Tank move - I need advice quickly

[pellikan]

Hi fellow reefers,

I need to move my tank, this weekend. My current tank stand is infested with wood boring beetles and the support framework can not be trusted. Half a ton on bug chewed wood, not good! So, I need to move my tank quickly. I'm really disappointed because the current stand took me three months to build and is really nice and the new stand took 3 days and is ... sturdy.

So, here's my plan to move the tank. Please comment if you see any gross errors or things I've missed. I've never done this before. This list is as much a way of me organizing my thoughts as it is to get advice.

Today:

• Remove sump
• put heaters into main tank
• leave top open & power heads active for O2 exchange
• remove as much plumbing/hardware as I can get to

Tomorrow:

• Drain ~80% of tank water
• Slide stand and tank forward enough to get the new stand in place
• Remove plumbing & lights I couldn't reach with stand close to the wall
• Slide tank off from old stand onto new stand
• Reinstall plumbing/lights
• refill tank and re-install sump etc

I've rubbed the top of the new stand with paraffin to hopefully help the tank slide better. It's just me, my wife and a friend who are doing the actual tank move so I need all the advantage I can get.

oldstand.jpg

Old stand

newstand.jpg

New stand

[davocean]

Well first off wood boring beetles would take a very long time to do anything seriously structural, don't think you need to rush this(I'm a carpenter/contractor BTW and have many years dealing w/ termites and wood pests)

I would not try to move a tank w/ any water, rock, sand, I would empty the tank before trying to move it.
Just place everything in brutes or something, then move.

Your existing stand looks cool, but I definitely would rather have that new stand that has vertical support directly under tank perimeter, so this may be a good move for that reason alone, but again, do not rush this.

[joeymo]

Do it all at once but take your time and prep properly. Everything at once should cause a lot less stress on the livestock. Since it’s not going to a different house or anything, it shouldn’t be that bad. +1 on emptying the tank completely, you don’t want to cause stress on the glass. Ask to borrow some stuff. I have tons of buckets and 5 gal containers to help. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. There are some amazing people on here that are willing to help anyway they can

[pellikan]

Yeah, I've waited and tried to remedy the bug infestation to no avail. Now there's parts of the wood I can pull apart with a finger. It's time.

I've got lots of buckets, a 30 gallon empty aquarium I can use, a 20 gallon brute can and I can put a couple rocks into the sump after I get it out. Hopefully that'll do.

Thanks for the advice, I'll drain the tank.

[davocean]

Yeah, I've waited and tried to remedy the bug infestation to no avail. Now there's parts of the wood I can pull apart with a finger. It's time.

I've got lots of buckets, a 30 gallon empty aquarium I can use, a 20 gallon brute can and I can put a couple rocks into the sump after I get it out. Hopefully that'll do.

Thanks for the advice, I'll drain the tank.

Too bad I'm stuck in LA quarantining at the moment or I'd loan brutes, have a number of them, maybe someone else will offer.
I always keep brutes on hand for both water changes and holding vessels for just such reason.
Makes it pretty easy to siphon, and then just pump water back in w/out much hassle.
I've dropped livestock in w/ a heater and PH and kept them there for days many times doing tank moves, makes nice to not have to rush.

[dizzyjay]

I got plenty of brutes waiting for duty- pm for logistics

[pellikan]

PM sent. But, maybe it's time for me to get a big brute anyway.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[davocean]

PM sent. But, maybe it's time for me to get a big brute anyway.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Ever since my acrylic 180g began cracking at the seam I made it a general rule to keep enough brutes to hold how much water I don't want on my living room floor!
But it's not a bad idea to borrow what you need for now, and it's easier to move around if they are only half to 3/4 full