90 Gallon needs to move

RyanHodge · 02/01/2011, 12:58 PM

Hi, my name is Ryan as my username shows and I am also new to the forums. I am not sure if this is where I should post this but I hope so. I have a 90 Gallon system that needs to be moved temporarily for about one week then moved back where it was. I have about 100lbs of live rock in it and would like to keep it live. Any ideas on making it as painless as possible? I added a pic of it.

christpuncher · 02/01/2011, 01:00 PM

Good observation on "painless as possible". Of all the moves I've done, none have been painless.

So the tank and everything in it needs to move? How far does it need to move? If its to another corner of the same room, that's a piece of cake.

RyanHodge · 02/01/2011, 01:06 PM

It needs to move into that bright room on the right side of the pic for about maybe a week or two while the floors are being sanded. Then once they are finished I wanted to move it back to where its at in that pic.

Ryan927 · 02/01/2011, 01:11 PM

I just moved my 90 across the living room and back bc the plumber needed to hack the drywall behind my tank. It sucked but each leg only took about 3 hours.

I took all my inverts out and separated them in a 20g with some LR and LS during the whole process (a month) so I wouldn't have to worry about crushing anybody.

Also if you are moving across the room and have carpet I highly recommend getting those big sheets of plastic from home depot.

RyanHodge · 02/01/2011, 01:17 PM

Its hardwood and its going to a room with tile on the floor. Also another thing I should note is that to get to that room there is a small 1.5 inch drop because the room used to be a patio. I know what I can do with my fish and inverts I'm just trying to figure out what to do with all the live rock. Should i just empty the water into a 20 gal move the fish and some of the LR over then empty the rest of the tank and move it into the other room then fill it back up again? Then repeat it again when i want to move it back?

cilyjr · 02/01/2011, 01:41 PM

save as much as your current water as you can. and dont stir the sand too much and you will be fine. also make up as much new salt water as allows just in case you have a mishap

DallasSVT · 02/01/2011, 02:13 PM

+1

Have as much SALT and RO water as you can ready. When I move my tank I usually scrub down the rocks a little in some old salt water. Good time for some rock cleaning!!

Dallas

dmastracchio · 02/01/2011, 02:27 PM

If you have some rubber maid containers around, I suggest getting a few of those. I used a shallow one to place the livestock in with a power head and heater along with some rock and used all tank water. Mark the level of the water so you know how much fresh water to add for evaporation. I then used a garbage can I had picked up to store for the rest of the rock and water. One with wheels will help a lot, or get a little dolly to place the can on.

Once the tank was pretty much empty except sand and maybe a little water, me and a friend were able to muscle it to the ground on some more dollies. wheeled the tank into the other room.

Drained the sump and left it in the stand, made sure everything was cleaned up, picked the stand up on to the dollies and wheeled that away as well.

Like everyone said, have a new batch of SW ready to add, don't disturb the sand much. I did not feed my lifestock while I did this change, it was about a 4 day event to fix some wood floor that warped from a flood. Also I changed my sand bed out cause I didn't like the older one.

hope this helps.

The Donald · 02/01/2011, 03:02 PM

Do the above but use those little round plastic furniture moving things instead of dollies. I was able to move my 75 gallon with stand and an inch or so of water by pushing with one hand. You can buy an 8 pack of them at HD for $8. You will use them for other moving chores around the house for sure.

Ryan927 · 02/01/2011, 03:09 PM

When I did it I just moved the tank, refilled it, and piled the LR in there, moved it back and re-aquascaped.

dmastracchio · 02/01/2011, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Donald

Do the above but use those little round plastic furniture moving things instead of dollies. I was able to move my 75 gallon with stand and an inch or so of water by pushing with one hand. You can buy an 8 pack of them at HD for $8. You will use them for other moving chores around the house for sure.

I guess my dolly, I meant the square fixture with 4 wheels on it. I guess I call them dollies. I got mine at harbor freight for really cheap...

like so.

