Tank move cost

JohnCisco

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Not my tank but a friend is refinishing some floors for a client the entire main floor hardwood. They have a 180 gallon acrylic reef tank. LPS and softies and sump.

I guess the homeowner isn’t real involved with the tank just likes it. He pays someone to maintain it. So the homeowner doesn’t want to move it and the guy that maintains it told him $2,500 to move it to the basement then move it back when the floors are done.

does that price sound right? Seems extreme to me.
My friend called me and asked if that sounded right or if the fish guy is taking advantage of the situation. The other option is to pay me to do it. But not $2,500.

What do you all think?
 

andrewey

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What equipment does he have running? At first glance I thought it was a bit excessive, however when I did the math, it doesn't seem so ridiculous. To move a tank of that size, I'd want four guys moving it down the stairs. I'd also estimate about 8 hours to tear down the tank and set it up again. It might go quicker than that, however I would never estimate less than 8 hours for a tank move due to unforeseen events (controller not working when moved, rerunning cabling for electrical, rinsing sand depending on the age, time it takes to catch fish, time it takes to transport each coral to make sure none are damaged, etc.). Since it has to be done twice, that's 64 total hours I'd bill, or about $40 an hour. Depending on where he lives, 40 an hour for a specialty service isn't outrageous in my opinion.

Also, it's worth noting that while an acrylic tank could be moved by two people, as a business owner, I would never take that risk. The cost of scratching the tank or a wall simply isn't worth it. As an individual, I'm willing to take that risk and live with the consequences, but if I ran a service, I wouldn't want to skimp on manpower once the tanks get to be >150lbs and stairs are involved.
 
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JohnCisco

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No controller
No dosing pumps
No calcium reactor

skimmer, ATO, heaters, lights and powerheads

my guess is whoever is maintaining it is doing large water changes or maybe manually dosing when needed

My thought was a full day as well, twice, but not 4 people all day. Figure two could do the bulk of it and get one or two more when actually moving the tank. But I see what you mean even that adds up quick to $1,200-$1,500 plus any additional supplies.
 

Halal Hotdog

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$2500 sounds crazy high. He could literally buy another tank, setup in basement, move all the livestock, move this tank out of the way, get floors done, then set it back up under $2500.
 

andrewey

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Yeah, I would have personally priced it in the 1,500 range, but 2,500 doesn't seem as crazy as I first thought, plus this assumes I can just get 2 other guys to come when I need them.

$2500 sounds crazy high. He could literally buy another tank, setup in basement, move all the livestock, move this tank out of the way, get floors done, then set it back up under $2500.
I think you're missing the point he's paying for a service. He's not doing anything himself- therefore he has to pay someone else to do it. I'm not aware of any companies that would both supply an 180 acrlyic tank, plumb/wire it, provide the livestock and set it up from scratch (twice!) for that price.
 

andrewey

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1590547619380.png

Absolutely a "I don't want to do it quote"
 

vetteguy53081

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tell him :

1590547752742.png


Outrageous to say the least
 

Rjmul

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Not my tank but a friend is refinishing some floors for a client the entire main floor hardwood. They have a 180 gallon acrylic reef tank. LPS and softies and sump.

I guess the homeowner isn’t real involved with the tank just likes it. He pays someone to maintain it. So the homeowner doesn’t want to move it and the guy that maintains it told him $2,500 to move it to the basement then move it back when the floors are done.

does that price sound right? Seems extreme to me.
My friend called me and asked if that sounded right or if the fish guy is taking advantage of the situation. The other option is to pay me to do it. But not $2,500.

What do you all think?
Take the job for half that.
 

Mikeltee

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Jack it up, put it ALL on a rolling platform, and plug in an extension cord. Have the floor guys work around it. For goodness sake all they are doing is sanding the floor. I've seen locomotives pushed around by 1 guy on an air lift system. Surely you can come up with something for a couple hundred to push around 160 measily gallons. Call a safe mover. He will charge you $500 for this.
 

mike550

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Jack it up, put it ALL on a rolling platform, and plug in an extension cord. Have the floor guys work around it. For goodness sake all they are doing is sanding the floor. I've seen locomotives pushed around by 1 guy on an air lift system. Surely you can come up with something for a couple hundred to push around 160 measily gallons. Call a safe mover. He will charge you $500 for this.
This is a really interesting idea. I suppose if fumes from refinishing could be managed then it’s certainly a possibility!
 

Mikeltee

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Absolutely. Cover it for sure! I cant believe the tank guy didnt give this as an option. Evem if I was replacing that floor, 5" casters would roll over any bump. If it takes 6 casters on a 3/4" plywood platform supported by steel so be it. We move transformers that weight 1000s of pounds by rolling them on 2" conduit.

I'd pull out 50% water into cheap tubs, move it, and return water. Theres half your weight!
 
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JohnCisco

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I think its probably a "I dont want to do this, but will if you pay me enough" quote. Do I think its expensive? yeah. Would I want to do it? nope.

yea that’s kinda where I am. I asked a friend who is in the hobby if he’d help and he said nope nope and nope.

Not real interested in doing it but $1,000 - $1,500 would be awfully tempting if he has help to move the heavy items.

How many frags or what equipment do i need to make it worth my while kind of thing.

regarding a platform with casters the concern is not only the fumes but being able to do the entire floor at once not in sections is what I was told. Of course it would be nice to just do that and wheel it to another room not getting refinished but yea it’s the whole main floor.
They’re moving out all the furniture and living in a hotel for 10 days.
 

((FORDTECH))

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I have a 120 in living room and I’d love to Have the floor redone. I work with engine lifts and such at work and would never even think about lifting a tank with water in it. Dangerous and also not smart. Many things can happen like wheel from lift going threw the wood floor. Anyways if I was doing it I would take down tank and store in easy access place and possibly buy 150$ tub that would be used for temp few days to finish the floor and let properly dry
 
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