Stacey Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 I recently moved my 90g tank to a different floor in my house. First time relocating a tank, the move went well. I had done some reading online, and several articles mentioned the importance of completely emptying a large tank. I did that, in the process discovering my biggest net was too small! Anyway, the articles also mentioned relocating a smaller tank with some water, substrate, and maybe fish in them! Has anyone ever done this?? How much water? What about maximum size tank you've moved like this? Because, suddenly I find myself needing to relocate three tanks -two tens and a 26 gallon. (Before this weekend!!) Any advice from the collective voice of experience would be great! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 I've moved 10s almost full - they only weigh about 100lbs each. You'll probably want to take most of the water out of the 26, tho. I've moved up to a 33 w/o removing fish, just almost all of the water has to be taken out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 I have moved a 30 gallon with 4" of water without issue, as well as a half full 10 gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 I've moved up to a 40 gallon although the 40 I had to remove almost all of the water except for a few inches. 10's and 20's I move by myself about half full. Raymond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydock Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Agreed with all of the responses above. Leave a couple inches of water, and leave the fish in, unless they are a 'tall' fish like an angel. I would be tempted to bag those separately so they can sit upright... When you get to your new home, just add dechlorinated water and you will have a very productive weekend. :thumbs: You moved your home and did 90% water changes on all your tanks! That deserves a sit down with a cold, frosty beverage! :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Smaller tanks are a breeze , the 26 can be a two person job if you keep water in it. When my help and I do it, we set up a temporary stand to place the tank on , move it's usual stand, setup the old stand in new spot and then move the tank. We also have hard flooring, one method that's easier on the back is to place the tank on a large thick towel and pull/push the tank to the next location. BTW as for the attachments, keep the filter full of water and place it into a 5 gal bucket, the submersible heater can just be unplugged and left under water but tape or clamp the plug end to the edge of the tank, you don't need that dragging and underfoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happeboy Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 buckets... I just empty small tanks into buckets move and refill. From my experience it is the easiest way and largely it doesn't even upset the tank. Ive tried moving 30g filled but in the end its way easier to just empty them my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey Posted August 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Thanks for all the great advice guys! And thanks especially for the reminder to secure the cords in such a way that I won't trip over them! (Knowing my luck, I trip over a cord, fall down, and manage to drop the tank on myself....) The tanks are only being shifted a few feet to the right.... and reason I can't just empty them down to a few inches of water, then just 'He-Man' them over a few feet? (stand and tank together??) The fish in all these tanks are small, the biggest probably being a betta. -ham- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Thanks for all the great advice guys! And thanks especially for the reminder to secure the cords in such a way that I won't trip over them! (Knowing my luck, I trip over a cord, fall down, and manage to drop the tank on myself....)The tanks are only being shifted a few feet to the right.... and reason I can't just empty them down to a few inches of water, then just 'He-Man' them over a few feet? (stand and tank together??) The fish in all these tanks are small, the biggest probably being a betta. -ham- As long as you can actually move them then the amount of water in the tank doesn't matter too too much other than there being enough for the fish so they don't get bashed around. If you don't have hardwood floor and it's on carpet then you can always get some carpet sliders and easily move them that way. I thought i saw some at Home Depot. they look like round disks and have a flat plastic part with foam on the inside of what looks almost like a mini frizbee. Good luck Lisa L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stribbelldk Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 I helped my father move a 90 gal. by having 2- 45 gal drums and empting the water 5 gallons at a time to the truck. We left about 2 inches of water in and all the gravel and fish. You definately want two strong people to do this as four don't fit through doorway to good. The place we took from had no stairs , the new place had stairs. That was a little more difficult because you want the tank level as possible. I , myself have 2 -15 gallons on a stand on carpet. I moved those so I could get a nice piece of wood under them. I just waited until it was waterchange time and took 25% of the water out and me and the wife lifted it out of the way. Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey Posted August 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 I helped my father move a 90 gal. by having 2- 45 gal drums and empting the water 5 gallons at a time to the truck. We left about 2 inches of water in and all the gravel and fish. You definately want two strong people to do this as four don't fit through doorway to good. The place we took from had no stairs , the new place had stairs. That was a little more difficult because you want the tank level as possible.I , myself have 2 -15 gallons on a stand on carpet. I moved those so I could get a nice piece of wood under them. I just waited until it was waterchange time and took 25% of the water out and me and the wife lifted it out of the way. Derek Wow, you moved a 90 with water and fish in it? That would scare me. When I moved my 90 downstairs, I took everything out, even down to the sand. Those 2 fish were just a joy to catch, my pleco almost jumped out of the net onto the floor.... (note to self -buy a bigger net- pleco's don't bend well!) and the oscar just about jumped outta the bucket! :beer: Anyway these 3 tanks should be much easier, they are all staying in the same room, just being shifted a few feet. I probably would just empty them, but I'm under severe time constraints, my house guest arrives tomorrow morning -this needs to be done tonight! So I should probably get to work..... I hope I have enough :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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