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Best Way to Relocate a tank
- Thread starter Ford625
- Start date
I think the concern (among many ) is how to do it without disturbing the sand............................it is on the same floor, how big is the tank? I would be hesitent to leave the sand in, but maybe others will have an idea. How deep is ur sand bed
I would certaintly plan on removing all the water
I would certaintly plan on removing all the water
OP
OP
Ford625
Non-member
It is a 55 gal and the sand bed is about an inch and a half thick with about an inch or crushed coral underneath it. There's a snowflake moray, two clowns, 4 cardinals, a sixline wrasse and a small tang. Eventually going to get my 120 going but I need to move about 30 feet to the living room. I was told by a friend who used to work at Tropic Isle to leave about an inch of water at the bottom and keep the water that was taken out. Any thoughts?
hmm maybe
How would u transport it the 30 feet? leave it in the stand and carry the stand
if u go that route be carefull when u add back in the water so u dont disturb the bed
How would u transport it the 30 feet? leave it in the stand and carry the stand
if u go that route be carefull when u add back in the water so u dont disturb the bed
Aquaman_68
too many gadgets to fail
if you take the very top layer of sand out which has aerobic bacteria present.. (1/4 to 1/2 inch ) with a spatula you can put that in a 5 gal bucket add water with a powerhead while ur doing the move. (provided you get it done in a day) The rest of the sand has anerobic bacteria present & doesn't need more than scooping it out & putting it into a five gallon bucket & keeping it moist. Add enough tank water to just about cover the sand. After the move....just put the anerobic sand down first & spread it out even. Then spread the aerobic sand down over it & make sure you do it evenly to distribute the bacteria evenly.. If you do it this way you will end up with an ammonia spike that will last less than a few hours.... Did it this way when my 155 bow sprung a leak close to ten years ago... Had another tank less than 10 hours later to replace it....I only saw an ammonia spike that was very minor for a couple hours!!!
HTH,
B
HTH,
B
I pick stuff up and put it down.
seems like that would have the potential of stressing the glass and damn that must have been heavy (250 lbs+?)
Gee, I figured keep it simple. We moved out 55gal from the second to the fist floor back in Dec I think. Pretty much brought home a bunch of 5 gallon cooler jugs from work. Took out all the decoration coral and drained 4 gallons of the tank water into a 5gal old salt bucket I have and put the fish into the bucket. Drained the rest of the water into all the 5 gallon jugs. Left the sand in untouched and carried the tank down the flight of stairs with my son very carefully. Some of the sand shifted due to the angle of the stairs. Slid it back into place and filled the tank back up doing my water change at that time also.
Luckily had no issues and the move went well and took less than an hour. Plan out what your going to do and what order you are going to do it in. I think the biggest thing is to not stress the fish too much and set the tank back up the way it was before you took it down.
Good luck, but make sure you have someone strong. It helped having a coffee table to temporarily put the tank on top of while we moved the stand.
Luckily had no issues and the move went well and took less than an hour. Plan out what your going to do and what order you are going to do it in. I think the biggest thing is to not stress the fish too much and set the tank back up the way it was before you took it down.
Good luck, but make sure you have someone strong. It helped having a coffee table to temporarily put the tank on top of while we moved the stand.
tommy6905
Non-member
Ha I had to say it
tommy6905
Non-member
All seriousness I did this awhile ago with zero losses, get some rubbermaid barrels or bins, and empty the water into them, make up water, maybe 20 gallons at least, put all your rock, corals etc in one with powerheads, fish in another or all in the same, I left the sand in undisturved, moved the tank and moved everything back, if you come up with a plan it'll go nice and smooth really quick, goodluck
I'd buy the upgrade tank and stand that must be in the back of your mind somewhere, and new dry sand. Fill the new tank and put the sand in, move some of that top layer of sand in to seed it, let it sit for a few days (maybe even do a water change on the existing tank and put the Old water in the new tank), test all levels and correct them to match the old tank, Then start moving the livestock over with minimal shock and no rush. 
OP
OP
Ford625
Non-member
I was thinking about just taking most of the water out and the rock to move it. I did think about the stress on the glass but I don't think that it will be an issue if most of the rock and water are out. Then re-aquascaping to what it used to be so the fish wouldn't be stressed out. I think I need to buy more buckets. What do you think of leaving the LS in the bottom with water during the move? I do have another stand I'm upgrading to so placement wont be an issue. Also, the 120 will be next year or the year after. Don't have the funds the year...
Aquaman_68
too many gadgets to fail
are u moving across the room? The standard 55 gal tanks are pretty thin glass!! If you decide to move it with any water or sand it may not give u an issue today...or when u move it...but that doesn't mean u won't stress out the seals... (something to ponder) rather be safe than sorry!! I purchased a used tank that was running for less than a year from the previous owner & after it was setup for a month it sprung a leak... I didn't mishandle it....but it happened...& it really sucked!!! Lost 80% of my sps...... 4 years of corals!!!u don't want to deal with a leak...trust me!!!
OP
OP
Ford625
Non-member
That WICKED sucks! Sorry to hear that. Yeah it's not going far but it is an older tank. My dad used to have cichlids in the tank for years but I'm not sure how the supports are. You think if almost all of the water is out and I take out the ALL of the rocks, I'll have a problem? Oh and reuse the same water?
Aquaman_68
too many gadgets to fail
Oh the smell of dead sps!!! Still can't get it out of my mind!!!!!u could take all the water out & reuse most of it....(say replace 10 15 gals with fresh mix) With an ol tank I wouldn't move it with the sand in it.. (specially a production 55 gal) Those are popped out with very thin glass & produced as cheap as they can possibly b done... They do that to keep the price down & to attract newbies into the larger tank world!! (u know...a stepping stone......) most people who go bigger & get a 55 don't keep it for long as a reef...just too narrow & also not a ideal tank for a reef....(rocks = weight the glass on the bottom is this as well!!!)
HTH,
B
HTH,
B
+1 to what Aquaman said.
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