Can this be done? or a disaster in the making.....

[Vinman75]

After losing power during the blizzard and losing the fish in my 55 gallon FOWLR tank, I am looking to use this as an opprotunity for imporvements. Since the blizzard I have kep the tank and filters running with no fish. But with the rock and sand still in undisturbed. I would like to change the stand of the tank, I do not like the look and would like to put in more live rock and stuff and feel that it will max out the weight limit. My question is: what is the best way to move the current tank which is full of the sand, rock and water from one stand to the other. Should I emplty it out completely and reffill the sand and rock once the stand has been changed? Will I be able to keep the sand and rock if I do so? Should I just empty a bunch of the water out and try to move the tank with the sand and rock still in it? Any thoughts?? Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[mnavick]

Empty water into a large barrel/container and place all the live rock in there with a heater and power head.
Drain remaining water to just above sand level.
With some help move tank to new stand.
Replace water and live rock, wala

 

[PSU4ME]

+1 to the above. Not sure what condition your tank is in but you can get a new 55g at petco for $55 when they are running their special

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

I would move the rock and most of the water to some buckets, move the tank with the sand, then put the rock and water back in. I always remove the rock because it's heavy, and I don't want it to fall and hit the glass. Since you don't have any livestock, you could probably do a large water change rather than save the old water since it will get cloudy when you remove the rocks. If you're worried about the rocks drying out, put some damp newspaper or paper towels on them. If you decide to add a lot of new rock or a lot of new water, wait a few days before restocking in case you get a mini cycle.

 

[pokerfish]

Empty water into a large barrel/container and place all the live rock in there with a heater and power head.
Drain remaining water to just above sand level.
With some help move tank to new stand.
Replace water and live rock, wala

Have done this method with great success...very easy and efficient, just make sure you use a clean, food grade container...

 

[Skeeter7424]

Same as every one else has said. I've done this 5 times now, 4 times was from one tank to another (during an upgrade or tank change) and once for a stand change. Every time went great. Good luck!

 

[Phinfan]

+1 to GobyWanKenobie mine as well do a large water change.