I want to move my tank just one foot...

[Origami]

Here's a possible quick test you can do: Let's say that you can get 240 pounds into a chair. If you get four 4" sliders, one under each chair leg, the PSI will equal 5 PSI. If a couple of guys can move this easily enough across the carpet, then four guys should be able to move the tank and stand (no sand) across the carpet using 8 sliders. Again, just thinking like an engineer about how you can model this before actually going through the pains of breaking down the tank.

[AlanM]

This might not be socially acceptable in the house, but what if you tore out a foot of carpet in front of the tank and left the rug just under the tank?  You could then move the tank by sliding the carpet with it, sew a border around the rug, and be done with it.  You wouldn't have carpet behind the tank, but that might be good anyway.  Is there hardwood or something nice under the carpet?

[ctenophore]

You might be able to use a sheet of thin plastic like pvc or hdpe, 1/8" or 3/16" thick. A 6' x 2' sheet (assuming your 220 is 6' long) could be slipped under the front edge when the tank is mostly drained. Then it will act as a big ski when you push the tank forward. Both plastics are nearly frictionless in this situation. I have used this approach before but not on those exact dimensions.

 

sent from phone. please excuse brevity.

 

 

[dante411x]

This might not be socially acceptable in the house, but what if you tore out a foot of carpet in front of the tank and left the rug just under the tank? You could then move the tank by sliding the carpet with it, sew a border around the rug, and be done with it. You wouldn't have carpet behind the tank, but that might be good anyway. Is there hardwood or something nice under the carpet?

Unfortunately, I'm renting the place and I can't destroy anything.

 

You might be able to use a sheet of thin plastic like pvc or hdpe, 1/8" or 3/16" thick. A 6' x 2' sheet (assuming your 220 is 6' long) could be slipped under the front edge when the tank is mostly drained. Then it will act as a big ski when you push the tank forward. Both plastics are nearly frictionless in this situation. I have used this approach before but not on those exact dimensions.

 

sent from phone. please excuse brevity.

This. Hmm. Could be the easiest way to go. The only thing would be, how to slide it under the stand without lifting up the entire thing at once. There's certainly no tilting it, since the back of the stand is basically sitting against the wall.

 

 

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[ctenophore]

Unfortunately, I'm renting the place and I can't destroy anything.

 

 

This. Hmm. Could be the easiest way to go. The only thing would be, how to slide it under the stand without lifting up the entire thing at once. There's certainly no tilting it, since the back of the stand is basically sitting against the wall.

 

 

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Oh yeah, that would make it tough.  I assumed you'd be able to tilt it to get at least 1/2" clearance in front.

[lutz123]

Leave it. Invest in a duct deflector and mirrors (like those mirrors dentists use except huge.) In all honesty, there's got to be an easier solution unless you have a major problem. What about cutting out drywall between the studs for a recessed area?

[dante411x]

Leave it. Invest in a duct deflector and mirrors (like those mirrors dentists use except huge.) In all honesty, there's got to be an easier solution unless you have a major problem. What about cutting out drywall between the studs for a recessed area?

Honestly I think I'm going to just leave it. Mirrors for looking in overflows and that's that. There isn't any huge must move tank or die issue. It would make me happy and make some things easier, that's all.

 

 

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[dante411x]

There was a very interesting idea thrown at me by Duffygeos. What if I drain most of water/remove rocks and leave sand. And build another stand exactly the same as the first one in front of the tank. Then just slide the tank over onto the new stand, disassemble the old one, redo plumbing and voila!

That'll give me 2.2 feet of space behind the tank.

 

 

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[dave w]

I think Alan had the best idea.  Empty most of the water and use a steel digging bar for a lever and a 2x4 for a fulcrum, then you can move it an inch at a time all by yourself.  If there's anything on the far side of the room to hook a rope or strap around, you can buy or rent a "come along" winch very cheaply.  

 

Just make sure your wife doesn't see your texts about winches for rent and make sure you don't spell it "wenches".  If you don't have something to wrap the strap around, you could even put a bolt or hook into the stud wall opposite to pull against.   

