Tank moving

[2pods]

Soon I'll have to move my 400ltr community tank from one side of the lounge
to the other to accomodate a sofa (which is a waste of tank space, heh ).

The tank has 6 angels, 3 dojo loaches, 3 SAE's, 4 clown loaches, 5 platies,
6 corys, 2 ancient danios..
It also has gravel, ornaments (a log and a cave, both lightweight), lots of
cabomba, java fern, and very tall vallis and hygrophillia.
Being a Juwel Rio, it has a internal filter and I've fitted a Rena XP3.

I wondered if having taken out the water, fish, and external filter ( I
would keep this going in one of the containers I'll be storing the water and
fish in), Me and the unsuspecting volunteers could move the tank with the
gravel and plants in situ ?

The tank weighs about 52kg empty.

Peter

[Mary Burns]

"2pods" > wrote in message
...
> Soon I'll have to move my 400ltr community tank from one side of the
> lounge to the other to accomodate a sofa (which is a waste of tank space,
> heh ).
>
> The tank has 6 angels, 3 dojo loaches, 3 SAE's, 4 clown loaches, 5
> platies, 6 corys, 2 ancient danios..
> It also has gravel, ornaments (a log and a cave, both lightweight), lots
> of cabomba, java fern, and very tall vallis and hygrophillia.
> Being a Juwel Rio, it has a internal filter and I've fitted a Rena XP3.
>
> I wondered if having taken out the water, fish, and external filter ( I
> would keep this going in one of the containers I'll be storing the water
> and fish in), Me and the unsuspecting volunteers could move the tank with
> the gravel and plants in situ ?
>
> The tank weighs about 52kg empty.
>
> Peter
>

If you have wooden floors (not carpet) and the juwel stand, they slide very
easily. I left 5" of water in angels tank and it was still ok. If you can
slide them across room, leave the fish in with some water, less stressful
for the clowns. Leave the ornaments so they can hide. I have moved 3 now to
get more in (spare bed has gone!!) It has been very successful, no problems
with the cycle at all. The plants will lay across top of water (I tied the
tallest ones up) and be fine as soon as water is in. The longest part of the
job is getting the water back in very slowly at first. I used a small litre
jug until it was high enough to use something bigger, not disturbing
substrate at all. Mary

[2pods]

>> I wondered if having taken out the water, fish, and external filter ( I
>> would keep this going in one of the containers I'll be storing the water
>> and fish in), Me and the unsuspecting volunteers could move the tank with
>> the gravel and plants in situ ?
>>
>> The tank weighs about 52kg empty.
>>
>> Peter
>>
>
> If you have wooden floors (not carpet) and the juwel stand, they slide
> very easily. I left 5" of water in angels tank and it was still ok. If you
> can slide them across room, leave the fish in with some water, less
> stressful for the clowns. Leave the ornaments so they can hide. I have
> moved 3 now to get more in (spare bed has gone!!) It has been very
> successful, no problems with the cycle at all. The plants will lay across
> top of water (I tied the tallest ones up) and be fine as soon as water is
> in. The longest part of the job is getting the water back in very slowly
> at first. I used a small litre jug until it was high enough to use
> something bigger, not disturbing substrate at all. Mary

Hi Mary,

Unfortunately it's carpeted, so although I have the Juwel stand, I won't be
able to slide it.

It's a pity, 'cos It would be a lot less stress both for the fish and for me
:-)
I just don't want to lift the tank and have the bottom fall out of it.

Peter

[David Zopf]

"2pods" > wrote in message
...
>
>>> I wondered if having taken out the water, fish, and external filter ( I
>>> would keep this going in one of the containers I'll be storing the water
>>> and fish in), Me and the unsuspecting volunteers could move the tank
>>> with the gravel and plants in situ ?
>>>
>>> The tank weighs about 52kg empty.
>>>
>>> Peter
>>>
>>
>> If you have wooden floors (not carpet) and the juwel stand, they slide
>> very easily. I left 5" of water in angels tank and it was still ok. If
>> you can slide them across room, leave the fish in with some water, less
>> stressful for the clowns. Leave the ornaments so they can hide. I have
>> moved 3 now to get more in (spare bed has gone!!) It has been very
>> successful, no problems with the cycle at all. The plants will lay across
>> top of water (I tied the tallest ones up) and be fine as soon as water is
>> in. The longest part of the job is getting the water back in very slowly
>> at first. I used a small litre jug until it was high enough to use
>> something bigger, not disturbing substrate at all. Mary
>
> Hi Mary,
>
> Unfortunately it's carpeted, so although I have the Juwel stand, I won't
> be able to slide it.
>
> It's a pity, 'cos It would be a lot less stress both for the fish and for
> me :-)
> I just don't want to lift the tank and have the bottom fall out of it.
>

I'd suggest the following; prep the tank as Mary suggested, and get two or
three 4-wheel moving dollies (the low to the ground type, which have
carpeted padded tops. My local U-Haul rents them for $5 each per day). Get
three of those unsuspecting friends and yourself, one to each corner, and
lift the whole thing, stand and all, about four inches (10 cm) straight up.
Have another friend slide those dollies underneath, positioning them at the
strongest support points of the stand. Then you can push the whole rig,
smooth and slow. The wheels will be large enough to roll over even plush
carpet (thats what pro movers use them for), with far less sloshing of the
contents than a lift and an eight-legged walk ;-). The stand will continue
to be the support structure for the tank bottom, so less worries there, too.

