# Move tank 1/2" with water in it?



## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

I recently tried to add an AC110 to my 75 gallon tank and I realized that the side I want to put it on is JUST too close to the wall. It fits, barely, but not with the lid on snugly. The filter, when full, pushes against the wall a bit it's so tight. I won't go into why, but I can't add it to he other side. So I'm wondering about moving it without draining the entire tank and having to take out all the fish. They're all young fish, so I could probably get by with leaving just an inch or two of water on top of all the sand. I'd only need to slide 1 side of the stand about a half inch away from the wall. It's on hardwood so it should slide pretty easily.

Thoughts? Is it worth it? We'll be moving within 2 years so I wouldn't have to live with it forever.


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## Dan L (Oct 20, 2003)

*** done what youve said before without any problems, I actually left a few gallons of water in mine.. just move it slow and careful


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I have done this with a Perfecto 75G tank on a Perfecto stand on carpeting with no problems. I did lower the water level in the tank so it was only 1/3 full of water and used a 2x4 to pry the bottom of the stand away from the baseboard.

If you are in doubt about the sturdiness of your stand, use this method with some care to avoid collapsing the stand.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

Very possible to do, but as pointed out it will be a great test for your stands ability to resist racking forces.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

Yeah.. i'd be taking a long look at the stand..


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

You are only limited by your own imagination. Where there's a will there's a way. 
I put those easy furniture slides under each corner of my cabinet. I can (with care) move my aquarium 
across the room if I desire.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Done! Thanks everyone! I drained the tank like 75% of the way and just shifted it a little, no problem at all (i say that with a serious knock on wood).


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I'm glad the slight move went well, thanks for the update.


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

Mclaren - Glad it worked!
Now you all have me thinking. I'm getting ready to replace a 75 with a 125 and have to move the 75 out of the way first. This means catching all the fish and setting up a temporary tank or tubs. Pain in the neck. Certainly would be easier to leave a few inches of water and the fish in the tank, slide it a few feet away and then fill it back up while I get the new tank going. I have hardwood floors and a wood stand. Wonder if those furniture slides would work? I could empty the tank most of the way and lift the ends of stand up with a crowbar and put the slides under. 
Maybe it's just late and I'm tired. Bad idea? Anyone done this?


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

See above.


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

See above? I did read the posts and saw someone move the tank 1/2" from the wall and someone else pry the tank away from the baseboard with a crowbar. Someone else said he could move the tank across the room "if he desired".
My question was has anyone moved a 75 gal 1/4 or 1/3 full (fish included) on a wood stand across a hardwood floor?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I don't have my tanks on hardwood floors but if I did, I would try to see how easily it would slide on hardwood floors after 75% of the water was removed. It might slide easily but could potentially scratch the floor. Any rock structures you may have stacked in the tank could also possibly shift, so keep an eye out for that.

I don't know how easily you could get the furniture slides under the stand. The way my factory stands are built, I see no way to get a pry bar under the edges of the stand. You will still have 200 -300 lbs of dead weight that you are trying to lift up to get the slides under the stand and will have to deal with some water sloshing around to get the slides underneath and then move the setup.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

mdog said:


> See above? I did read the posts and saw someone move the tank 1/2" from the wall and someone else pry the tank away from the baseboard with a crowbar. Someone else said he could move the tank across the room "if he desired".
> My question was has anyone moved a 75 gal 1/4 or 1/3 full (fish included) on a wood stand across a hardwood floor?


Yes I have. Only it was full. =D>


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## trader_sam (Mar 2, 2014)

I have literally moved my 75 when we moved from one house to another 1/4 the way full with fish and all, me and a buddy slid it off the stand real easy like and carried to an awaiting truck with blankets in the bed. Not quite what you did, stand and all, but I know they can be moved without breaking them totally down.


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

Well, good to know you all have done it - I thought it was hypothetical. Too bad I didn't put slides under the stand originally. I thought I could lift the ends with a pry bar but like like you said Deeda I dont beleive I can. I do plan on removing all rocks and wood (everything but some water and fish) first. Maybe we can lift it enough to get a pry bar under the end. Good point on the scratching of the floor. I don't think that would go over very well here! Just need to get those slides or a blanket underneath.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

So i realize your question was how to do this without breaking the tank down, but moving them all into a holding container isn't THAT hard. It's more work than i wanted to do for a 1/2" move to accommodate a filter, but I don't think it's that bad. When my 75g started leaking, this is the method i used (and you won't have the pressure of doing all this as your tank is emptying into buckets your wife and roommates are holding under the tank, lol): I got a big plastic container from walmart, biggest one they had. It was probably in the $15 or $20 range. I put tank water and a heater in the bucket and hooked my canister filter up to it. Moved the fish in, swapped out the old tank for a new one, and started moving the fish into the old tank after filling it. Definitely not as easy as just doing it without removing the fish, but not terrible. If you don't feel confident you can do it without scratching the floors, it might be something to consider. As Deeda pointed out, even a 75% emptied 75g tank is still really heavy, and it's sloshing water, which can create even more forces. Then again, the tank is meant to hold the force of 75 gallons, so maybe a sloshing 20 gallons isn't too much. I remember in college when i tried to move a half empty 10 gallon tank across the room by carrying it, it all worked out, but probably not something I'd do again, haha (although what you're doing isn't the same thing as that).


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

Alright thanks again. I think I'll get the tub and do as you describe. Probably try to lift/slide the tank anyway when its partially drained just to see. But, my past experience tells me it's going to be much heavier than it looks and then I'll just move everyone into the temporary tub for a while.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

No problemo. One thing I forgot.. I didn't actually use a heater, it was summer and my house was above 80 degrees so that wasn't an issue. Just be careful with the heater, I'm not certain it would do this, but i'd be a little worried it could burn a hole in the container if it was in contact with it. So just keeping it off the container would probably be best. Good luck! Best part is, the container is a great emergency backup, and i use it to store some fish related stuff in, now.


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

Thanks. Good point. Last time I used a plastic tub I laid the heater carefully on some big rocks I put in the tub for that reason - to keep it away from the plastic. I also had my eye on storing extra fish stuff in the tub when I'm done!


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## T_Waters (Jun 28, 2014)

I'll just add this..
We got two of those adjustable height stools (bar stools) (look like a piano players stool only cheaper about $20 each). We bought two of them for non aquarium uses. And so they were on hand when we had to move the tank to adjust the pad underneath it.

Set the height to a fraction of an inch above the top of the stand. Set the stools by the stand. Now you only have to move the corner of the tank about 4 inches and set it on the stool. Then do the other end of tank on the other stool. This allowd moving the styrofoam pad around on the stand to a more correct position and then moving the tank back onto the pad and stand.

EDIT: Advantage was we only had to lift tank a couple inches upward and maybe 5 inches sideways. At that time we moved the pad, but we could have instead moved the stand a few inches had we wanted to do that.

Oh, and now that I think of it, I was home alone at the time and the 'we' was just me alone who did it all.


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## T_Waters (Jun 28, 2014)

EDIT 2: It was a 125 gallon glass tank on a typical wooden stand.


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