[zygote2k]

sliders are the absolute easiest way to move things. I do this on a regular basis. I have used 8) 3' lengths of 3/4" PVC to move an empty 180 tank, hood, stand across a hardwood floor from front door to final spot. sliders were easier but they will scratch a hard surface. Also have used a roll-up sled to move a 240g acrylic tank up a hill across the grass.

[dante411x]

I think Alan had the best idea. Empty most of the water and use a steel digging bar for a lever and a 2x4 for a fulcrum, then you can move it an inch at a time all by yourself. If there's anything on the far side of the room to hook a rope or strap around, you can buy or rent a "come along" winch very cheaply.

 

Just make sure your wife doesn't see your texts about winches for rent and make sure you don't spell it "wenches". If you don't have something to wrap the strap around, you could even put a bolt or hook into the stud wall opposite to pull against.

Rofl. Just wait till I start posting here looking for a wench I can borrow for an evening.

 

The only thing that worries me is that if I use a winch that it would pull the carpet with the tank. That would not be a good thing. I definitely don't have something to secure it against either. And who knows what kind of structure this townhouse has. I'll probably just crash the whole thing on top of me if I try that.

 

 

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[dante411x]

So this plan is back in action. Moving the tank further now. About a whopping 4 feet out and 2 feet to the side. Still easy once it's empty. Here's the plan:

 

Going to make about 100 gallons of fresh saltwater and keep it with a heater/power head ready.

 

I got one 150g Rubbermaid tub that's drilled at the bottom/top for a closed loop. I'm going to take some eggcrate and put it on the bottom and then put all the rock pieces on there that have corals growing etc. then drain tank water into there. At this point, all fish and inverts are going into that bin and I'll have some kind of a light over it. Also a heater and powerhead to keep it all alive.

Drain the rest of the water into 32g trash cans.

Question step: siphon out all the sand into another 32g trash can. Add water to make sure it doesn't die.

OR: drain all the water out of the tank. Make a hole in the sand so I can drain the water all the way to the bottom glass leaving only wet sand in the tank. There's probably 160lb of sand in there. Then after moving the tank, add some water to the sand to keep it alive. It will be just wet and not submerged for about 30 min this way.

 

That's for emptying the tank. Next I'll disconnect all equipment, drains, etc. empty out the 55g sump into another trash can, empty out the refugium part all the way down to the sand and pull the sump out. Once that's out, have 6 people pick up the tank and move it to the new location. Then move the new 75g sump in place, redo the plumbing. and while the PVC cement is drying, redo the refugium, replace the sand in the display (if necessary) and then add water/rock/fish.

 

About the sand removal: I don't know if it qualifies as a DSB with 160 or so lb of sand in the display tank. I'm not sure exactly how much it is, it may be as high as 200lb.

However I would like to remove it because then I could add egg crate to the bottom of the tank and place the rock in there before adding the sand back.

 

 

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[dante411x]

I say 6 guys to move the tank itself because:

Let's say the tank is 200lb. Stand is another 50lb. Without sand I know I could move the whole thing over a few feet with only one more person. With sand, it'll add another 200lb to it. With 4 guys (or strong gals!) that's spreading the weight at about 110lb per person. That's heavy, but not very if you think of it as a leg lift of 3 inches. With 6 people, that's about 75lb per person and it would be easy

 

 

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[dante411x]

Well. The move happened and it went extremely well. In fact it was almost too easy to move the tank once all of the rock and most of the water was out. 

I took the sump out from the bottom and we moved it right with the stand, just picking up one side and moving it up a foot and then the other. All in all, the move itself only took about 5 minutes. Now the preparation, moving the fish and rock to tubs, getting the tubs and putting everything back... That was about a week's worth of work. 

 

Thanks for all the great advice everyone! Now the main thing I've learned... Plan ahead. I'm certain I'll never put a tank somewhere where it seems convenient at the time without thinking out all the potential problems beforehand.

[dave w]

Congrats on the easy move.