Moving tank in the house by 2 inches

[dnprall]

This is a big ask and likely dumb question.

I have a 40 gallon tank that I'd like to move off the wall by a 2-3 inches to allow more airflow to a return duct.

Short of draining the tank, anyone have any suggestions on how to move it? I suspect you all will tell me I'm nuts and that I need to drain it to move it. I doubt I can use little jacks and then try to move it (I'd be worried about cracking the tank).

 

[brandon429]

the reason to drain it and move it, rip clean it, is because that's a better biological condition than the waste + included in the sand. we'd fix that, then move the reef, and it works better plus its two inches further back.

you dont just drain and refill, that can upwell nutrients and cause problems. you rip clean, and put it back, if you value the animals. of course you can move it partially drained but thats not good structurally, or biologically, it's just easier than all the cleaning work.

most people elect to skip the rip clean work, thinking that's safer to skip than to run

I watch those threads, and collect crashes from time to time as well. some good dinos jobs came about from moving tanks without cleaning correctly. mostly it works ok: nothing biological happens, but it happens often enough I scoop up the examples of loss, and put them on page one of my sand rinse thread as warnings to heed.

 

[exnisstech]

Carpet or wood/ laminate? Drain about a 3rd out either way. Carpet have a helper and lift each end one at a time and put cardboard underneath then slide it, lift and remove cardboard. Wood or laminate you can repeat with the cardboard if you're worried about scratching the floor and repeat the procedure. If it were me and it's not carpet I would just drain some water so it doesn't slop outside and lift a little and slide it one end at a time.

EDIT: I guess I could have just said slide it don't lift and been done since we're only talking about a few inches. I've slid 75g tanks on stands all over the room.

 

[cobraz]

I have done this before and it is as simple as it sounds with no loss or effect to tank.
Get a bunch of buckets and have everything needed...by your side along with some water as if your doing a water change.
Drain the tank down to just enough water for your biggest fish to swim around...or net him and put him in one of the buckets you drained the water from....key is drain water don't siphon sand..just remove water.

slide the tank into new position..it will move as long as stand is somewhat sturdy...one corner at a time...dont try to go straight forward .. angle side to side and nudge it in place.

Refill pointing water at a rock or overflow you get alittle silt..nothing that will not clear up in an hour...replace all the tank water except the change out water you would do a normal water change..add that new water..put back any fish you netted or caught...one and done.

Key is have everything you need in place and in less than 30 minutes from start to finish your done..will not loss stock or corals.

Make sure you unplug all devices..especially your heaters and lights.

 

[Jamie814]

40 gallons is only about 350 lbs depending on the type of stand and floor finish it's on 2 guys could easily lift enough and slide it 2 inches?

 

[PharmrJohn]

40 gallons is only about 350 lbs depending on the type of stand and floor finish it's on 2 guys could easily lift enough and slide it 2 inches?

Sounds like a lot of weight to me. But I'm 61 and not a young man anymore. But even young men can do damage to their backs. And that can be an issue for decades to come. One only has one back. Be VERY careful with it. I made a similar move (me and one other guy) with a 300lb piece of furniture 30 years ago. Tweeked my right arm. That pain lasted 20 years. LOL, I remember when the pain went away. I was SO happy. It was a long haul.

 

[Idech]

With my 75 gallons I emptied all of it except 4-6 inches and left everything inside the tank. Then I moved it and refilled it.

 

[Reefer Brent]

I drained about 15 of my 40 gallons and easily slid it away from my wall. Tank is on a wobbly mdf pedestal stand and on a tile floor.

Make sure it's level in it's new home.

 

[Reefer911]

Much like has already been stated, I’d drain as much as I can but I’d use those furniture sliders if on carpet. But if you have help and drain a lot of water, just might be able to lift/slide it, if it’s not on carpet.

 

[andrewey]

I've done this many times. It's gone without issues for these volumes. Just have towels handy and more Rubbermaid containers or 5 gallon buckets then you think you need. Never had any issues and the tank was none the wiser. Just double check all cords/dosing lines, etc before the move.