Moving Monster Tanks: Recipe for Disaster

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elting44

elting44

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2007
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Salina, KS
How do you guys do it?! Marineland's Aquarium Spec Sheets lists the empty weights of their glass tanks. a 180 Wide (72"X24"x24") weighs 348 lbs empty! I am looking at buying a 180, but I need to figure how I am going to get it into my basement first! :D

What are some of your guys good/bad experiences?
 
we have a walk out basement..

my dad and i can handle all the tanks we have... the largest is only 125 thou so..

just make sure you have enough people helping you.. beer usually does the trick
 
we were 8 guys moving my 300.. and everyone was useful.. have one guy crawling on his knees under it taking a bit of the weight on his back, that means the others are able to shift grips without disasters. you could probably do it with 5 guys. we were 3 moving a 200 up and down stairs though so you might be able to do it on 3. have a carpet or quilt under it to drag it were you can..
 
I have moved a decent amount of tanks in the recent past and this is what I know. 125s takes two guys no matter how you move it weather it be up stairs of through small halls. 180s need three guys unless you have two big guys. but dorways kinda suck. 75s just need 2 people if you have to go throught a door. 54corners one person can move on there own. the new 585 need 10-15 guys NO stairs and lots of grilled food. lol
 
never dealt with stairs, but my buddy and i easily moved my 210g glass. id assume youd want a least 4 people when dealing with a stair case
 
a 180-220 you should be able to do with 2 guys, when I was setting up my 220 I was moving it around my self.

I would recommend using a dolly to move it around either a flat or stand up kind (stand up probly being easier) just make sure it is padded (either the cart or tank) then no one needs to strain until it is time to lift...

oh ya and if your basement stairs are carpeted then you can probly slide the tank down the stairs at a controlled speed
 
You might want to examine the underside of the step for strength consideration too. Most (most that I have seen at least) basement steps are unsupported in the center. Could be a recipe for disaster.
 
PVC and come-a-longs. Use pvc as rollers. Get like 5-6 and just keep rotating them in front of the tank. If you have steps then the come-a-long will get you up or down them. I moved both my 125s and my 180 by myself the last time I moved. Most valuable lesson I've learned......DON'T count on anyone but yourself!!!! If your "buddies" know you are moving it is a LOT easier for them to say "yeah I'll help you" then not show up then to think of an excuse on the spot. If they just don't show they have days to come up with an excuse.
 
I'm 5'3" and 120 lbs, my husband and I moved all the 125 gal (6 foot) tanks ourselves, they're really not unmanageable. The 150 gal tank was heavier because the glass was thicker but we moved that, too.
The 250 gal tank (8' x 2' x 25") is 500 lbs empty-I couldn't budge that one. We made a platform with 3/4" plywood and 2 piano dollys, backed the trailer up to the deck and somehow got it pushed onto the plywood with dollys screwed underneath and then rolled it into the house. It took 4 grown men to lift it from the dolly platform onto the stand. I would think 2 grown men with a few muscles could manage to get a 180 gal down into a basement.
 
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