Need to temporarily move my planted tank. Advice?

[Hawkins409]

We are painting our basement. Soon I will need to move the 75 gallon aquarium and stand away from the wall temporarily so we can paint behind it. I've never tried moving the tank since I converted it to planted.

When moving the tank BEFORE it was planted, I had to drain all of the water out and remove all of the large rocks inside (but not the gravel) in order for me and another person to lift it.

Now with the substrate and established plants, I'm not sure what to do. Any advice?

 

[Huro]

Well this may be a stretch but here is my two cents, you could remove the water from the tank thus reducing the overall weight then perhaps placing squares of carpet (shag down) under the corners of your stand, allowing you to slide it far enough away from wall for you to paint. You could then keep your plants wet with a spray bottle and cover the tank in plastic. I know home depot sells furniture sliders (don't know exact name) that will work in place of carpet, I realize the tank/stand will still have some weight but with some help this could save you from having to empty tank completely.

 

[vexxiang]

If it were me I would drain most of the water but not all. Just a big water change. They make sliders especially for heavy furniture. Then slide it away and when you are done slide it back and refill. Or if you are going to have it away for a while, fill it half back up and drain again to move.

 

[Hawkins409]

Thank you.

My tank has dense plants and very fast, little fish (mostly tetras). I suspect there is no chance whatsoever that I could net the fish without removing the plants, they would just hide in the plants. So... That means that I would need to leave enough water in the tank for the fish to survive, which then means the tank could still be really heavy.

I'm worried the sliders won't work with something this heavy. Has anyone tried that? I'd hate for the cabinet to collapse.

 

[vexxiang]

What kind of cabinet is it?

 

[mikemc75]

I did the same thing last weekend. Drained 3/4 of the water and saved it (the water ) removed plants Put them in a tote. With water. Did my floors then changed gravel to eco complete. After netting all my fish. All in one day.
I have 20 some fish from plecos to tetras , and rainbows. All are really well a week later. And my plants are loving it.

 

[Hawkins409]

The cabinet is a store bought particle board type cabinet. See my profile picture, it sort of shows it. The thinnest walls are 1/2 inch thick.

The tank is 75 gallons of water is reportedly 638 pounds filled (I don't know if that includes the glass tank and substrate). So if I drained it to 25 percent, perhaps it would weigh 150 to 200..?

 

[Huro]

If your cabinet is particle board then I would just bite the bullet and empty the tank and move it separately I wouldn't risk my 75g trying to move them both at same time.

 

[Abe86]

If your cabinet is particle board then I would just bite the bullet and empty the tank and move it separately I wouldn't risk my 75g trying to move them both at same time.

I agree.

 

[Hawkins409]

Okay, I'll take it down.

While I have it away from the wall, I'm going to lengthen and reroute the tubes coming to and from the canister filter so I can place the canister filter more out of the way.

I don't know what it would be, but are there any other things that you would do if you had to almost (or completely) take down your tank? Rescape? Replace substrate? Add an inline heater? Something else? (Just looking for ideas to make sure I'm not missing something)

 

[Huro]

Really that's up to you but it would certainly give you a great opportunity if you have been thinking about it. The only thing that I personally would absolutely do is go find a solid wood stand you could probably find something fairly cheap at a thrift store that you could refinish, even if you buy a new one out right it would be a worthwhile investment.

 

[Hawkins409]

Okay. That's a good idea. Maybe I could find one that would not only be sturdy, but would slide in the event I needed to move it again.

I would welcome any other ideas....