has anyone ever put a reef tank on castors?

[twiddledog]

I need to move my 72 gallon tank while some work is done in my house. I am going to try and lighten the load by taking out alot of the water and trying to slide it.
I am also looking into setting up a larger tank and just transferring everything to the new tank. I may have to move this tank setup as well with the work going on...so ..I am wondering...
Has anyone ever had a tank and stand on castors? or sliders? so it can be moved.
Is it possible?

 

[LuckyReefer]

Anything is Possible, I know that they make casters to support about anything. I think the big thing would be what surface are you going to use them on (I.E. hardwood floor or carpeting). I am sure if you were handy with a welder you could fabricate a good support frame and apply good sized casters such as Snap-on or one of their competitors uses on their large toolboxes. I know that heavy of a caster is not cheap but I am sure you can find them real fast with a google search.

 

[Kevin McG]

I think it would certainly work with the correct size casters to support the weight BUT you may want to be cautious of the casters making an impression on the floor if it is a nice hardwood floor if the tank is heavy enough.

 

[LuckyReefer]

I think it would certainly work with the correct size casters to support the weight BUT you may want to be cautious of the casters making an impression on the floor if it is a nice hardwood floor if the tank is heavy enough.

Good Point! I didn't think of that...

 

[newfish]

I think you might have a problem with keeping it level

 

[bbjohngm]

If you want to protect a hardwood floor lay down some sheets of 1/4" Masonite (invented by William H. Mason lol). It's cheap stuff at HD and it's pretty much a staple when it comes to protecting new floors in buildings when they move large equipment or remodel and need to protect the floors till it's done.

 

[emabie]

One other thing to worry about is the stand. most commercial stands rely on the weight getting evenly distributed along there bottom to the floor. if you raise the stand on casters you might want to put the stand on a solid base that has the casters mounted to it instead of the casters right on the stand.

 

[Frag Freaks]

there are also floor brakes that go along with casters. You could make a nice solid bottom support with 4 caster and 4 breaks and lift the caster slighty off the ground when your are not moving it, and have the weight evenly distributed on the floor breaks. Just a thought.

 

[MichaelJ]

What about those round discs that are used to move heavy furniture? Slip those under and slide it. Also at HD

 

[smithcreek]

I'd be more concerned about the stand flexing as you moved it across an uneven surface and the effect that would have on the tank. I think you'd need to make an incredibly stiff stand or else risk damage to the tank.

 

[Frag Freaks]

steel frame skeleton wrapped in wood would be nice and stiff but then you are adding again to the overall weight. They do sell casters that are good for alot of weight and for multi surfaces but then again you are talking about more money.

 

[Moe_K]

Sloshing water during the moves could make a serious mess.

 

[pillowfish]

JMO but, I know the heavy duty casters-most every restaurant that I have worked in has the heavy equipment up on casters so it can bve moved easily to clean and such or move it out of the way. And when I say heavy equipment...we're talking sub-zeroes, combi-therm ovens etc. Just due ot nature of the enviroment in a kitchen(think oily, wet usually a bit sloped) I said that so I could say this...A piece of equipment that heavy can cause some serious injuries and damage-so the brakes for them HAVE to work..and OSHA really does care-with that..I have seen some of the "heavy equipment" slide right by me--the brakes are not fail proof-so you may want to think about that as well.

ANd just curious if you do move a tank and have sloshing water-will it disturb enough of the sand bed to affect water quality??

 

[uprr]

another thing to think about is, once it starts rolling if you put it on casters it's gonna want to keep rolling!!snap on and cornwell would be a great choice if going with casters. they are a softer rubber than h.d. casters.

 

[Qwank]

my 12g nano is on a microwave cart with casters on it.

 

[origreefer]

I had a tank built into a wall. The fish room was the big closet under the stairs. I put the tank on a stand with casters and it worked perfect. When I wanted to do maint, I simply rolled the tank back. It was a 29gal cube. Small yes, but I got the idea from a fellow society club member who had a 90g tank on casters. Seems his wife would not let him have a tank on the hardwood floor unless it was on rollers so he could move it to wipe up water spills. We had a club meeting over his house and he demonstrated how easy it could be moved. You obviously have to use industrial type rollers, of proper strength to handle the weight of the aquarium you are using. They make plenty of soft wheels so the hardwood won't get ruined.

 

[delta]

You might take a look at this blog
http://starrfish.blogspot.com/2005/04/jan-28-moving-75g.html

 

[ReeferMedic]

I've drained my 72 bow down about 75% and moved it with my son on more than one occasion with no problems. Not saying there won't be any problems. Just that I've done it more than once with mine. We just lifted it enough to get the bulk of the weight up, and SLOWLY moved/slid it across the room. I can't say it doesn't make me nervous doing it though.

 

[twiddledog]

Thanks!

Thanks for all your thoughts and idea...I will be upgrading the tank to a 135 gal but in the mean time..I may end up draining most and trying to slide it a few feet..or depending on timing, moving everything to the new and larger tank.

 

[moespeaking]

the water movement could be enough to bust a seam.