Need to move tank

[JohnTK]

I have a 60 gallon tank with about 30 lbs of LR in it. I need to move the tank about 2-3 inches off the wall to accomadate a protein skimmer.

How much do you all think I will need to drain the tank it order to move it with 2, possibly 3 large guys. The stand it is on is sturdy, but not real. Heavy.

I'd hate to have to drain the whole thing just to move it 2 inches, but I will.

[algonquin]

we moved our 120 gallon tank about a month ago. We drained about about 25 gallons. We moved the tank very easily after that. Then we put the water back in. We had to move our tank for the same reason. We needed a couple of incehes as well.
Hope it goes well for you.

[davidfrances]

In my opinion - The safest thing to do is to drain the whole thing, remove all your live rock and substrate. Then move it. Moving a fully loaded, or even partially loaded aquarium is similar to playing with a loaded gun. The stresses and shearing forces acting on the glass are huge. You don't want the tank breaking, and carrying shards of glass into your arms and legs.
You can load the water, rock and substrate into plastic trash cans, and then reload the aquarium once you've moved it.

[JohnTK]

Originally posted by davidfrances
In my opinion - The safest thing to do is to drain the whole thing, remove all your live rock and substrate. Then move it. Moving a fully loaded, or even partially loaded aquarium is similar to playing with a loaded gun. The stresses and shearing forces acting on the glass are huge. You don't want the tank breaking, and carrying shards of glass into your arms and legs.
You can load the water, rock and substrate into plastic trash cans, and then reload the aquarium once you've moved it.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking unfortunately. I hate to move and disturb everything, but since my tank is still young and nowhere near fully stocked, better now than later.

[45commando]

Yep I'd play it safe & drain the tank.even if you move it while still full who's to say the stress placed on the joints,doesn't make it leak a year from now.Murphy's Law says it will leak the moment you go away for a weekend or on vacation.Do it right & be able to sleep at night.HTH.

[Limpit]

Just think about if somehow you were moving the tank and the bottom of the stand caught on something small enough to cause the weight to shift and the whole thing goes over. While 2-3 inches seems like not too much of a move and yes you may be able to do it with a little water out of the tank it is not worth the mess you will have if it were to dump over.