How to move 1000lb glass tank alone - one man job

[karimwassef]

So I was on a deadline and needed to move my built in tank over the weekend. It's a monster 380gal 96" x 34" x 27" and weighs about 1000lbs. It was a bad weekend to ask for help - everyone was busy.

But I had to do it and I got some good advice from a local reef friend who's moved monster tanks before. I wish this was posted somewhere, so this thread is to document my experience in the hopes of helping someone else who's looking to do this.

I strongly suggest you have at least 2 people, but it IS POSSIBLE with one.

The basic idea is to use heavy duty jacks to raise the tank from the stand and then use PVC pipe to roll it. I rolled it only a secondary stand with wheels (that I had to build over the weekend), but you could roll it onto a stack of wood and slowly remove the wood stacks to lower it.

with pictures:

[karimwassef]

Here's the basic concept:

[karimwassef]

1500lb steel caster wheels:


I built a pallet out of 2x4s and a 3/4" plywood sheet...

On top of that is the top of the stand built with 2x6s and a 3/4" sheet

and on top of that is the base of the stand built with just 2x4s.

[karimwassef]

I used 3" deck screws for all of it.

I used plywood sides to make sure everything was right angled and built the 2x4 interior frame

[karimwassef]

and assembled the top





then came the heavy duty wheel legs. These were 2x6s and 2x4s horizontally and then two plates for the top and bottom from 2x6s.

[karimwassef]

finally the wheels

[karimwassef]

standing on wheels..



and then the heavy duty 3ton jacks



I cut out aligned jack access slots in both the pallet and the stand so the jacks can access the tank directly.

[karimwassef]

done...

[karimwassef]

I removed the plywood sides and front since they're basically decorative at this point. They can be put back on for additional support, but not needed for the tank move.

and strapped the new stand to the old stand.

[karimwassef]

added retaining studs to the back to stop the tank from rolling off. Given the height difference, I wish I had used 2x6s

[karimwassef]

the hardest part was cutting the old stand holes to create access for the jacks to lift the tank. I burned up my dremel hand saw but it got the job done (mostly)

[karimwassef]

and then made T frames for the jacks to push up against the tank bottom







I might have been able to get by with just one, but I felt two jacks was safer

[karimwassef]

and then, very slowly.. liftoff



I'll skip over the painful part of removing the styrofoam but basically I raised it enough to tear it up and remove it.. so I can add rollers



Once it got rolling, I needed to raise it more to add rollers on the new stand

and then needed to jack it up on the new stand to remove the rolling PVC

[karimwassef]

the wheels had brakes and the brakes were obviously on for the duration of the move.

took the brakes down and rolled it away

[karimwassef]

and clean up

[karimwassef]

this was a mildly painful surge event and strained-strengthened the marital bonds

But all good. I hope this helps anyone who was struggling with something like this. Good luck.

BE SAFE

[liverock]

You are a talented BRAVE man...good job!

[Webmanny]

Very nice share. You obviously have better luck than me. That had all the signs of disaster for me. Good job!

[karimwassef]

My wife did alternate between cursing and praying...

[Misled]

Piece of cake!!!

[fijisrfr]

Wow great job, I’m starting to think maybe men did build the pyramids.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Scrubber_steve]

well done Karim. Good carpentry skills too.

[karimwassef]

I am an Egyptian American

Thanks guys

[hottuna]

why did u need to move it stat ?

[karimwassef]

We took the house off the market while we made some renovations. One of the fixes was removing the tank and closing up the wall. With holiday schedules for the workers, we were jammed up to get everything done so we could relist asap. Also, we didn't want construction work during the holidays even if we could get someone to work then.

Basically - wife said so