Moving a Full Aquarium

[Daisy82]

So we just moved, and the aquarium is the last to go. Unfortunately, we just found out the spot it's supposed to go in has a leak behind the wall and it will have to be torn out next week. Can't wait to move the tank because the lease is up. So the tank will have to be in an awkward spot for a couple of weeks.

So my question is, am I going to have to tear down a tank full of fish full of live rock and fish twice in one month? Or, can I put something like those furniture sliders underneath once it's in the new house (before filling), and scoot it to the spot it needs to be in? What if we drained half the water? Is there an easier way to do this, or is this just wishful thinking?

If anyone has experience or thoughts on the situation please let me know because I have to get the tank tomorrow! Thanks in advance

Details:

I am not trying to move a full aquarium across town, just about 4 ft across the room.

85 gal saltwater with 20 gal sump, full of live rock, fish and corals.

Solid wood stand.

Wood floor

[jestep]

You should probably tear it down. Just too large of a tank to move safely.

If the stand is extremely sturdy and you only need to move it a few feet you could try to slide the stand. I haven't seen many stands I would trust doing this with. Even at that I would remove 100% of the water at a minimum. 40 gallons of water and sand and rock still weighs ~500lbs.

[Richard L]

I've had to move my tank and the contents several times in the past couple of months due to my new tank build. I agree with jestep that you need to do a partial tear down. Most stands are designed to support a large amount of static weight - but I wouldn't trust a stand to handle the lateral stresses you would put on it if you moved it. If the stand buckles or the tank cracks we are talking catastrophic losses. Definately worth a couple hours of effort.

Here's how I did it with no losses and no significant changes in water quality. Buy some cheap plastic storage bins from Target put your rock pieces in one set of bins and your corals ina separate set. Then cover with them tank water. Note: Your tank water is precious - save all of it. Drain down the rest of your tank water enough to catch the fish. If you have a sand bed this is paramount - do not disturb the sand bed in any way. It's loaded with pockets of anaerobic gunk that if released can crash a tank. Leave an inch of water over the bed. Now move the tank, stand and sand bed as one unit if possible. You may have to drain the sump to reduce the weight further. Add rock, water (taking care not to disturb the sand bed!), corals and fish. I would also have a good supply of saltwater made up for any incidentals.

Good luck. Keep us posted on what you do.

[jestep]

If you do it this way, I would suggest getting 4 or 5 people and lifting the stand and tank all at once. You need to limit twisting by lifting as evenly as possible, as twisting is what can damage silicon seals.