Has anyone ever moved a full tank?

[eddi]

I have a 125 gallon reef tank that currently sits in my carpeted step down family room. The tank sits on a regular stand with four doors in teh front and a removable back. I want to put hardwood there and therefore need to move the tank. It currently sits right at the step; "all" I would have to do is lift it on the step. I do not want to take it apart, for several reasons, unless absolutely necessary.

The tank weighs about 1500 pounds. Because of how I have my rocks set up I can remove about 1/4 of the water; does anyone have any ideas on how I could lift the tank and move it up on the step? What I need is a home version of a fork lift.


Eddi

 

[Anonymous]

What you need is a reality check. Anything bigger than 5 gallons should not be moved while full - period.

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
1500 lb is really heavy for a 125 gal tank.. but anyway.

I moved a 60 gal by myself with some minor help from my 5 feet tall wife. Basically I drain some of the water (1/5) from the tank, lift it up while my wife slide a dolly that I made onto the stand's legs. The dolly let me slide the tank across the carpeted living room, and I built it so that it can be put under the stand one side at a time.

You can use a car jack to jack it up. If you tank is glass, becareful. Even the slowest forklift can crack the bottom because of the momentum of the water.

I have a huge bucket ready in case my tank cracked :wink:

 

[eddi]

Jim,

thanks for that insightful help.

Seven Ephors, yes, 1500 is high. I estimated high to be on the safe side. If I have no alternative I will drain as much of the water as possible, build two or three platforms, get three or four good friends and see if we can lift it.


Eddi

 

[JeffB]

What you need is a reality check. Anything bigger than 5 gallons should not be moved while full - period

This is the kind of stuff that keep me from posting here I think this is uncalled for.

Jeff

 

[Adam1]

Really Really bad idea.

I wouldn't worry about cracking the glass so much as breaking a seal.

Because glass is so stiff, just the slightest amount of racking (twisting, or other wise changeing the shape of the tank) could break a seal.

Aside from that, consider how top heavy an aquarium on a stand is, throw in the effect of sloshing water, and then consider if you want to risk injury to yourself or others by trying to move it even partially full.

Look at tearing down in two ways:

Cheap insurance against someone getting hurt, flooding your house, and losing a bunch of animals anyway, and

A good opportunity to clean everything up, fix all the little things you didn't like about your plumbing, aquascaping, etc.

HTH

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
I agree with Adam. However, if you must move it partially full, use as few people as possible. People is the one that get you into trouble. Some are stronger, so give up half way, and you will have a ton of stuffs crashing onto the floor. Once set to motion, something this heavy is very difficult to stop.

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: For crying out loud Jeff, then don't post here! If your that fragile... :roll: A little bluntness is a far cry from an insult. A reality check is what was in order here, let's face it. It doesn't take someone with an advanced degree to calculate the combined weight of the tank, rock, sand, etc. Then factor in the fragility and awkwardness of said item. It doesn't take much to crack a seal with all those forces coming into play.
The fact that full tanks should not be moved is common knowledge, let alone a tank that big. Even considering it is just plain silly. If that offends you, get over it. Sorry I didn't candy coat it for you, but that is the blunt reality of the situation.
I'm just in one of those moods today... :twisted:
Regards
Jim

 

[Reefguide]

.

 

[M.E.Milz]

A few thoughts if you still really want to try this.

First, definitely drain as much water as you can into garbage cans. Leave enough water to keep your fish and any clams submerged and alive. Your corals should be ok out of the water for the shorth period of time that it takes to move the tank.

Second, I would suggest building a frame that passes through your stand and abuts against the inside top of it (just under the bottom of the tank). The frame will give everybody something to grab and lift with. Make sure the frame is stiff enough so that it will not rack when lifted (easier said then done). The idea is to make sure that no matter how the frame is lifted, the top odf the stand and the bottom of the tank will not be warped or twisted when lifted.

Perhaps you can even anchor one end of the frame in such a way that the tank and stand can be lifted by raising the other end of the frame, and then sliding the tank/stand along the frame onto the step.

FWIW, when I leveled my 200, I left all the sand, rock, corals and fish in the tank. I did, however, drain all but 4" of water into temporary containers. I then went around the perimeter of the stand and shimmed it up where necessary. I had no problems. Of course, I didn't actually move the tank horizontally.

At one point, I thought about moving the tank 8'. The above suggestions are the best that I could come up with, although I never decided to do this (I decided to move and get a new tank instead).

 

[Anonymous]

What happened Reefguid? Second thoughts?

 

[SPC]

My vote goes for the don't even try it group, I don't think the odds are with you.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone that's moved a tank will probably agree, dont do it unless you HAVE to..

That said, I've done similar moves, laid tile once, redid a wall once, got a better cabinet another time.

The only way i've done it, is drain as much water as possible & remove all rocks/coral/fish, do the move as quickly as possible, I've moved 30 miles this way, along with simple moves within the house...

I did manage to move a 55g with 50 % of the rock & most of the sps still in the tank, I just drained down to the sand, whole operation took about a hour, the sps didnt seem to mind (they were permanently part of the rockwork) L8r mega

 

[danmhippo]

If you really really really really have to, drain as much as you can and get 8 dependable men to help you.

A couple rounds of beer afterwards regardless of the outcome....

 

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind the both the magnitude and likelyhood of a disaster increases with the tank size. Moving a 55 can't be compared to moving a 125.
Jim

 

[Anonymous]

I did the same with a 100g tank & 60g sump, not once, but 3 times, it wasnt very fun, I did 1 move when I bought a house, 1 move to rearrange the aquarium room, and 1 move to get it out of the way to tile the floor for the 220g.

Just need more people to help with bigger tanks, there's probably a formula for it somewhere, 1 body per 45g of tank size, somewhere around there

 

[SPC]

I helped a guy move a 125 All Glass once that had 3" of water over a 5" sand bed, we only needed to move it 4'. When we had gotten about 2' he let his end down about 6". The water shifted to his end ( and with it some sand I would presume) and somehow cracked the side glass, he then went to the sitting position holding the tank in his lap 8O .
Steve

 

[danmhippo]

A note to myself..........don't call Steve next time I am moving my tank....... :mrgreen:

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
Steve, you suppose to lower the tank if the other fellow can't handle it! I know you are a strong man, but if you want to show off by standing still, you are giving the other fellow harder time.

Dan, give me a call instead. :wink:

 

[Carpentersreef]

:lol:

Mitch