Questions about moving a tank

[00Dan]

I plan to move my Nuvo 40 soon and wanted some input on my plan.

I plan to drain the tank into 5 gallon buckets and begin breaking down the rock work into said buckets; inverts and some coral take a ride with the rocks. The fish I will catch and put in a single bucket once the rocks are out (2 clowns, a royal gramma, and a flametail blenny).
At this point the tank will be mostly empty with just sand and equipment left. I’m debating on if I should scoop out the sand or leave it in the tank. Thoughts?

Any additional factors I should consider? This is my first time breaking down a tank with livestock in it and putting it back together in short order; admittedly the decisions don’t matter as much when there isn’t anything living inside.

 

[bigd]

How long has the sand been in there? If it‘s more than a year old, I’d take it as an opportunity to change it out. A shop Vac works great for removing the old stuff. Also, not sure how far you’re moving, but I’d suggest a cooler for the corals, inverts and fish. That’s the route I’ve always gone and haven’t lost anything. I fill the cooler about 1/3 to 1/2 full with tank water. Put the fish and inverts in. Then bag each coral individually in ziplocs with water and float them in the cooler. I’ve had good luck with my cube cooler that has an extendable handle and wheels. Makes moving it easier.

 

[00Dan]

How long has the sand been in there? If it‘s more than a year old, I’d take it as an opportunity to change it out. A shop Vac works great for removing the old stuff. Also, not sure how far you’re moving, but I’d suggest a cooler for the corals, inverts and fish. That’s the route I’ve always gone and haven’t lost anything. I fill the cooler about 1/3 to 1/2 full with tank water. Put the fish and inverts in. Then bag each coral individually in ziplocs with water and float them in the cooler. I’ve had good luck with my cube cooler that has an extendable handle and wheels. Makes moving it easier.

The tank has been up since January, so the sand shouldn’t be quite that dirty. The sand was reused from a previous build so its older than that but I gave it a good rinse when I first set up.

As far as distance goes, I’m taking the tank from Midtown to Acworth (~35 mile drive).

 

[ichthyoid]

If the clowns are paired up, I would put them in a separate bucket. They, female especially, can get aggressive in a bucket during moves, ime.

 

[00Dan]

Something that may be a factor with the fish is that they do have velvet right now that is semi-controlled. There’s a hospital tank waiting for them at the end of this trip but for the move should I take any additional precautions regarding water oxygenation or should the tank water be sufficiently oxygenated for this short trip?

 

[bigd]

Oh, wow... that definitely adds to the complexity. A battery powered air pump with an air stone wouldn't hurt, not sure if you’ve got access to one or not though. If not, I’d try to keep their time in the bucket as short as possible.

 

[00Dan]

I got the tank moved this evening but unfortunately it sustained a transport chip. I'll leak test tomorrow but I would appreciate some input on what I'm dealing with here and if the tank is still serviceable.



The chip is question is the chip on the right panel along the seam, NOT the chip on the front corner (existing and I know not a factor). I inspected with a flashlight and did not observe any spider webbing visible to the naked eye, however the very top of the chip appears to have an oyster crack (I think that's what its called). My largest concern is the fact that this chip occurs along one of the seams.

 

[ZapataInc]

I'm no expert but it looks alright to me. I think as long as the silicone on the seam looks good you should be good.

 

[bigd]

First off... I really hate to hear it got damaged. I’ve moved a couple large tanks within the last few months, lost a very nice acrylic one doing so unfortunately!

I’m definitely not a tank builder or an expert, but I think either of those folks would tell you to be a little concerned. Best thing to do is look at the situation, assess the risk, leak check it, and make a decision. Here are some of the issues I see:

1. Basically, the glass is now thinner in that area
2. Unfortunately, it’s at a joint/seam
3. Even more so, it’s towards the bottom which is where I would assume pressure is the highest
4. You’ve probably still got your livestock in buckets, so time is definitely an issue

I know many, many years ago, we had a member on here that called for some emergency help. He had a very similar crescent shaped chip on the lower outer edge of a very large tank (450 gal if I remember correctly). Several of us swarmed up to the Canton area, built a quick stand for a 100 gal cube he had, filled it with water water from the 450, and transfered his fish to it (tank was a FOWLR). Then he had an aquarium company come in and fix it. They cut a small rectangle piece of glass and siliconed it in place where the chip was... tank lasted for years (probably still out there somewhere). His was not in a very visible area, not sure if yours is or not. It kind of looks like it might be on the back panel. If so, you could probably get away with a similar repair and have a little more peace of mind.

