higher lol.

 

[tlkng1]

I'd say you got lucky . Glass inside glass, even with padding, just isn't a good mix.

As for the 38, they may not have packed tightly enough between the two tanks or when they loaded the truck, they didn't place the tank properly to keep it still or from having other things shift into it. When I saw them in the truck, they weren't wrapped in blankets or even boxed.

Just as an aside, this was a door to door shipment, no storage and they managed to bring the wrong truck to the apartment. They opened up the doors on the first truck and I didn't recognize a thing. The bald tires and pool table gave me my first hint it was the wrong truck since I had never saved tires and never owned a pool table.