Dont know how to go about doing this.

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

Ok, so i cheated and i know im getting a new tank stand for xmas. Now my question is how i am going to move my 55 gallon from its current position,(On a old wooden decorative box), to the new stand. Now i figure im going to have to take almost all the water out...And im planning on saving it in tubs. Is this ok? This way i wont have to completley recycle my tank. Now for my fish can i keep them in the tubs until i move the tank? Am i going to have to take all my decorations out of the tank? by lifting the tank with one person on each side ok? Would it buckle under the weight and break? I bought this tank myself and would realllllly be mad if it broke so i want to make sure i do this right. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks

-Dave

 

[ioNightShade]

If you want to do it completely right, you'll have to empty it out completely. Decorations, plants, etc. Fish in buckets/tubs/whatever along with the water. Gravel/sand, too.

I've moved my tank before. Left 6" of water, decorations, gravel, and plants when I moved it. It is a 46 gallon tank. Was much heavier, but I had 3 others helping me. We moved it about 25 feet and nothing bad happened.

Can it be done without emptying it completely? Sure. But each item that remains in there carries a small amount of risk with it.

Your call,

JT

 

[Leslie]

First of all congratulations on the new stand.

Saving some of the water in tubs is a good idea. You will want to keep your filter media, as well as your decorations, wet. Drain the aquarium down to the point that only the gravel stays wet. As for your fish I would put them in a bucket so you only have to net them once. Two of you should have no trouble moving the tank. This is how we did it with the 125 and it went very smoothly.

 

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

Alright thank you very much leslie and JT. I appreciate the comments. So from this i figure i will take everything out but the gravel and leave the water so the gravel stays wet. Ill put the decorations and the filter media in the buckets with the water from the tank. Since i am lifting the tank straight up moving out the old stand and putting a new one under it, i figure ill need another person to move the stands. Good thing my brothers home from college . By taking my plants out....will it mess up the root structure growing in the gravel? Will the plants survive with only there roots in the water for maybe....an hour? Ehhhhh...is it worth taking them out?

-Dave

 

[Leslie]

The plants will be fine just make sure when you put them back in you treat them as if you were putting them in the tank right after getting them. (ie: cutting the roots back and taking off all the dead/dying leaves)

 

[jflowers]

I maybe really wrong in this, please say if I am. If you are only moving it a few feet in the same room, leave the fish in and only remove 75% of the water, dont worry about saving the water as this has little or no effect on your filter as long as you dechlorinate the new water (and the whole process takes 30 mins-1 hour), the bacteria will survive as long as its damp, for a short time.

I have moved a tank three miles with this method and had no losses (I Have had no losses, not saying you wont, it must be stressful on the fish, but then so is netting and putting in bags). Of course this only works if your tank is four foot or less, any bigger and you will need extra hands.

Jon

 

[mwm]

okay my 55g uses a fluval 204 and the hose popped off SOAKING my carpet and my mom wasnt to happy so i had to move the tank and dry the carpet, this is how i moved the tank.
Okay me and a buddy drained all the water out and i put my fish in a cooler. Then we left all decor and gravel in and lifted it outside and out it on the grass. It was really heavy but this way i didnt have to redecor and i wouldnt lose and bacteria. After i was done we picked it up and carried it inside and back onto the stand it went. This is okay as long as you have someone with you who u can trust and you know can lift it . Good luck

 

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

ok thanks for the replies mwm, jon, and leslie. Im thinking i will just leave the plants in there. I think that my rock structures might fall though when i drain the water so i think i will have to take out the....~30 pounds of rocks. Thanks so much for the speedy replies!

-Dave

 

[lady_tanksalot]

the stress on the fish isn't all you need to worry about, its the stress on the tank.

the more you decide to leave in the more stress it puts on the joints and seals.
your running the risk of something breaking, do you want to risk it just to save some time emptying the tank.

it could go fine, but it could also go horribly wrong, my ex decided to move a tank one easter sunday, he didn't empty it fully and when he moved it the seals split and the whole thing fell apart. try buying a 5ft tank on an easter sunday, not an easy task.

your call

 

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

good call lady_tanksalot...ill be sure to remove as much as i can before i attempt to move it....maybe even put a 2x8 down the middle to distribute the fore of us lifting...so its not just on the 2 sides. Thanks for the reply.

-Dave

 

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

Well i got the stand, built it, and got the tank on it and all reset up. And its only 1:26. WOO HOO! Thanks so much all that helped this be an easy 2 person job. Merry Christmas

-Dave

 

[Leslie]

Glad everything went well.

Happy Holidays to you.