How hard is to move a tank?

[psilentchild]

I have a buddy of man who is selling a 180 gallon setup for about $700.His tank is top notch it is very under price.Plus he is giving me all his fish, corals and inverts.I have a 72 gallon reef tank.I was thinking about getting this 95 gallon wave tank for about $900 and putting some Discus Fish.I really dont fell like moving his tank to my house then moving my fish and corals from my tank to his tank then changing my 72 gallon to a Discus Tank.I was telling one of my co worker that it will be hard to do he told me it would be easy but this is coming from a guy that most of his fish has died fresh water and salt water.I had a plan where I was going to get 2 more tank a 300 gallon and then a 635 gallon so a 180 gallon is not even part of my plan of tanks.So is it hard or easy?

[billdogg]

as long as you get all your ducks lined up beforehand, and plan on a loooooong day - it's not too bad - just have more water ready than you think you'll need and several friends, and no beer till it's done, you'll be fine

[fatdaddy]

Originally posted by psilentchild
I have a buddy of man who is selling a 180 gallon setup for about $700.

Keep in mind that tank is about 350 lbs empty, so you're going to need 4 strong guys to move it around. I paid a moving company to move mine as I couldn't line up the people.

You just need to get some garbage cans for the sand, rocks, etc.

[alextheromanian]

wow well you need to do some beforehand planning.

i just replaced stands and sump on my 29 and i have to say im about beat...and istill have to put water and rocks back in as it doesnt have any living things in it besides bacteria and a few copepods.

that tank will be very heavy so my suggestion is to ask him if you could just empty it first....

buy a few big tubs fill them with water for the lr and then the others take the water from the tank and use it to keep the fish and corals.

in any case...i hope you have a few friends ready to help you and loads of beer like billdog said

[Lemeshianos]

i just moved my empty 115gallon display tank from the basement to the living room, 2 floors. I did this with a friend and it was a nightmare going up the stairs.
I was lucky it was packed well and we were able to roll it at the corners of the stairs.
If you live at the ground floor things are going to be a lot easier. There are some topics here from guys that have succesfully moved their tank. It will take at least a day to finish everything. You really need to plan ahead and think a solution for any problems that might come along.

[cdness]

sounds like a blast! Just plan for the worst case scenario and you'll be fine. Get a few Brutes and fill them with RO/DI salt mix. Use rubbermaids to move the rock, fish, and corals so nothing dies off.

A moving company would be a good idea if you can't get the people together. Also with a moving company you'd have some sort of move insurance if anyuthing goes wrong with the tank during transport or carry. A tank that size would not be fun to get upstairs so I hope it is staying on ground level...lol.

[psilentchild]

Both my house and his house are 1st floor.My LFS offers a moving service for $75 an hour.So should I just pay them to move it or would that be to much money?

[ricks]

The move would be the easy part.

What are you planning on keeping in the 180, 300, and 635 gallon tanks?

Moving up from a 72 gallon the these large tanks, is quite a step...

Happy Reefing

[psilentchild]

The 300 will be angels,tangs,triggers.The 635 maybe an aggesive tank lions etc, etc or bigger reef tank.How many hrs should it take if I get professionally done?

[ricks]

How far is the move, and how many people will be working.

My last upgrade was a fully stocked 280 to a 500. I had all the extra rock and water in vats in my garage. The change over with new plumbing and set up of the 500 took 3-days and around 60+ hours. At one point 8 people moved the tank. through the whole process I had 4 guys working.Once you pull the plug the clock starts ticking. You must have everything ready, one missed 90 or bulkhead will shut the move down.

If I had to guess I would say 2 people on the payroll at around 20 hours. So that works out to around 1,500.00.

That figure is nothing compared to what you will spend on (3) large systems. On that 635 alone as a full blown reef you looking at around 635.00 per month just in maintenance..

Happy Reefing

[psilentchild]

Yeah just like I thought too much trouble for me I'm just going to get the 95 gallon

[SharkBait_Mtl]

I just moved my 90 gal DT and 60 gal ref/sump last friday from my basement apt to my basement in my new house. I had 3 friends help (2 of which work at my LFS) ... we started at 8AM and finished at 11:30PM.

I had 3 roughneck rubbermaid trashbins with premixed water from the day before.

Today I have to pass 2 new 20A electrical lines for the aquarium because I had found out over the weekend that the basement is wired on the same circuit as the kitchen.

hope this gives you an idea...

[Sk8r]

Take extra pains and beforehand instruction to prevent torque when negotiating stairs, re a long tank.

Is it glass or acrylic? Big weight difference. my 54 corner bow weighs 83 lbs dry-empty.