02/01/2011, 01:41 PM	#6
cilyjr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 1,683	save as much as your current water as you can. and dont stir the sand too much and you will be fine. also make up as much new salt water as allows just in case you have a mishap __________________ Cls Current Tank Info: 180 inwall, 75 sump, 20lfrag, 3x lumen max elite w/250w radium 20k, recirc modded asm g-3, aqua controller apex,2x rw-20, 350lbs LR

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Reeftanker's 90 gallon reef	reeftanker3295	Reef Discussion	6	01/22/2011 10:51 PM
Is a 90 gallon enough for 2 Sunburst Anthias?	strike2867	Reef Discussion	4	07/03/2010 06:57 PM
90 gallon setup... need some help	00accordvtec	New to the Hobby	6	06/10/2010 06:20 PM
My new 90 gallon set up	tcp316	Do It Yourself	9	03/17/2010 09:53 AM
What is a good size sump for a 90 gallon tank?	n72	New to the Hobby	15	02/08/2010 12:16 PM

02/01/2011, 01:00 PM	#2
christpuncher Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 65	Good observation on "painless as possible". Of all the moves I've done, none have been painless. So the tank and everything in it needs to move? How far does it need to move? If its to another corner of the same room, that's a piece of cake.

02/01/2011, 01:06 PM	#3
RyanHodge Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Posts: 4	It needs to move into that bright room on the right side of the pic for about maybe a week or two while the floors are being sanded. Then once they are finished I wanted to move it back to where its at in that pic.

02/01/2011, 01:11 PM	#4
Ryan927 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 55	I just moved my 90 across the living room and back bc the plumber needed to hack the drywall behind my tank. It sucked but each leg only took about 3 hours. I took all my inverts out and separated them in a 20g with some LR and LS during the whole process (a month) so I wouldn't have to worry about crushing anybody. Also if you are moving across the room and have carpet I highly recommend getting those big sheets of plastic from home depot.

02/01/2011, 01:17 PM	#5
RyanHodge Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Posts: 4	Its hardwood and its going to a room with tile on the floor. Also another thing I should note is that to get to that room there is a small 1.5 inch drop because the room used to be a patio. I know what I can do with my fish and inverts I'm just trying to figure out what to do with all the live rock. Should i just empty the water into a 20 gal move the fish and some of the LR over then empty the rest of the tank and move it into the other room then fill it back up again? Then repeat it again when i want to move it back?

02/01/2011, 02:13 PM	#7
DallasSVT Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 180	+1 Have as much SALT and RO water as you can ready. When I move my tank I usually scrub down the rocks a little in some old salt water. Good time for some rock cleaning!! Dallas

02/01/2011, 02:27 PM	#8
dmastracchio Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Edwards AFB, CA Posts: 190	If you have some rubber maid containers around, I suggest getting a few of those. I used a shallow one to place the livestock in with a power head and heater along with some rock and used all tank water. Mark the level of the water so you know how much fresh water to add for evaporation. I then used a garbage can I had picked up to store for the rest of the rock and water. One with wheels will help a lot, or get a little dolly to place the can on. Once the tank was pretty much empty except sand and maybe a little water, me and a friend were able to muscle it to the ground on some more dollies. wheeled the tank into the other room. Drained the sump and left it in the stand, made sure everything was cleaned up, picked the stand up on to the dollies and wheeled that away as well. Like everyone said, have a new batch of SW ready to add, don't disturb the sand much. I did not feed my lifestock while I did this change, it was about a 4 day event to fix some wood floor that warped from a flood. Also I changed my sand bed out cause I didn't like the older one. hope this helps.

02/01/2011, 03:02 PM	#9
The Donald Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 99	Do the above but use those little round plastic furniture moving things instead of dollies. I was able to move my 75 gallon with stand and an inch or so of water by pushing with one hand. You can buy an 8 pack of them at HD for $8. You will use them for other moving chores around the house for sure.

02/01/2011, 03:09 PM	#10
Ryan927 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 55	When I did it I just moved the tank, refilled it, and piled the LR in there, moved it back and re-aquascaped.