Moving 45g a few inches

[TheLadyCrash]

Hey everyone, I have a 45g JBJ Rimless AIO that I need to move away from the wall about 4 - 6 inches. The tank has been set up and running bare bottom for about a year. When I first set it up, I didn't think I needed much reason I'm behind the tank (n00b mistake) but now realize I don't have enough room behind for any HOB skimmers, refugiums, etc.

What is my best and safest option here? The tank is filled with fish and coral. My initial thought is to try sliding it or using a dolly (it's on hardwood) but I can't decide on if it's safe to move with the water and rocks or not.

Opinions?

 

[LetItReef]

I would take out as much of the water, equipments and rocks then slide it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Agreed. Drain it an move. If you can get gliders under it even better. But you might not need to. Just make sure the stand is beefy. My jbj cube stand was, shall we say, not up to Ikea standards.

And yea, I put my 30g exactly 1.5in too close to the wall this time. And I put it on rubber mat to protect the wood floor like a smarty pants. It's never gonna slide a MM...

 

[Jlentz]

I slid my 90 reef about 3". Took two brutes of water out of it and the sump, don't forget to empty the sump, and three of use pushed it over down as low as possible. There was probably about 3" of water left in it, corals and fish were fine, if a bit cranky for a day or so.

Edit to add:
It's on pergo, luckily it was an easy slide.

 

[Alfrareef]

+1

 

[Cory]

I agree drain a bout half the water, and move it. About 250 pounds. Full is like 500.

If it was me, id be on one side and another guy on the other, lift and set down.

 

[DarkSky]

I slid my 45 while full due to a fish jump emergency. Even with a lid, he jumped out of a 1/2" gap and landed behind the aquarium. Mine is on pergo flooring.

 

[chodyb]

I also moved my jbj 45 just a couple weeks ago to get to something behind it. I have a stand that I made which is really sturdy. Also it sits on a wood floor making it easy to just slide.

 

[Girthrockwel]

I did the same exact thing with my 75. It's also on hardwood. I've moved it about 3 inches by myself full of water, sand, rock and fish with no issues. Wasn't even that hard. My tank and stand is the marineland combo so I was a little worried since the quality of the stand isn't super great but it did just fine.

 

[rcpalmer1]

I have a 120 gallon rimless. 100lb rock and two bags of live sand. I didn't remove anything. I just grabbed it low and slide it out from the wall. It was on tile flooring with sitting on a factory stand. You can also slide a strap behind it so you can get in front of it and pull. The trick is to pull at the bottom.

 

[Girthrockwel]

I have a 120 gallon rimless. 100lb rock and two bags of live sand. I didn't remove anything. I just grabbed it low and slide it out from the wall. It was on tile flooring with sitting on a factory stand. You can also slide a strap behind it so you can get in front of it and pull. The trick is to pull at the bottom.

Agreed!

 

[EW_Fish]

Just make sure your stand can handle the pressure. I would take as much water out as possible to make things easy. It will only behalf empty for the time moving so it wont hurt anything.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

So it sounds like maybe I should do a big water change this week (which I probably should do anyway) and move it then. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[TheLadyCrash]

I agree drain a bout half the water, and move it. About 250 pounds. Full is like 500.

If it was me, id be on one side and another guy on the other, lift and set down.

It's only going to be my husband moving it so lifting isn't an option. I never did the weight calculation so I did not realize how heavy the tank is full. Eek!

 

[TheLadyCrash]

My jbj cube stand was, shall we say, not up to Ikea standards.

90% of my furniture is IKEA. Every time something needs to be replaced I wind up buying fish stuff and buying more IKEA. Adulting is expensive

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

90% of my furniture is IKEA. Every time something needs to be replaced I wind up buying fish stuff and buying more IKEA. Adulting is expensive

Oh don't get me wrong. I'm complimenting the IKEA. Not so much the jbj.

My first 30g long was on an IKEA butcher block kitchen counter in my living room.
For five years.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

It's only going to be my husband moving it so lifting isn't an option. I never did the weight calculation so I did not realize how heavy the tank is full. Eek!

Each gallon of salt water weighs roughly 8.6lbs. Add sand, rock... it adds up.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Oh don't get me wrong. I'm complimenting the IKEA. Not so much the jbj.

My first 30g long was on an IKEA butcher block kitchen counter in my living room.
For five years.

I don't think the stand is actually a JBJ one comparing it to the pics I see online but yeah, JBJ's stands suck.

And I like your idea about the IKEA butcher block. I have a 60g that I pulled off a curb during the local "Spring Cleanup weekend" that I'm going to be rehabbing. Hmmm...

 

[Dlionsfan09]

I got my hardwood floors redone with my whole 65 gallon system needed to be moved. I literally drained 1/3 of the system. Picked up gliders from lowes. Put one on each corner. Kid you not, I was moving that tank like it was 5 pounds [emoji23][emoji23][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]