Take the sand out and dry the tank out, and if you are re-using the sand, wash it in the discard tank water and lift it out in gloved hands, to be sure you wash as much crud out as possible. If the sand looks iffy, use new sand when you set up.

White vinegar will remove lime deposits.

eggcrate on bottom glass, then live rock, THEN sand, then saltwater.

HTH.

[inachu]

180 for $700 for a used tank.
Sounds pretty steep for me.

[Zann]

im sure hes talking about the whole set up

[jimbo78]

Originally posted by inachu
180 for $700 for a used tank.
Sounds pretty steep for me.

not really if it is a full set up. LR alone would cost that at a LFS throw in skimmer and lights, sump and pump, fish and corals and it seems like a good deal to me

[fatdaddy]

Originally posted by psilentchild
Yeah just like I thought too much trouble for me I'm just going to get the 95 gallon

Nah, get the 180 if you have room for it. It's only incrementally more difficult, but any tank move takes a bit of planning. You just need to plan because it's not a 2-person job like a 95 is. However, once the tank is in place, it's basically the same job except for extra rock and extra water.

The previous owner of my first tank (110g) helped me move and setup the tank. He had everything worked out as he moved between a few apartments. He only had 50 gallons of water, so we had to scramble to mix up new water. (Not cool.) But, everything survived.

I'd keep an aerator handy in case you go across more then 1 day. All my friends will work for beer.

[griss]

Here's what I did several years ago when we moved to a new house. I had a fully stocked 200 gallon Oceanic in my basement at the old house and was able to get access to the new house prior to moving day.

1. Purchased a 300 gallon stock tank and placed in the basement of the new house.
2. Set up my RO/DI at the new house and began filling it.
3. Once filled, I added salt, heaters and powerheads.
4. Monitored and adjusted the water quality in the stock tank to match (as best I could) the existing tank.

On moving day, it was a simple job to bag up the fish, corals and inverts, put the live rock into tubs and move them all to the stock tank. Then, I moved the equipment (skimmer, CA reactor, lights, etc) to the stock tank.

[psilentchild]

Why would I spend $635 in maintenance thats a $1 a gallon.Which means I should be spending $72 a month now which I'm not.It is the whole setup stock tank.He has about 2 grand worth of LR alone.I have about $500 in my tank and his like 3 times more than I do.He also has 3 55 gallon trash can full of base rock that he said I could have as much base rock as I want.

[ricks]

For a reef system you can and will spend about a dollar per gallon a month....

Some people have successfully kept large reef on a budget.. A lot depends on your ideas and outcome. Are my figures a little high, maybe. But I've been around long enough to see people come and go, mostly with large systems. You were also talking about (2) other large systems. Running a 635 gallon is a lot different than a 72 gallon.

You can put water into a tank add salt and call it good. Low lighting, low flow, all support manual, will all save money. But the time you will spend, will take it's toll on you at some point.

My system runs about 1.00 per month.. The electricity alone runs about 350.00, add salt for water changes at 60.00. Around 50.00-60.00 for food, additives another 30.00-40.00. Than you can start prorating thing that wear out and have to be replaced. My lighting alone cost 790.00 a year. That works out to 65.00 a month. Just those figures alone are 565.00, this doesn't including adding any fish or coral.

You if your goal is a softy system with low flow and dim lighting figure 50 cents a month. But for a system like some of TOTM, you will be paying a little more.

I not trying to scare you off on a large reef, they can be very rewarding and beautiful. At the same time they can be very trying and expensive...

Happy Reefing

[psilentchild]

But the same thing you do for a 72 gallon reef tank should be the same thing you do for a 635 gallon but more of which means I should be paying $72 a month which I'm not.My electric bill now is abot $120 month now across the state line in Tn they are paying like $300 or $400.My water bill $20 bucks.A 10 % water change ever 2 weeks is 126 gallon a month.I dont see that raising my water bill that much.I can get a 150 gallon of salt for $25 I dont know how much of that I would use in a month.With more lighting and more protein skimmer and etc etc.I dont think that would raise my electric bill by 500. I just dont see how you came up with $635

[ricks]

My figures are at the upper end of costs. I also included a rough breakdown of expensives. I'm sure the actual cost is much higher, it just hurts to think about the amount spent...

You can spend as little every month as you like. I'll bet if you kept account of the cost on your 72, you would find at least 35.00-50.00 a month to operate.

Maybe some other large owners could chime in with monthly costs. And pictures of successful reefs really help.

Happy Reefing

[psilentchild]

Nope maybe $5 and thats for food.Supplments I bought 2 months ago and still using them salt the same.The only thing I buy once a month is food