Any tips on shutting down / draining a tank

[PoggiPJ]

I'm downsizing from a 220 to a new 180, and need to drain the water, remove sand, etc. I'm visualizing a really nasty, smelly mess, reaching in and manually scooping out wet sand. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to make this job just a little bit easier?

[epleeds]

drain the water into a 33 gallon trash can on wheels and then pump it back into the new 180. then with the sand, a shop vac would work great.

 

and yes, it will be smelly.

[PoggiPJ]

drain the water into a 33 gallon trash can on wheels and then pump it back into the new 180. then with the sand, a shop vac would work great.

 

and yes, it will be smelly.

 

Neat idea about saving the water, thanks - but the 220 is in the basement, and the 180 is upstairs and already filled. Won't the sand just jam up the filter on the shop vac?

[epleeds]

if you have a wet/dry shop vac, when you use the wet setting, you change the filter to a sponge filter, it will get a little nasty, but all you need to do is hose it off.

 

are you transferring the livestock from the 220 to the 180 or is that already in? just thinking that if you used the water it would make it easier for the acclimation to the new tank.

 

You could also go to lowes and get some tubing to attach to a powerhead and pump the water out of the tank, either out your sliding glass door or thru a window to the outside. 220 gallons is a lot of water.

[CaptainRon]

My Dad just moved his 120 from one house to another. We just scooped out the sand into 5 gallon bukets and washed out the sand. I've never done it any other way but I just imagine doing anything else being more clean up than just plain old scooping.

 

 

[scott711]

+1 on the shop vac. Just remove the fine particle filter and you are golden!

[quazi]

I would run a hose from the tank to the toilet and start a suction. That takes care of the water.

 

 

Once drained, take the sand out using a plastic dust pan, and scoop the sand up with the dust pan and dump in in buckets. You need to clean the sane anyway, and the buckets are the place. I use the big 25 (?) gallon buckets from Walmart. They are wide and easy to work with. They also have rope handles and they are cheap. I think my the time you vacuum out sand, and clean the sand and the vac, you are better off the way I describe. JMHO.

 

 

What are you doing with the sand? Is it going in the 180?

[Origami]

Be careful about how big a container you put all that sand in. At 12 pounds or so per gallon, a 25 gallon bucket of sand will tip the scales at 300 pounds. It's going to weigh more if it's wet.

[quazi]

Be careful about how big a container you put all that sand in. At 12 pounds or so per gallon, a 25 gallon bucket of sand will tip the scales at 300 pounds. It's going to weigh more if it's wet.

 

Tom, good point. My unstated thought was a few pounds at a time, then into the tank.

[Mountaineer]

The last time I did this I used a NEW dog "pooper scooper" shovel. It was bent at a 90 degree angle from the handle making it easy to reach into a deep tank and scoop out the sand. I saved the shop vac for just the little water and sand that I couldn't siphon or scoop out.

[PoggiPJ]

Thank you guys,

I appreciate the feedback.

 

epleeds, yeah, livestock is already transferred. Thought about pumping it outside, but thought about what the salt would do to the grass. I think I'm going to go with Quazi's idea of siphoning into the (nearby) toilet, into my empty salt buckets (Origami's point) and incorporate Mountaineer's idea about the scooper shovel. Then I'll use the wet vac for the last bits.

 

Quazi, no, the sand is available if someone wants it. My 220 was full of Majanos so I don't want to chance transferring them to a new tank. Plenty of life in that sand, if someone with a FOWLR can use it.

 

I love it when a plan comes together :-)

Edited February 20, 2011 by PoggiPJ