Moving a Tank

Hi

I have a 2.5m, 400-odd litre Aquabest community tank. I am moving house at the end of the month and was wondering if anyone has gone through a move of a tank this size before?

I would really appreciate some advice. Are there people out there who do this sort of thing for a living? I'm quite concerned about the moving company cracking my tank.

Thanks for the help
Steve

 

There are people that move tanks for you....try Naac.

 

The day before, I'd take the plants out and bag them. Then I'd remove all hardscape items and package them nicely. On the day of the move, disconnect all equipment and pack them nicely. Drop the water level to 30% and then I'd take the fish out and bag them. Drain the rest of the water. Then I would have the tank nicely wrapped in bubble wrap and transported to the new house. Fill it with water, add dechlor, connect equipment, test water parameters and then add the fish as soon as possible. I'm not sure about heating...that size tank will take quite a while to heat the water.

Can the tank be moved with the substrate in place? Or would one have to remove that too?

EDIT: Based on below comments, you'd need to remove the substrate after draining all the water.

Anybody else got any improvements on this plan?

 

i have heard of tank bottoms cracking before when trying to move a tank with the substrate in it. the tank should be complety empty if you are going to lift the tank of the stand. without the stand help distribute the load on the glass the glass could break with just the substrate

 

Agreed - never move a tank, especially one of that size, with substrate still in. Not only is your tank at risk of cracking at the bottom, but it is EXTREMELY heavy.

 

i'm curios, how'd you move it to where it is NOW in the first place?

 

Think he got it when it was still small... It grew to that size over 3 years LOL

 

1. Would take all the substrate out , not doing that is just asking for trouble.
2. Read that you can use kettle water to help bring up the temp of your water quickly.

 

http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/article/Moving_Your_Aquarium

 

if possible try and take as much of the tank water as possible

 

Hi

Thanks very much for the all the responses. I really appreciate it and will take all your comments into account.

Ferryman: I bought the tank (empty, LOL), set it up, and guessing that it weighs around half a ton (with water and substrate), I've never bothered trying to move it.

Cheers
Steve

 

ssabatier how much fish have you got in the tank and what sort of fish ?

 

Donny

4x African glass catfish
4x Albino corys
2x Upside down catfish
2x Pangasius sharks/Siamese sharks
1x Plecostamus
4x Neons
4x Mollies
8x Guppies
4x Scissortails
4x Harlequins
4x Black widows

Cheers
Steve

 

Ok, were are you moving from and to. Cause what you might want to try is setup a small tank at the new place with old tank water, so as not to stress your fish out to much during the move. Just a idea.

 

Hey Sabatier,

Firstly,
Fish: You should:
1) Bag all fish
or
If you have a huge bath/tub thats deep enough and can be covered then rather fil it with water from the tank and put the fish in there.
2) When transporting, drive carefully, to avoid spilling the water (if in a tub).
3) When at your destination, setup your tank and add the fish.

Tank: You should:
1) First remove fish with enough water (see above).
2) If there is some remaining water in the tank, leave it there. (If you have silica sand as a substrate, then you'll know why)
4) Remove the substrate with all the remaining water and place in a clean bucket.
5) Gently, remove tank from stand or cabinet. If the tank doesnt want to budge from the stand or cabinet, then DO NOT force it; rather carry the tank with the stand/cabinet and place on the bakkie/truck.
6) Fasten the tank to the bakkie by the use of thin rope. Have a person sit with the tank just in case...
7) If the tank cannot be tied, then a person holding the tank down during the journey should suffice.
8) Lastly gently remove the tank and stand/cabinet and place on a levelled area in your new home following the standard guidelines to setting up.

9) Add all substrate into tank
10) Add enough water so it fills about 1/4 to 1/2 of the tank (use the previous tank water)
12) set up your filter and heater.
11) Add the fish gently to the tank.
13) Try not to waste any time.

And thats how you move a fish tank...

PS: Note that I havn't indicated other finer details such as testing water parameters, contaminants, etc. This is regarded as common sense. to every fishkeeper.

However if you are sure that there are no contaminants whatsoever, then that should be fine, but always be sure to check water parameters.

 

moved my 500lt tank about 2 months ago. I know how stressed you can get. I used a van some old types which i placed the tank on and all went good

 

tyres, or maybe thick duvet layers or somesuch, depending how far the new house is, and how even the road is. going 90 over a speedbump might weild some unwanted effects...

 

If the tank is on its wood with polystyrene as per when it is on a stand, you should be OK. We have moved many tanks this way.. Just drive carefully !!!!!

 

The tank is the easy part. The fish is where it gets tricky. I must add that I lost my 30 cm clown knife and my 25 cm hi fin pangasius. And I set up 2 spare 3ft tanks in my new place 2 weeks in advance but the fish did not last 1 night in the 3ft tanks. Wish you all the best.

 

Done the same on the back of a bakkie - driving dead slow and extra carefull of manholes & bumps etc in the road... 2.5 meters you would need a long base version of the bigger model bakkies.