Moving tank across room

[JZ199]

After doing some searching I only found a few posts about moving tanks to new homes and locations.

Since we are repainting and remodeling the living room. We ordered a sectional that is being delivered next week (December 4th) after measuring probably 100 times we've concluded that my tank will have to get moved to another location of the living room. It has to get moved maybe 7 feet in total, going from along one wall over to the other wall.

It's a 32.5 gallon fluval flex with a few corals on the sand bed, urchin, 2 clowns, a royal Gramma who lives in the rocks, nassarius and turbo snails.

I've been thinking about the easiest and safest way to move the tank to its new spot in the room. The latest conclusion I reached is drain as much water as possible into buckets, get the stand on to those moving sliders that you can get from home stores or Amazon and try to slide it as one unit across the wooden floor? I was hoping to be able to keep the fish and urchin in the tank and then refill it with the same removed water when done? Or would it be no harm draining it almost 100% and leaving the rocks and sand but putting my fish and urchin into one of the buckets? And then refilling with the same water that I removed. My main concern is catching my Gramma since he lives in the rock caves. I just don't want to crash my tank or cause any harm to its inhabitants.

 

[Mr Fishface]

I just moved my 40 gallon cube, twice in fact. I would say for you, have enough buckets to empty your tank. The sliders are a good idea. I would put water in buckets, put stand on sliders like you mentioned, move and refill. When I moved, my fish were impossible to remove until I got every rock out. My only worry is when you fill the tank back up, that the sand will release everything it's accumulated. Might be something to think about, how can you refill with the least disruption as possible.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I've moved my 32 gallon in the past, I would drain it as low as possible leaving just a couple of inches of water, leave the fish in the tank, and remove as much rock as safely possible, and then with a friend you should be able to lift the stand with the tank on it and shimmy over

 

[pwoody]

My only worry is when you fill the tank back up, that the sand will release everything it's accumulated.

To add to this, you could prep with a bottle of Fritz zyme 9 or similar dump that in once everything is moved across to mitigate any issues you may have with sand releasing nutrients and causing a mini cycle.