Moving aquarium

[Deborah Armay]

Need to move my 150 gal tank just a few feet away onto a different wall. It is plumbed with durso dual end overflows. I assume the drain side will be easy to disconnect from entrance into sump. However the return side will be more difficult. A local business told me to cut pvc pipe just below bulk head to free up the tank from the stand. My question is can I just cut the pvc below, move the tank and reconnect PVC with a couplet? Thanks

 

[jgirardnrg]

Pics would help us visualize what's going on under there and better help you.

 

[Jedi1199]

Personally I dislike messing with plumbing if I don't have to. Is it possible to move the tank and stand intact?

In answer to your question, yes. You should be able to cut the pvc and reconnect with a coupler.

 

[rusty hannon]

I wouldn't move tank n stand intact. Any bad outcome would b catastrophic and very costly. Those odds r not n a deck I'd go with.

 

[brandon429]

I’ll add this

we have a fifty page thread about moving reef tanks among homes/ distance


and for fifty pages we don’t have a single tank lost to a recycle because we break from norms in all the tank moves: no dirty reefs are moved and certainly no full reefs are moved…they’re empty and cleaned at the time of move, that’s key to earning fifty pages and no losses. It was formerly thought that deep cleaning was harmful, it’s not, it’s regenerative

the opposite of what the masses thought turned out to be true.

the fact you’re moving feet vs miles doesn’t matter, clean reefs always transfer better than old ones transferring all their waste. The partial/full drain plus refill alone kicks up enough waste in the unclean reef such that it’s a true risk of wipeout due to upwelled waste clouds in sand and rock. Moving a drained but still hardscape-full 100+ gallons can break seals, mayhem as mentioned and that’s not even the biological risk portion.


the safest way you could possibly move that reef would be to copy what a loss free fifty pages thread shows, youd disassemble the tank to avoid breakage and you’d clean the rocks and sand before reinstallation because that’s the best method known for reef relocation. The way we clean sand is very, very unique and that’s why there isn’t more than one tank move thread on the web that uses other people’s reef as proof and for outcome tracking. If anyone manages a move thread where dirty sand and rocks are moved, massive losses would result in the first few pages. You might read several accounts of dirty tank moves, but none of them are from a public tank move work thread they’re from the keepers testimony only where getting patterns and outcomes isn’t easy.

*getting new water is the hard part, we’d drain off and catch 80% of your current water in brutes and reuse it. Cleaning the sand and rocks before they go back in the moved tank is the key strategy.

 

[Deborah Armay]

Pics would help us visualize what's going on under there and better help you.

The left hand picture is the gravity drainage to the filter socks in the sump from the r durso. The other picture is a continuation of that drainage pipe just before it enters the sump.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Looks like enough pipe there if you cut it clean to get a coupler on. Exactly why you should use unions where ever you can.

Personally I'd head down to Harbor Freight and grab a couple of the heavy duty furniture dollies and move everything intact after draining the water.

 

[Jedi1199]

I didn't mean to move the tank and stand intact as moving it FULL!! I simply meant that after the tank is drained and ready to move, would it be possible to move them without messing with the plumbing? A few strong guys should be able to move the tank and stand across a room without having to upset the plumbing at all. (Did I mention that I despise plumbing? lol)

 

[rusty hannon]

I’ll add this

we have a fifty page thread about moving reef tanks among homes/ distance


and for fifty pages we don’t have a single tank lost to a recycle because we break from norms in all the tank moves: no dirty reefs are moved and certainly no full reefs are moved…they’re empty and cleaned at the time of move, that’s key to earning fifty pages and no losses. It was formerly thought that deep cleaning was harmful, it’s not, it’s regenerative

the opposite of what the masses thought turned out to be true.

the fact you’re moving feet vs miles doesn’t matter, clean reefs always transfer better than old ones transferring all their waste. The partial/full drain plus refill alone kicks up enough waste in the unclean reef such that it’s a true risk of wipeout due to upwelled waste clouds in sand and rock. Moving a drained but still hardscape-full 100+ gallons can break seals, mayhem as mentioned and that’s not even the biological risk portion.


the safest way you could possibly move that reef would be to copy what a loss free fifty pages thread shows, youd disassemble the tank to avoid breakage and you’d clean the rocks and sand before reinstallation because that’s the best method known for reef relocation. The way we clean sand is very, very unique and that’s why there isn’t more than one tank move thread on the web that uses other people’s reef as proof and for outcome tracking. If anyone manages a move thread where dirty sand and rocks are moved, massive losses would result in the first few pages. You might read several accounts of dirty tank moves, but none of them are from a public tank move work thread they’re from the keepers testimony only where getting patterns and outcomes isn’t easy.

*getting new water is the hard part, we’d drain off and catch 80% of your current water in brutes and reuse it. Cleaning the sand and rocks before they go back in the moved tank is the key strategy.

Very well put