You'll want to check seams occasionally for leaks as you add the water. If
anything has been disturbed by your move efforts, you might catch and repair
it before the tank is re-populated.

Good Luck!

DaveZ
Atom Weaver

[2pods]

>> I just don't want to lift the tank and have the bottom fall out of it.
>>
>
> I'd suggest the following; prep the tank as Mary suggested, and get two or
> three 4-wheel moving dollies (the low to the ground type, which have
> carpeted padded tops. My local U-Haul rents them for $5 each per day).
> Get three of those unsuspecting friends and yourself, one to each corner,
> and lift the whole thing, stand and all, about four inches (10 cm)
> straight up. Have another friend slide those dollies underneath,
> positioning them at the strongest support points of the stand. Then you
> can push the whole rig, smooth and slow. The wheels will be large enough
> to roll over even plush carpet (thats what pro movers use them for), with
> far less sloshing of the contents than a lift and an eight-legged walk
> ;-). The stand will continue to be the support structure for the tank
> bottom, so less worries there, too.
>
> You'll want to check seams occasionally for leaks as you add the water.
> If anything has been disturbed by your move efforts, you might catch and
> repair it before the tank is re-populated.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> DaveZ
> Atom Weaver
>

I doubt there is anyone locally in the UK who would hire dollies.
Unfortunately there are no U-Hauls in the UK, but I'll try a few removal
firms.

Thanks DaveZ

[David Zopf]

"2pods" > wrote in message
...
>> I doubt there is anyone locally in the UK who would hire dollies.
> Unfortunately there are no U-Hauls in the UK, but I'll try a few removal
> firms.
>

Self-storage facilities are relatively new to the UK, (or so I hear). They
may be worth a ring, as well.

http://www.safestore.co.uk/locations___prices.htm

Regards
R. David Zopf
Atom Weaver

[2pods]

"David Zopf" > wrote in message
m...
>
> "2pods" > wrote in message
> ...
>>> I doubt there is anyone locally in the UK who would hire dollies.
>> Unfortunately there are no U-Hauls in the UK, but I'll try a few removal
>> firms.
>>
>
> Self-storage facilities are relatively new to the UK, (or so I hear).
> They may be worth a ring, as well.
>
> http://www.safestore.co.uk/locations___prices.htm
>
> Regards
> R. David Zopf
> Atom Weaver
>

Maybe something like this ?
http://www.safestore.co.uk/appliance-rollers.htm

Peter

[David Zopf]

"2pods" > wrote in message
...
>
> "David Zopf" > wrote in message
> m...
>>
>> "2pods" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>> I doubt there is anyone locally in the UK who would hire dollies.
>>> Unfortunately there are no U-Hauls in the UK, but I'll try a few removal
>>> firms.
>>>
>>
>> Self-storage facilities are relatively new to the UK, (or so I hear).
>> They may be worth a ring, as well.
>>
>> http://www.safestore.co.uk/locations___prices.htm
>>
>> Regards
>> R. David Zopf
>> Atom Weaver
>>
>
> Maybe something like this ?
> http://www.safestore.co.uk/appliance-rollers.htm
>

Looks pretty good to me. A fair-sized fridge can weigh 100 kg, or more.
If these rollers will handle that, they will probably handle your aquarium
setup, once its emptied. I'd buy them in person, if there's a branch of
this company near you. That way you can see how robust they are, and see if
you think they'll handle going over your carpet. If the wheels are small in
diameter, they might get bogged down in a thick carpet. At 8 quid a pair,
they're definitely worth a try, IMO. When you're done with them, you can
mount them to the bottom of a 60 L Rubbermaid container, and have rolling
transport for your water changes. :-)

Regards
DaveZ
Atom Weaver

[Steve]

David Zopf wrote:

>>
>>Maybe something like this ?
>>http://www.safestore.co.uk/appliance-rollers.htm
>>
>
>
> Looks pretty good to me. A fair-sized fridge can weigh 100 kg, or more.
> If these rollers will handle that, they will probably handle your aquarium
> setup, once its emptied. I'd buy them in person, if there's a branch of
> this company near you. That way you can see how robust they are, and see if
> you think they'll handle going over your carpet. If the wheels are small in
> diameter, they might get bogged down in a thick carpet. At 8 quid a pair,
> they're definitely worth a try, IMO. When you're done with them, you can
> mount them to the bottom of a 60 L Rubbermaid container, and have rolling
> transport for your water changes. :-)
>
> Regards
> DaveZ
> Atom Weaver
>
>

We had appliance rollers under our kitchen cooking stove for some years.
They had small wheels and rolled only in a straight line. Platform(s)
with swivel-casters at one end may be better for the aquarium moving
purpose.

Because the cooking stove was raised by the rollers a few cm, people
would bang cast iron pans into the stove. That resulted in black areas
where the stove's enamel had been knocked off. We no longer use the rollers.

Steve