Tips for moving my 75g

[mercey]

:help: I have to move my 75g tank to another wall , I measured wrong and need that spot for a 150g, my clown trigger and niger trigger are still babys, but i wanted to get their new home set up , I am keeping the 75g for the smaller fish but i have never moved a tank before with fish in it, The 75g was suppost to be permament and I was going to get a 55g for the smaller fish not knowing at the time I was going to get triggers, the 150g will house the clown, niger and 1 koran angel, my foxface and longnose puffer along with the damsels will stay in the 75g and will get tank mates in the future, any advice on how to do this would be great, its only about 4ft away from where it needs to go, I have time to get this done since everyone in the tank are still babys but would like to get it started, Thanks and have a Great day
Mercey

 

[scubadoo]

Mercy...Get some rubbermaid tubs for your livestock, water and live rock. Take most of the water out leaving just enough to cover the substrate. You should be okay to move the tank. SOme folks recommend removing all the contents so you do not risk springing a leak. Do not think it is safe to move that tank with a bunch of water in it. Risk is high to spring a leak if you leave a bunch of water in the tank.
Moving 4 feet or 4 miles...you still need to get as much out of the tank as possible before moving. Just my opinion..I have moved a 55 twice in the house plus I just upgraded and transferred the contents from my 55 to a 110. Zero loss of life in all moves.

 

[howardcu]

I agree, you have to empty the contents of the tank, or at least most of it. Rubbermaid containers are cheap and you can use them later to store top off water or mixed saltwater for water changes. Or just for storage of your xmas decorations or something. Good luck, I just moved my 55 from an apartment to my new house and it was a pain. I had batter operated air stones and several buckets for the fish and coral and then put them into large rubbermaid tubs while setting the tank up in its new spot. I did loose a springer's dottyback, but everything else is fine. That dottyback was one of only 4 survivors from that power outage in August of '03 so it really surprised me that it didn't make it.

 

[scubadoo]

Howardcu..hard to move a tank without some loss. I am surprised that the one of the fish that survived an outage did not make it through the move.
I agree...moving a tank is a pain....but having a plan makes it go smoother. I never want to move a tank again. ...works on your nerves....good excuse to drink a couple 6 packs when it is over....not that I really need an excuse ..

 

[sharksbait]

Have you ever seen those little plastic disks advertised on TV called the "movin men".Me and 4 friends moved one of my 125 gallon tanks across to the other side of the room.We did drain about half of the water out ,but everything else was still intact,fish ,rock,substrate.Just make sure your stand is sturdy enough to pick up the ends to put them under the corners and if you put double side tape on them before you stick them under they will stay in place while you move it.......

 

[scubadoo]

Raising/moving a tank half filled is risky even if only a slight move... developing a leak is a high probability....you may get lucky and not develop a leak...not worth the risk. You will have to lift the tank to get those discs under. I strongly advise against it. JMO

 

[sharksbait]

You will not have to pick up the tank,you pick up the stand.If your stand is strong that it will not flex than it should not hurt it.My 125 was half full and has a 4inch deep sand bed and about 200 pounds of live rock.........no leaks.....Saved me lots of time and stress on fish and now every time I set a new tank up I put those under the stand in case I get a wild hair to rearrange my fish room