I need to move my tank ASAP

[yan2pr]

Hello everyone,

I have to move my tank due to having to do some repair at the house and of course it has to be where the tank is. I have read that if i empty the tank i cant re-use the sand or ill mess up everything. Is there a way around this? I dont want the tank to be bare bottom and i also have a bunch of frags in the sand that ill have nowhere to put them. I was thinking that maybe if i dont empty the whole thing it will be ok. Is this correct or sand has to go no matter what? Thanks in advance.

 

[Samina]

How big is your tank?

 

[yan2pr]

How big is your tank?

Sorry i forgot. Its a 25 Gal nano tank. I know its not a big deal but i moved the tank 3 months ago and i had to throw the sand away, ill hate to do it again.

 

[Samina]

Here’s what I would personally do: Test my water and note temp, sg. Then empty out the water into buckets, remove the rocks (carefully so they don’t cause a stand storm) and fish into the buckets and leave a few inches of water in the tank and it’ll be light enough to move.
Then replace the rocks (you get to aquascape again!) and fish and add freshly mixed water matched to parameters from old. If you have a sump in the stand, you can also remove some water from the sump so that way it is light to just move the whole system together instead of taking it apart.

 

[yan2pr]

Thats what i was thinking on doing, just leaving enough water for the sand to be underwater and move it slowly to avoid stirring it to much. I just wasnt sure i was able to get away with it without messing everything up. Ill do the tests also just to be in the safe side. Thanks for the help

 

[flsalty]

No need to throw the sand away at all. You have two options. You can just leave the sand in there and move the empty tank with the sand. Or you can take the sand out and rinse it off. In most cases I would go with the second option.

 

[mcdrichj]

How far do you have to move it? I had to move a 75 gal about 6 or 7 feet and I just did a very large water change about 60-70% and slid the tank across the floor. Being a 25 gal if you have a friend that can help you and your rockwork is stable if you take 60% of the water out you should be able to pick it up and move it with 2 people.

 

[yan2pr]

No need to throw the sand away at all. You have two options. You can just leave the sand in there and move the empty tank with the sand. Or you can take the sand out and rinse it off. In most cases I would go with the second option.

Ill check that out, i have a couple of gallons of RO water. Thanks

 

[azbigjohn]

If the sand is only 3 months old, you should be fine. The big concern is when you have anerobic sections or big detrius sections in the bottom of the sand that gets stirred up.

If you just replaced it 3 months ago, I doubt you would have any concerns with either.

 

[Saltyreef]

+1 ^^^^^. A 25g tank aint no thang to move.
I used to move my 14g biocube while full lol.
You could probably easily slide everything with 3/4 of the water drained into a bucket. The biggest issue is causing clouding from the sand.
On a side note. This may be the perfect time for you to remove and rinse the sand for a nice clean reef down the road.

 

[Afrashz]

Just lower the water to a few inches above the sand bed move it and refill it, should take you less that 10 minutes. When refilling be careful not to stir the sand bed. You’ll be fine.

 

[DaneGer21]

Whats it take one bag to replace? Spend the $20-$25 and buy new .

Or drain to just a few inches and have someone help move it

 

[yan2pr]

How far do you have to move it? I had to move a 75 gal about 6 or 7 feet and I just did a very large water change about 60-70% and slid the tank across the floor. Being a 25 gal if you have a friend that can help you and your rockwork is stable if you take 60% of the water out you should be able to pick it up and move it with 2 people.

Maybe around 20 feet, ill have to put the rock in a bucket because it is not glue at all. That will help with weight so it should not be an issue.

 

[Afrashz]

I moved by 14 g biocube half full in the back of my car 2 miles when I moved, no issues at all.

 

[mcdrichj]

Saltwater weighs 8.6 lbs per gallon so if you remove 10 gallons you reduce the weight by 86 lbs

 

[yan2pr]

Whats it take one bag to replace? Spend the $20-$25 and buy new .

Or drain to just a few inches and have someone help move it

I know its not a big deal, its leaving the house with workers here and going to the lfs to buy sand what doesnt seem like a good idea to me. Thatd why i was thinking of trying to move it or deal with it without having to leave the house.

 

[mcdrichj]

Maybe around 20 feet, ill have to put the rock in a bucket because it is not glue at all. That will help with weight so it should not be an issue.

If the rock is locked together well it shouldn't be much of an issue for 20'. Thats not too far... Slow and steady wins the race. If the rock work has ANY instabilities definitely take it down.

 

[Saltyreef]

Dont listen to anybody telling you that youll need new sand. Thats garbage advice. A simple rinse will suffice. Tap then rodi.
I just gave my 8 year old sand to a coworker. Rinsed it for him, no detritus or stink. Sat in a tote wet for 6 months.
Your sand will be just fine. Its the clouding that comes from all the trapped detritus you want to avoid.
If you are taking rock out, remove sand into a 5 gal bucket and rinse with tap water until it comes out clear. Then final rinse with ro di (optional but recommended for nanos)
Youll be happy you did and likely wont go thru a cycle if you have a pretty robust biofilter.

 

[yan2pr]

Dont listen to anybody telling you that youll need new sand. Thats garbage advice. A simple rinse will suffice. Tap then rodi.
I just gave my 8 year old sand to a coworker. Rinsed it for him, no detritus or stink. Sat in a tote wet for 6 months.
Your sand will be just fine. Its the clouding that comes from all the trapped detritus you want to avoid.
If you are taking rock out, remove sand into a 5 gal bucket and rinse with tap water until it comes out clear. Then final rinse with ro di (optional but recommended for nanos)
Youll be happy you did and likely wont go thru a cycle if you have a pretty robust biofilter.

Thanks for the advice ill be taking care of that soon. I feel super confident now and its good because the sand will have that fresh look again.

 

[9975]

In a past life I had a 72 gallon that I needed to move across my 24' living room. I emptied water a few inches above the sand like others have said. That tank lasted years without an issue