Really hate to say it, but telling that story makes me realize that the club was a lot different back then... lots of things have changed. Ahhhh... the good ole days!

 

[Steve Burton]

I am not giving advice at all, but if it was me I would fill it and run it and not lose a moments sleep over it

 

[00Dan]

With a good night's sleep behind me I took another look this morning. I also took some pictures with flash to better highlight the chip.


As far as I can tell the silicone is intact; however the chip does barely expose the outer edge of it. For those asking, this is the front right corner of the tank, so fairly visible unfortunately. As I said earlier I'll haul it out to the back deck and set the hose on it; we'll see how it fares.

 

[00Dan]

First off... I really hate to hear it got damaged. I’ve moved a couple large tanks within the last few months, lost a very nice acrylic one doing so unfortunately!

I’m definitely not a tank builder or an expert, but I think either of those folks would tell you to be a little concerned. Best thing to do is look at the situation, assess the risk, leak check it, and make a decision. Here are some of the issues I see:

1. Basically, the glass is now thinner in that area
2. Unfortunately, it’s at a joint/seam
3. Even more so, it’s towards the bottom which is where I would assume pressure is the highest
4. You’ve probably still got your livestock in buckets, so time is definitely an issue

I know many, many years ago, we had a member on here that called for some emergency help. He had a very similar crescent shaped chip on the lower outer edge of a very large tank (450 gal if I remember correctly). Several of us swarmed up to the Canton area, built a quick stand for a 100 gal cube he had, filled it with water water from the 450, and transfered his fish to it (tank was a FOWLR). Then he had an aquarium company come in and fix it. They cut a small rectangle piece of glass and siliconed it in place where the chip was... tank lasted for years (probably still out there somewhere). His was not in a very visible area, not sure if yours is or not. It kind of looks like it might be on the back panel. If so, you could probably get away with a similar repair and have a little more peace of mind.

Really hate to say it, but telling that story makes me realize that the club was a lot different back then... lots of things have changed. Ahhhh... the good ole days!

I agree with points 1-3. Thankfully 4 is not a factor as I took enough water with me that I was able to get a spare tank usable for temporary holding of inverts and coral; the fish had a hospital tank already waiting for them.

Your story is great and shows that there is a solution to most everything; In my case the value of the tank is less than what such a repair service would likely cost but it's good to know such a thing exists!

 

[00Dan]

The tank has water in it as of 10:30. No leaks detected at that seam; I’ll let it sit and evaluate the silicone for integrity.

For those who have done this before how long do you recommend I let it sit as part of the leak test?

 

[tbrennan]

The tank has water in it as of 10:30. No leaks detected at that seam; I’ll let it sit and evaluate the silicone for integrity.

For those who have done this before how long do you recommend I let it sit as part of the leak test?

Any time I leak test anything I run my studf for a full 24 to 48 hours. Never had a tank fail on me doing it that way. If it’s gonna leak it’s gonna leak in that amount of time imo.

 

[00Dan]

Any time I leak test anything I run my studf for a full 24 to 48 hours. Never had a tank fail on me doing it that way. If it’s gonna leak it’s gonna leak in that amount of time imo.

I’m almost at 12 hours now and it’s holding up. We‘ll see if that’s still the case in the morning.

 

[00Dan]

I’m almost at 12 hours now and it’s holding up. We‘ll see if that’s still the case in the morning.

Now at 25 hours and still holding. I'll cautiously proceed with setting it up inside and will monitor that seam.

Any thoughts on using silicone or flex seal to reinforce that area on the seam?

 

[Steve Burton]

In my opinionon adding silicone to either the inside or the outside wouldn't add anything to the structural integrity, if it were me I would not worry about.