Moving a tank with water

[captan42]

Hey all, I did a search and didn't find exactly what I am trying to do so throwing this thread up for some advice.

I need to move my 30gal breeder that is currently up and running and needs to stay up and running temporarily. I am upgrading to a 120g, the problem is the current tank is sitting on cabinets where the 120 gal will need to go.

Tell me if I am going to run into any problems or if you see an issue.

The plan is to drain as much water as possible but leave just enough for the fish still in the tank. There is no plumbing as it's all HoB or inside the display. I will take off all the equipment to make it as light as possible. Slide the tank onto a rolling cart and move the display to it's temporary new home. Re add the water I took out and hook everything back up.

I will then take the cabinets out and put in the new display and it's stand, get it through the cycle and then transfer over my livestock.

My concerns are will my 30g breeder handle the stress of being moved with 30 or so pounds of rock and sand along with the weight of the water? I will have a few 5 gallon buckets ready in case the tank starts a leak or breaks.

 

[ReeferReefer]

Why can't you remove the fish, water and rocks before you move the tank?

It might be possible to move it partially filled but doesn't seem worth the risk. It would only be like an hour of extra work to tear down the tank completely.

 

[dank reefer]

You can drain a majority of the water out into whatever container you were planning on using and move your live stock into that container as well. Move your tank to where ever you want to move it too, and then refill while you get your new tank up and running. Since you are moving up to a way bigger tank, it might be best to invest into a 44 gallon brute garbage can

 

[SandJ]

I would not try it. Just 5 gallons of water is over 40 pounds, rocks would be 20+ pounds, plus 20+ pounds of sand.
Plus the water would be sloshing around and stir up all kinds of stuff from the rocks and sand. This would probably not be healthy for the fish. If you drain most of the water, then slowing fill the tank back up it should help keep the sand bed undisturbed (place a dish on the sand and a glass on the dish, pour the water in the glass and it will overflow into the dish and not disturb the sand very much).

 

[Style185]

I just moved my 40b to our bedroom so we could set a 120 up in the living room. I put my water and rocks which have corals on them in buckets n totes. Water is what 8lbs a gallon x 30 240lbs plus the sloshing around of moving it as well as rocks potentially hitting the glass. It's wasn't too tough to "almost" match the rockwork lol good luck let us know how it goes n as always happy reefing!

 

[brandon429]

you have a cleaning opportunity here is the issue

reef aquariums are designed to mitigate detritus. when its not mitigated, we see every form of invasion post there can be. we see mini cycles, cycles, losses of display organisms, all from pent up waste.

that doesn't mean waste is bad, but leaving it stratified/untouched isn't the same as removing it. since you want to prevent weight issues/stress cracking you should part it out, but the biological benefit of cleaning any reef aquarium currently running is not bested by leaving that waste in place.

This doesn't slight or insult someone currently running with a deep sandbed for eighteen years if that's the case, continue.

but a dichotomy exists nonetheless...am I allowed to come over and completely stir up your sand> you are allowed to do that to my tank in trade we can compare results afterwards. I have a deep sand bed too, but its clean v diaper

literally anytime one has the opp to clean out not useful but dangerous waste from pores cracks and crevices, the reef will live longer vs the compounding mode.

large tankers who can store up detritus at least a good 18 yrs in the rarest cases without fanfare went ahead and told the entire hobby up until yesterday we should all be doing that, all the time. the 1% controlled how 100% of reefs were being started up, 98% of the people with GHA and cyano issues nowadays can thank the advice.

The sole cause of biological old tank syndrome, the chief/primary and only inherent lifespan limiter for a reef tank, is packed-in rotting detritus.

to escape the bell curve that is most of captive reefing, clean it out when you can, or make a tank that doesn't store it.

when I re read Mike Paletta's massive $$$$$$$$$$$ build thread a fifth time, its literally glaring stand out neon lights obvious to me he's mitigated detritus in the design, ask him for proof lets seal the deal. that tank is too massive and costly to allow a loss if a single pump dislodges and then aims down into a funky sandbed from 1998

 

[HCl+NaHO=]

Hey all, I did a search and didn't find exactly what I am trying to do so throwing this thread up for some advice.

I need to move my 30gal breeder that is currently up and running and needs to stay up and running temporarily. I am upgrading to a 120g, the problem is the current tank is sitting on cabinets where the 120 gal will need to go.

Tell me if I am going to run into any problems or if you see an issue.

The plan is to drain as much water as possible but leave just enough for the fish still in the tank. There is no plumbing as it's all HoB or inside the display. I will take off all the equipment to make it as light as possible. Slide the tank onto a rolling cart and move the display to it's temporary new home. Re add the water I took out and hook everything back up.

I will then take the cabinets out and put in the new display and it's stand, get it through the cycle and then transfer over my livestock.

My concerns are will my 30g breeder handle the stress of being moved with 30 or so pounds of rock and sand along with the weight of the water? I will have a few 5 gallon buckets ready in case the tank starts a leak or breaks.

Take all the rocks out, silly. You’re going to crack the bottom glass.

Just put everything in buckets besides the fish. Leave about 5 gallons in the tank.

I’ve done this with a 40B. I lost a Firefish, iirc, jumped or was in rock when I was moving it over.

Keep all the water. Move it over too.

Wear a headband, you’re going to sweat.

 

[captan42]

I could remove most of the rock and livestock, I was thinking leave them in place so it's less stress on them. The 30g isn't moving very far, it's literally being slid off a countertop onto another of the same height and the temp countertop has wheels on it's base so it's just being moved out of the way for the new tank and stand.

Thanks for the insight everyone.

@brandon429 I am also not worried about the sandbed as it's cleaned during my weekly WC's and my goby moves it from one side of the tank to the other on a daily basis.