Ever move a full aquarium?

jvswan · Jun 15, 2020

Hi All, a while back I purchased a 120g aquarium that came with a stand, canopy, and two side cabinets. My wife wanted to refinish all the cabinetry, so I did the aquarium stand first. When I finished the stand I set up the aquarium, adding sand and rocks and whatnot, figuring I might as well get the cycle started while I'm refinishing the rest of the cabinetry (see photo). Fast-forward a couple of months and I'm just now getting around to finishing the side cabinets. Unfortunately, when I placed the first side cabinet next to the stand I found that the cabinets and the stand do not sit flush along the back. In fact, the stand is designed to sit forward about an inch or so. So, the cabinets don't line up with the stand on the front, now. All of the molding joints between the stand and the cabinets are off by 1" and I don't have any room to push the cabinets back since they are right up against the baseboard on the wall. Sigh...

I might be able to pull it off if I cut out the base molding along the back of the aquarium. I hate to do it, but that should give me at least 3/4". However, I may need as much as another 1/4" of space, even after cutting out the baseboard. Has anyone ever figured out a way to nudge a full system? I probably already know the answer... Don't move it! The cabinet is made of 3/4" plywood, and it is pretty sturdy. I'm just wondering if its possible. Has anyone ever successfully moved a full tank/stand? I thought I might be able to put a tapered wedge behind the stand and whack it with a dead blow to kind of nudge it out. Not sure if that's advisable. REALLY don't want to break it all down.

sharpimage · Jun 15, 2020

Its 800 lbs of water in a glass container. Drain it, slide it, then throw the water back in. Coral and rock will be fine for a half hour out of water

Billdogg · Jun 15, 2020

sharpimage said:
Its 800 lbs of water in a glass container. Drain it, slide it, then throw the water back in. Coral and rock will be fine for a half hour out of water

^^^This^^^

I've done it too many times to count. 2 35g Brute trashcans will get most (enough?) of the water out.You only need to move it an inch, so the water will barely be out of the tank when you'll be ready to pump it back in.