Tips on Transporting Your Fish Tank
By
Shirlie Sharpe is an aquatic expert and writer with over three decades of experience keeping and raising ornamental fish. She has consulted with The Minnesota Zoo and the National Aquarium. Shirlie has also authored a book on setting up aquariums.
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Updated on 08/07/20
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Perhaps you need to move an aquarium across town, or even just across the room. As you empty it, the thought pops into your head that it would be a lot easier if you just left the gravel in it or even some of the water, and you wonder: What's the harm? It's quite possible you can successfully move a small- to medium-size tank with gravel, and even some water in it. However, there are some important reasons you should not risk it.
Never Move a Tank With Water
First things first. Moving a fragile glass box full of heavy, sloshy liquid is a recipe for disaster. Even the slightest adjustment or correction in your movement will make the water shift, throwing off the load—and likely throwing out your back. This will surely be followed by an instinctive reflex on your part to try to prevent spilling the water, making matters worse. You'd be crazy to move a completely fulltank, and since you're draining some of the water anyway—because you're not crazy—it's stupid not to drain it all—and of course, you're also not stupid.
Don't Stress the Seals
While leaving the gravel and even some of the water in the aquarium might not break it, the seals will be placed under uneven stress. Today's sealants are extremely good at holding the aquarium glass together, but they aren't designed to withstand shearforces. Shear force occurs when there is uneven pressure—like twisting or diagonal pressure—puton the seals.
A tank that is sitting on awell-supported, level surfacedoes not experience stress on the seals; however, when the tank is moved, the motion can put the seals under uneven pressure. When the tank is empty, that stress is not enough to cause a problem, but if the tank has any additional weight from substrate or water, the stress created by moving the tank can break a seal.
The damaged seal might not be apparent until the tank is filledand later begins toleak. This risk is significant enough that most aquarium manufacturers will void the warranty on their product if it is moved with anything in it. For that reason alone, we advise emptying your aquarium before moving it.
If You Do It Anyway
If you're just moving the tank across the room—and choosing to ignore the above advice—there are ways to do this as sensibly as possible.Remove all or at least most of the water from the tank, transferring it to clean plastic buckets or tubs. If possible, keep the tank on its original support unit (cabinet, stand, table, etc.), and move the unit and tank together, sliding the unit on moving sliders or carpet scraps, if the flooring is hard.
If must lift and move the tank, slide it onto a piece of 3/4-inch plywood or similarly strong, flat material, and carry it on the material with at least one helper to keep the tank level. This will put less stress on the seals than simply moving it by hand and placing the tank at risk from the twisting forces imposed by two people walking and carrying at the same time.
