cynthia November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 I had a pipe burst last Thursday in my basement (not from fish tank). We had ServiceMaster come out and found out our entire carpet in the basement and partial of the drywall needs replaced. I currently have a 220 gallon reef set up. UGH. The company has stated that the tank will need to drained, moved and all livestock and live rock be relocated while carpet is removed under the tank, renovations to walls and new carpet is replaced. Does anyone know of a company who does this. I have reached out to ReefeScape and received a quote but I have a feeling my insurance company is going to need more than one quote. I'm so distraught over this. My tank has been up for 8 years and most of my fish have never been through this stress. Any advice of some companies would be appreciated so I can get this information over to the insurance company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob A November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 At my work we have a set of these things (the manual ones) : http://www.fsindustries.com/more_info/hydraulic_and_manual_furniture_movers/hydraulic_and_manual_furniture_movers.shtml I have used them to move large pieces of furniture and have wondered about the feasibility of moving a fish tank. If you drained it down as low as you could you might be able to jack it up and then roll it out of the way. The prices on this website are high so I would shop around. I pulled it up on this site for reference since it shows them in action with the boxes. They don't show the straps in use. Once you get the jacks in position you wrap a ratcheting strap thing around the item you are lifting to keep the bottom of the jack snug against whatever you are lifting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 PM Zygote2k as the company he works for has done lots of tank moves and I've seen him in action. They could likely give you a quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgate November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 You could do it without moving the tank. You can have them cut around the tank and leave that section be. If you are planning on staying awhile it isn't really a big deal to do this. Just have them leave enough spare carpet to fill in the hole should you ever decide to move the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 At my work we have a set of these things (the manual ones) : http://www.fsindustries.com/more_info/hydraulic_and_manual_furniture_movers/hydraulic_and_manual_furniture_movers.shtml I have used them to move large pieces of furniture and have wondered about the feasibility of moving a fish tank. If you drained it down as low as you could you might be able to jack it up and then roll it out of the way. The prices on this website are high so I would shop around. I pulled it up on this site for reference since it shows them in action with the boxes. They don't show the straps in use. Once you get the jacks in position you wrap a ratcheting strap thing around the item you are lifting to keep the bottom of the jack snug against whatever you are lifting. A 220 would be tricky but this is a good idea. It should be movable with a few inches of water. You might take some of the upper rock out, and depending on how much sand, try to vacuum out some/most of the sand with the water. I'd ask Rob/zygote2k for a quote too, he is very good at this. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 You could do it without moving the tank. You can have them cut around the tank and leave that section be. If you are planning on staying awhile it isn't really a big deal to do this. Just have them leave enough spare carpet to fill in the hole should you ever decide to move the tank.True, as long as it gets fully dried out. Otherwise you'll have mold and rotten wood under the stand. I assume there is a plywood bottom in the stand that the sump rests on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob A November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 If you leave it in place you could lift it enough to stick some 2×4s under it, keeping it elevated until it dries out. Might require draining each time you lift it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 In my experience, the carpet in these circumstances never really dries out, expecially if it is on a wood floor, and it smells bad for a long time while the jute backing of the carpet rots. You're in the basement so probably have a concrete floor, which is better. But my two cents is also to jack up the tank, move it, then put it back over plain concrete and keep extra carpet whenever you need to. But in 5 years when you move the tank, the carpet will be of two different colors. The extra carpet will look new and will not match the worn color of your 5 year old carpet. This will also leave unsightly loose ends to the carpet in the meantime. You could pick up 15 square feet of floor tile from home depot and make a tile pad for the tank. That way when you change things in a few years you have the option of putting in a new carpet piece, or leaving the tile pad for something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynthia November 10, 2015 Author Share November 10, 2015 Because of liability issues, I can not touch the tank during this process. The insurance company wants professionals that do this type of work to submit quotes and have one of them complete what needs to be done. I really just need names of some companies that do this professionally and know what the insurance company will want and need during this process. So far I have found Reef eScape and Quantum Reefs willing to complete quotes and do the work. Does anyone know of any other companies who does this and can recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 Because of liability issues, I can not touch the tank during this process. The insurance company wants professionals that do this type of work to submit quotes and have one of them complete what needs to be done. I really just need names of some companies that do this professionally and know what the insurance company will want and need during this process. So far I have found Reef eScape and Quantum Reefs willing to complete quotes and do the work. Does anyone know of any other companies who does this and can recommend? Good, get it done right and let insurance cover it. As mentioned, PM Zygote (Rob,) he will move quick if he can do it. Reef eScape and Quantum are also wonderful. You coulalways reach out to ERC, I'm not sure if this is something they would do, but maybe they would put in a bid. Did your insurance company give you a certain number of RFP's you need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 Rob's day job is called Tanks for Your Business unless he has moved on. They often work commercial but can give you a quote, I'm sure, if you need more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynthia November 10, 2015 Author Share November 10, 2015 Insurance company stated that would at least like three quotes. They understand that this is a unique business and if they can't get those that is fine but want at least one more. I have PM'd Zygote and just waiting to hear from him. Thanks for the information. This has been sooo frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutz123 November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 Having been through the basement flood renovation process twice, and currently on our third time, I would highly recommend you make sure the insurance company understands that the tank inhabitants need to be fully protected during renovation, or preferably in another room/floor closed off from the construction. The fumes from paint, dust from drywall, etc is a big concern and it would be a waste for them to temporarily move it. Provide written documentation of the risks of contamination in the event that there are problems. Photograph and document every item in the tank as well before anyone touches it. For what it's worth, this most recent time we have been looking at replacing our basement flooring with wood plank vinyl tile that snaps into place. We checked it out at Home Depot and it was surprisingly nice. If it ever gets wet, you can unsnap it, dry everything out, and snap it back into place. If you ever have this kind of issue again it would mean not having to move the tank if it's not in an area that got wet. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It's horrible to be going through. Try to stay positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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