# Moving a 55 gallon tank



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

I've almost finished a new tank stand for my 55 gallon tank. This one is built like a brick sh**house, so there should be no surprises.

Any advice for how to move it? It is going to be a 3 stage move at least, but it won't go far. Basically move the tank, move the stand away, put the new stand in its place, put the tank back. 

It's a typical glass tank with frame and rim etc. Can I leave any water in it at all? I have a million cherry shrimp and assasin snails, although lord knows they'd be easier to catch than the danio rerio. Will 2 people be enough to move it?

Do I need to hold the tank from underneath when lifting or dropping in place? My new stand has trim that sticks up around the base of the tank, so if we were holding the tank from underneath when lowering it into place, our fingers would get in the way. Consequently I have not nailed the trim in place yet - I thought I would do that after the tank goes in, although it would be easier to locate the tank properly on the stand if the trim was there already to guide it in. If we got a firm grip on the rim of the tank could we lower it in that way? Or maybe even if we got hold of some glaziers' suction cups.

Anyone with any experience of this scenario?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

you need to lift the tank from underneath. You might be able to have a inch of water or so in the tank, but I'd recomend having atleast one person to help you.

Twisting and lifing from the glass is what makes tanks leak.


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## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Oh, there's no way I could do it on my own! I was wondering whether 2 would be enough.


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## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

I hope your move went well!


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## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Thanks, but it hasn't happened yet! I have to get the new stand home this week.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

can you slide the stand on the floor?

If so, leave the trim off the back of the stand, and use that space to set the tank down on the stand, then slide the tank forward. 

Then slide stand and tank back as close to the wall as you want. 
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Pre-drill the trim and the stand, (even if you are using nails) but leave the trim off until you know that both the tank and the stand are plumb, level and square. When it is time to add the trim having the holes already there will create less vibration when you are installing the trim. 
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Empty the tank, hold the fish, plants, and everything else in whatever you have on hand. Make sure the fish are covered, and in the dark. 
A little stress coat is a good thing for this sort of project. 
You will highly likely end up doing something like a 50% water change. If you have to prepare your water ahead of time, do so. 
Do not add back to the tank the water the fish were in. Fish under stress create more ammonia than normal, and many species add a stress hormone to the water. You do not want to be adding this back to the tank.


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## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Diana K said:


> can you slide the stand on the floor?


No, there's carpet on the floor. I might be able to slide the old stand out of the way because it has castors, but I don't know if I want to. The castors are the reason I'm changing the stand and they haven't moved in a year and a half.


Diana K said:


> If so, leave the trim off the back of the stand, and use that space to set the tank down on the stand, then slide the tank forward.
> 
> Then slide stand and tank back as close to the wall as you want.


 Maybe we can get it close, then lift tank and stand a foot or so back after putting the back trim in place. I have nailed and glued the short side trim pieces in place because I envisage one person standing behind each end, holding the tank from underneath by the sides as they lower it in place.


Diana K said:


> ____________________________________________________
> 
> Pre-drill the trim and the stand, (even if you are using nails) but leave the trim off until you know that both the tank and the stand are plumb, level and square. When it is time to add the trim having the holes already there will create less vibration when you are installing the trim.


 Yes, already I pre-drilled them, because it was oak and I didn't want to split the wood either, regardless of when I nailed them in place. I hadn't thought about it being less traumatic for the fish too.

What has just occurred to me is not just getting the tank in place but removing it at some future date. If the bottom is surrounded by nailed-in-place trim it will be hard to get underneath the tank to lift it. What I need to do is make the front and back trim pieces removable. The back would be difficult to unscrew against the wall, but I could put some metal brackets in place that the thing could just slide down into and nobody would see them. The front though - I need to disguise screw heads or dowels or something.


Diana K said:


> __________________________________________________
> 
> Empty the tank, hold the fish, plants, and everything else in whatever you have on hand. Make sure the fish are covered, and in the dark.
> A little stress coat is a good thing for this sort of project.
> ...


 Thanks for that info. I hadn't thought of Stress Coat, or the fact that the water would have higher ammonia levels. Ugh, I'm not looking forward to catching the fish! Those Zebra Danios are really fast.


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## redman88 (Jan 6, 2009)

last time i moved my 55 i did it with about 2 inches of water in it, and two people.


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## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Well we did it. I tried for an hour to get the fish out, but with all the plants I have there were too many places to hide. So we left maybe 3 inches of water in the tank and moved it that way. It was bloody heavy! No leaks.

I'm glad that's over!


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