Details of the "low tide method" of tank moving?

[scub steve]

dont do it a person that i know moved a 230 gal tank with a bit of sand and water in it they just slid it across the floor well when they filled it back up he had 230 gal on his floor..I think its because there was a slight bend in the tank from moving it with water in it and when it was filled back up it exploded

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I had a 33G tank crack a few months ago because I thought moving it with sand in it would be ok. The bottom cracked right away. It wasn't even that heavy...maybe about 150lbs. Don't risk it. How old is the sand bed? This might be a great time to replace a deep sand bed if its a few years old anyways.

[super7]

I would put everything in tubs, garbage cans and anything else that holds water then move it. I wouldn't put anything in the tanks while moving it.

[Robw]

I once helped move a 90 with the sand and live rock in it. We had to move it up a flight of stairs with a 90 degree turn it. That was a pain in the back! Took 4 guys to move it. This was before I knew anything about salt water tanks (actually it was that tank that got me hooked) and would never move a tank with the rock or sand in it again.

[tang daddy]

take the time to empty the tank and then move it start early cause it'll probally take you a whole day to do the transaction...
I would not run the chance of moving the tank with dsb like others here have said it's dangerous and backbreaking, with the extra 2hrs you spend ripping it down could save you hundreds in headaches and backaches jm2c.

Chris

[zoomin]

Thanks for the wise words everyone.

I was having a tough time picturing how that would work, but was going from a memory of a thread I read, etc.

Luckily it has become less urgent to move this tank, so i can wait and plan to do it properly.

[Brent F]

I once used the low tide method to move a 54 gallon tank across the room. I thought it would be safe to do because I could move it on the stand so wouldn't stress the tank. The tank was okay but the stand was wobbly from then on.

In hindsight I should have drained the tank completely

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by zoomin

but was going from a memory of a thread I read, etc.

That would probably be my thread. I did this with a 75g tank, but no sand and only about an inch of water. 3 inches of sand and 5 more of water would be too much to manage safely. I would consider it with no water, just the sand, but that might still be too heavy.

Mine was a 48"x18", 75 pounds of rock, lots of coral and about 1 inch of water. I've done it twice without issue. A 90 is only taller, so a bit more glass but otherwise the same size.
Overall the entire move has to be considered for stairs, corners, etc. Mine were easy, so 2 - 4 people managed it fine. The tank has t ostay level the whole trip, and don't extend it much more than 30 minutes.
If you have time and lots of rubbermaid tubs, that way works too.