how to move a 150g tank..3 feet

[nychris351]

so..long story short ...i need to move my tank 3 feet to the left...its a 150 reef with about 200 lbs of rock and corals..theres a wall about 15 inches to the right side of the tank and it needs to move to the left about 3 feet..any ideas???
its on a hard wood floor... at this point i could care less about scratching it lol

[CountryBoy72]

What kind of stand is it sitting on ? pictures of the unit that you are trying to move might help too. That's a lot of weight to be trying to slide, even if it is only 3 feet.

[big cats]

I have an idea...but you would need some steel cable, exotic animal licenses, nerves of steel, zoo trainers, and either 2 elephants or one rhinoceros. :)
Oh, and can't forget a couple towels so you don't scratch the stand with them metal cables.

I tried to move my 150 once..you HAVE to take the water out...I can't think of any way physically possible to move it with everything you have in it..Those things weigh around 300lbs when they are empty.. add the 200lbs of rock, and you can't forget about the weight the water adds..then add the weight of how many gallons of water you are using in your sump (8.4lbs per gallon)....plus the weight of any sand you have in there, fish, corals..and yes even those add some weight..not much compared to the rest of what you have but they do add weight..

I will do the math for you.

Empty tank weight: 338lbs

Weight of 150g of water: 1250lbs

weight of rock: 200lbs

weight of stand: ~50lbs on the light side

weight of sump full of water: 83lbs (assuming you are running a sump with 10g of water in it)

and we will say for good measure about 20lbs of fish, coral, and inverts

So, we have a grand total of 1,941lbs that you are trying to move 36in
(most websites say that a full 150g tank weighs 1800lbs I don't know where they get that from because water weighs 8.33lbs per gallon and 150 x 8.33 is 1250)

without risking breaking anything, I would say you aren't gonna be able to move it while it's full..I tried to wedge a 4x4 between mine and the wall to move it about 1in away from the wall so I could get behind it...the 4x4 started to crack, and I did some damage to the stand and wall!

If you can do it with everthing in there, please let me know how! I need to move mine again...lol

[twelvejewelz]

I agree pics would help and it would help to know if you have a sump under the tank in the stand? I would take out half the water into a container and slide it if you have a stable setup but thats just me. It would definitely help to see it though and have more details.

[kikimers13]

I don't have any suggestions except to agree with big_cats that you'll probably end up needing to remove the water; I've had problems moving my 29gal with a 10gal sump if I don't remove water so I can only imagine the task of a big tank. I agree with CountryBoy72 as well though, if you post pictures there may be a reef magician/genius lurking somewhere in the threads that knows how to move it easier.

[ut_vols13]

so..long story short ...i need to move my tank 3 feet to the left...its a 150 reef with about 200 lbs of rock and corals..theres a wall about 15 inches to the right side of the tank and it needs to move to the left about 3 feet..any ideas???
its on a hard wood floor... at this point i could care less about scratching it lol



http://www.ezmoves.com/ :)

[nychris351]

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/NYCHRIS351/IMG_0614.jpg

[nychris351]

theres a pic of the tank..it needs to go to the left about 2.5 feet.its on a standard stand with 3 doors that open

[nychris351]

funny i actually got a set of those ezmoves things as a gift for christmas...i dunno how i would get it under the stand at this point

[smoq]

With all that weight moving it without draining it is asking for trouble IMO. You would have to ligt it and by doing so all weight would be pressed on one panel. Even if nothing happens now, it still may sprung a leak later. I'm not trying to scare you, but it's serious stuff. And if that water gets on the hardwood floor you can say goodbye to it.

[ut_vols13]

I just watched the infomercial and they had some type of lifting system and moved a car; do not necessarily believe it but it may be worth a try.

[nychris351]

i really like the way the rock is setup now so i guess i could get a huge rubbermaid drum and remove the corals and 75% of the water...do you think that would be sufficient..i have people to help push or pull lol

[seapug]

The only safe and practical way to do it is to empty the tank of all the rock and 90% of the water. Buy some rubbermaid tubs and trashcans and set aside a full day to pull it off. If you plan it right and give yourself enough time it could end up being a fun project.

[symon_say]

I don't think you have to take out all the rocks, but most of the water, you just have to really quick with moving and filling the tank again, take out as many life stock as you can.

Depends on the bottom part of your stand this should be easier or harder, when i was setting my tank i set all the rocks with tank dry and after a few gallons i realized that the tank was in the working position and not in its final position, lucky for me i have put about 10 gallons only my tank is 125g custom, with a 50g sump, my stand is steel but i have plastic guards by the end of each vertical support, so for me was easier to move it by myself about a feet, i stain all the floor :( but the tank gets to is position.

