Moving 4ft tank

[Juddy]

Hi all,

I have a 4ft tank that I need to move into another room for a day or two as I'm replacing the carpet. In order to avoid completely emptying the tank and all the fun that goes with it, I've taken about half the water out leaving approx 100Lt. I have only half a dozen fish (all reasonable small) so I'm assuming they'll be fine. My plan is to simply lift and move the tank like this to the other room.
Is this a sensible idea as far as the tank and fish are concerned, or am I kidding myself?

[Lady Hobbs]

No. Not for a tank of that size as way too much pressure is put on the seams. To totally empty a tank takes about a half hour and well worth the time it takes you and no damage will be done.

Put your fish in a pail and drop an airstone in there. They will be fine for a couple days. You need not keep any water from your tank. Only enough to keep the gravel wet and what you have in the pail with the fish.

[angelcakes]

hello,ideally you need to completely empty the tank because you'll never lift it it will be to heavy(ive tried it) plus with water swishing around in the tank you will also weaken the silicone in the corners through unbalanced water,i would completely empty the tank,

[gm72]

Agreed that it is incredibly dangerous to move a half-full tank. Fully empty is strongly recommended.

[Juddy]

Ok thanks, empty tank it is. Now I only have the one heater and I've found a vase that will hold about 8Lt, is this big enough to put my young Discus, two Cory's and a small Clown Loach? I also have 12 neons, will they survive without a heater for a day or two? Or, should I take everyone down to my LFS for a night?

[gm72]

I would heat it but it may not be absolutely necessary depending on the temperature of your home.

[Tolley]

8l will not be good enough i'd recommend going out and buying a big bucket of atleast 10g

[Lady Hobbs]

Just make sure you don't use a bucket that previously held soap. A big cooler would work or even one of styrofoam. Maybe a neighbor has an extra one you could use overnight.

[Halelorf]

Drain the entire tank or it WILL break and you will not be happy. I tried to move a 10 gallon one time that had only about 1/4 of the tank volume left in it and even with me being super careful the tank broke. It's not fun to have to replace a first floor ceiling because of a small 10 gallon tank :thumb:.