How to move a tank?

[Timothy]

Hi, I need to move a 3ft tank. The tank is one year old and contains some living rock, sand, a few fish, a hermit crab, some snails, and some soft corals. I have actually four questions:

1) Can anyone recommend a good moving service? I saw an old thread recommending SGbros, but searching online only led me to a site dealing in TV mounts. I guess I'm not just looking for a company to lift an empty tank, but also one that can transport all the living rock, livestock, and water (I read it's best to preserve as much tank water as possible).

2) I read that what can be dangerous in moving a tank is disturbing the sand (I read it can release hydrogen sulfide and other stuff that's a bit beyond my level in chemistry). If I start now slowly removing sand (I still have a few months before moving) am I going to kill my biofilter? Right now I'm relying on living rock and sand for the biological filtration, but I'm not sure how much each is involved in the filtering. I have 14kg of living rock and only half an inch of living sand.

3) I read that I should also clean the tank before setting up again as the biofilm on the tank walls will die once the water is removed. However, does anyone know how long the biofilm takes to die? I'm wondering if it's possible to keep the biofilm alive if the tank is emptied of water, moved, and refilled fast enough.

4) And now the maybe the dumb question. My tank is already sitting on a table type stand, like this:

If I can get hold of a hydraulic lifting platform, like this:

is there any reason why I can't just lift and transport the whole tank with everything in it? Maybe I still need to take out the living rock so it doesn't fall. The hydraulic lifting platform can lift 350kg, while my tank with everything inside would be 300kg.

Thanks, even just for reading my questions.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Timothy

[Thehaddonicarpet]

1/2 inch sand bed will likely not be a problem. Best to take out all rocks to avoid them toppling. Drain 90% of the water and all livestock and put into buckets etc. Then lift the tank off the stand with sand still inside and move.


Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

[Timothy]

OK, Thanks.

[sa1tfish]

Hi Tim, come across this when I searching for discussion forum on moving house. I hope you have successfully moved the tank to your new place. I am considering to buy out an existing live tank but not sure how the move can be done. If you already have the experience, kindly share some insight and lesson learnt. Thanks.