But is you have solid wood against the floor you're gonna have a hard tie breaking the initial inertia.

[aleonn]

I agree with an above suggestion. Borrow or buy a few Brute containers to store the water and some rocks. With the help of one other friend, the short move shouldn't be too bad for you, or stressful for the livestock.

[Meshmez]

along with what others are saying, i think your best bet is to get a really good pump so you can quickly remove the water into bins, and then quickly refill the tank once its moved.

[bdroptjj]

I agree with an above suggestion. Borrow or buy a few Brute containers to store the water and some rocks. With the help of one other friend, the short move shouldn't be too bad for you, or stressful for the livestock.

+1. Without nearly emptying the tank, it might actually be easier to move the house 2.5 feet to the right...

[alcoolaid]

Empty the tank, take out some rock, get a few strong friends

[Tornader]

Should be relatively easy over the hardwood floor. Drain half the water, get some beer and friends over. Push the stand! :-) I moved my 56 Glass by myself a couple of weeks ago - that was an adventure. Didn't even drain the water.

Try pushing slow at the bottom of the stand - that's where all the weight is.

[sleepydoc]

do not try to move it without removing the water! Even if you get one of those 'e-z-mover' devices, the stand and tank are designed to be level and supported on all sides. if you start trying to lift one corner with too much weight in the tank, you risk breaking a seal or cracking the tank. :mad: Sucks to have to take all the water and possibly some of the rock out of such a beautiful tank, but that's the safe route.

[7 hills reefer]

I would take as much water out as possible so fish can still be submerged move the tank and refill. A short amount of time will not hurt your coral. Try to get out as much water out of the sump too.

[moltenchicken]

If you could can jack up the stand at all, you can maybe slide a few of long cylinders under it and roll it to the left. Then jack it up, remove them and put it back down. I am not sure how safe this is but its a thought.

Something like this.
http://www.greylabyrinth.com/img/puzzles/pyramid.jpg

[nychris351]

yea i guess if the Egyptians were able to move an Obelisk i guess i should be ok...lol

i have an iwaki 40rlt pump so im gonna remove the high laying corals..drain the water out which should take a couple minutes then do a quick push...luckily my sump is not under the stand its adjacent in a closet to the right in the pic...(you can see the skimmer container poking out) then move the tank and fill it back up..

[nychris351]

i guess ill set up a camera and record the move lol post it on youtube

[biecacka]

rock too as you don't want any to tumble into a glass pane........
corey
:(

[Saltydrip]

What I would do is...
1. Remove as much weight as posable.
2. Add a 6' long 2x6 at the basebord of the wall to the right.
3. Stick a jack in there and start jacking.

Then again I have a stone house.

[Humuhumunuku]

I have an idea...but you would need some steel cable, exotic animal licenses, nerves of steel, zoo trainers, and either 2 elephants or one rhinoceros. :)
Oh, and can't forget a couple towels so you don't scratch the stand with them metal cables.

I tried to move my 150 once..you HAVE to take the water out...I can't think of any way physically possible to move it with everything you have in it..Those things weigh around 300lbs when they are empty.. add the 200lbs of rock, and you can't forget about the weight the water adds..then add the weight of how many gallons of water you are using in your sump (8.4lbs per gallon)....plus the weight of any sand you have in there, fish, corals..and yes even those add some weight..not much compared to the rest of what you have but they do add weight..

I will do the math for you.

Empty tank weight: 338lbs

Weight of 150g of water: 1250lbs

weight of rock: 200lbs

weight of stand: ~50lbs on the light side

weight of sump full of water: 83lbs (assuming you are running a sump with 10g of water in it)

and we will say for good measure about 20lbs of fish, coral, and inverts

So, we have a grand total of 1,941lbs that you are trying to move 36in
(most websites say that a full 150g tank weighs 1800lbs I don't know where they get that from because water weighs 8.33lbs per gallon and 150 x 8.33 is 1250)

without risking breaking anything, I would say you aren't gonna be able to move it while it's full..I tried to wedge a 4x4 between mine and the wall to move it about 1in away from the wall so I could get behind it...the 4x4 started to crack, and I did some damage to the stand and wall!

If you can do it with everthing in there, please let me know how! I need to move mine again...lol


The reason you are getting different numbers is because you are forgetting to subtract the weight of the water displaced by the rock, sand, etc. Just estimate about 9-10lbs per gallon after all is said and done plus the tank... 1500+300=1800. But when all is said and done, a 100 pounds one way or another doesn't matter, you are dealing with nearly a ton of weight.