Hi you,
I got back in the hobby 2 weeks ago after over a decade, just bought a 32.5 gallons Fluvial Flex. So far everything is going fine without any fish, but since my water perimeters were steadily good I introduced 2 amano shrimp two days ago.
But I just saw something that's been bothering me in the last couple of days, the tank isn't sitting evenly on the furniture. I will put a piece of thick styrofoam under it but I was wondering if it was safe to empty 3/4 of the water to raise the tank while moving a foam under. Also if people knows techniques or tools to do it I'd greatly appreciate them sharing.
Posted by Big_477
4 Comments
first: you need to empty almost all the water and put it in clean buckets, you’ll need to put the same water in it to not disturb it too much.
second: when you lift it put it on a wood board (not mdf, not carboard, etc…) slightly larger thank the tank itself (and the foam on that), so if you need to lift it again you can grab the board and distribute pressure evenly.
bonus: the same thing can be applied to a full transport but you need to keep less water, the animals in the buckets. Spray everythin with water to keep plants and other things moist and cover the aquarium with plastic film.
Its gonna be pretty difficult. You will have to drain 95% or more of the water. Any weight shift while you lift the tank can crack it or really stress the seals.
So I move tanks a lot I actually just moved some two days ago. If you want to save your water leave it in buckets or just do a giant water change. Get it down to about 4 inches and try lifting the tank if you can’t then take out more water. I moved a 120 gallon tank without taking fish out alone across my whole house and im 5’4 😩 the smaller tanks are easy tho. I usually put all my top of tank plants in a bucket as well and anything that can roll around and break the tank like big rocks. If you are just trying to get styrofoam under maybe just carefully tilt it after draining most of it
I’m glad you’re moving it because those boards are precarious as hell. Lots of different pressure points on what appears to be a frameless tank is a nightmare waiting to happen. Even with a frame it would be bad.