Another moving tank question.

[hjbella]

I am moving my tank to a new house and have all questions answered but one, the sand. I know that this mostly a matter of opnion but i wonder in i could move my tank with the sand in it. I have a 45 gallon (48x18x12 high). It is not heavy at all when it is empty so i was thinking that i could remove all water, rock, and livestock and then just pick up the tank and move it with the sand in it. I didnt know if this would be too much pressure on the bottom glass cause it to break. I might even be able to just lift the tank and stand together which would be ideal but not sure. Sand depth is under 2 inches. Any other ideas?

Thanks

[mikecc67548]

Make tank empty. You do not want any stresses put on your seams. Dont twist the tank while moving it either. What ever stress you happen to apply may not manifest itself right away. It will happen when it is least convenient. JMHO.

[hjbella]

okay, so it looks like ill be cleaning the crap out of my sand, awesome. thanks for your help.

[mikecc67548]

I wouldn't be afraid to reuse my sand....but, I think the general rule of thumb is just to toss the old sand and get new. Which "they" say will cause a mini cycle, that of which you prob got coming anyway. But if I did use new, I would introduce a few hand fulls of the old stuff. Moving a tank is no fun at all. 7 Ps.

[hjbella]

Gotcha, but if i was able to leave say, the sand and just enough water to cover it, and still be able to pick the stand and tank up all together then i could leave it right. I dont see where any stress would flex on the tank. Or would the ride over be enough stress on it by itself?

[mikecc67548]

Anything inside the tank will cause unusual stresses to your seams. Not worth the risk IMO. Not for a couple of buckets of sand. I mean how much of a volume of sand you got? More than a bucket or 2? I wouldnt want to be kept up nights worrying about my tank because I moved it with sand in it. But basically what I am trying to say in so many words is "move the tank empty". Too bad you didn't add a poll to this post, we could have voted. Keep us informed of what you end up doing. Pics are always a big help.

[hjbella]

ok ill try and add some later today.

[hjbella]

i would say that i have about one full 5 gallon bucket, cant remember how many bags it took. How would you clean it, use old sw from the move and use a pump and hose and blast it?

[mikecc67548]

Clean what? The sand? How dirty is it?

[Sanren]

I had to move my 150 twice in the past year. Was moving across state from a house into an apt. The tank was first moved to my dads office, it stayed there for 11 months until i was able to buy another house then the tank was moved from the office to the house. I never replaced the sand, but i did use a colander to collect the sand and had a pump i the tank that i would use to rinse the sand before i dumped it into one of the buckets. some, maybe many, will tell you that this would be the death of your tank, you will kill everything, yadda yadda yadda, but so far i haven't had a problem. as every tank is different, i can't say it would work for you, but i also can't say it wouldn't. i only have about an inch to an inch and a half of sand, display purpose, and gives shrimp, snails, and my blue damsels places to dig and make a home.

[_shorty_]

I personally would replace the sand bed or try to transport the tank with the sand in it (if it's not unbearably heavy). The later would in theory reduce the strength of your cycle the most. You might be able to transport it safely, by cutting a thick piece of plywood wider than the tank and cut out handles in it (or create handles via some sort of 2x4 frame under it) and transport the tank on that board - I think you'd be okay, and that it won't put more pressure on seams than the tank under pressure full of water.

I think the theory there is not that you'd see issues right away, but later (3-5 ish years down the road) depending on many factors.

The sandbed acts as a sponge that many people unknowingly use to keep a system healthy. Once that sponge fills up, that's when tanks have been known to crash (according to what I've read - never in experience). Of course each system is different and what works for some - doesn't for others, and you get into the whole debates on DSBs vs non and all that...

All that, unclearly said: I'd either transport with the sand in it, or replace the sand. Rinsing the sand well might be a third option, but I personally think that'd be a lot of work.

[_shorty_]

I had to move my 150 twice in the past year. Was moving across state from a house into an apt. The tank was first moved to my dads office, it stayed there for 11 months until i was able to buy another house then the tank was moved from the office to the house. I never replaced the sand, but i did use a colander to collect the sand and had a pump i the tank that i would use to rinse the sand before i dumped it into one of the buckets. some, maybe many, will tell you that this would be the death of your tank, you will kill everything, yadda yadda yadda, but so far i haven't had a problem. as every tank is different, i can't say it would work for you, but i also can't say it wouldn't. i only have about an inch to an inch and a half of sand, display purpose, and gives shrimp, snails, and my blue damsels places to dig and make a home.

oh... I just realized the last post before yours was a month ago. this move has probably already happened....

[Hbohi]

Im getting ready to move and someone told me to either get new sand or to transfer the sand u have now into a 5 gal bucket and then use your water to keep it wet so it doesn't go threw another cycle when u add it to the tank again

[wbrinker]

+1 on new sand

[FlyPenFly]

I'm in the Same boat with a new stand install to fit a larger sump.

It would be a damn shame to lose my sand since I have so much small little copepod critters that live in the sand. They're thriving in my 75g. If I scoop out some sand, I am guaranteed to see some small specks moving about in my hand.

[enzo0000]

I just moved again, twice in 2 years...I just scooped the sand into a rubber bin (18 gallon walmart bin) and put some of my tank water in with it....worked out fine again......The tank was cloudy the first night, but everything is fine afterwards. No die off of any kind, my tank has LPS, SPS, zoa's etc.... Just watch the protein skimmer, I had to turn it way down until everything settled, otherwise I had skimmate overflowing.

I'm sporting a 50g with a 40g sump/fug

Cheers

[Fsarmien]

Check your levels too, ammonia can rise up again.

[reefgoddess808]

I only have experience moving a fresh water tank since I have not had to move my salt yet. Its 35 gal and I removed livestock and decor and most of the water then loaded it into a truck and moved it. If you dont have far to go and you have good help I would say it should be fine. I would make sure you keep just enough water to cover the sand though. As Im sure was mentioned if it dries out or is exposed to air for too long you can have die off of your microflora and fauna and bacteria leading to a re-cycle situation. Im sorry I didnt read all the replies so Im making some assumptions here, if you are moving livestock into a qt when you move I would say let the tank sit for a week or two and add a bottle of biospira or something similar until you know its stable again. Im looking into buying a house soon so I will have the joy of moving two tanks when the time comes!
Good luck to you!

[ca1ore]

I have certainly moved smaller tanks with a modest depth of sand left in them without any problems. The key, for me at least, is to make sure that however one is transporting the tank, it is on a flat and level surface. Wouldn't try it on anything bigger than a 75 tho.