Stand Cracking on tank

[Illusion]

Well I have had a 55g Reef setup now for about a year.. Its pretty well stocked up and I was noticing the other day that The stand is starting to crack... I think it might be water damage that caused the stand to crack... The company that Made the stand already sent me out a new one so thats not the issue.. I have the new one assembled and ready to have a tank put on it but Dont know what the Easiest route on replacing the stand is going to be... I have tons of SPS and an Rbta in there along with about 120lbs of LR and 2-3" Sand bed... Any ideas... As I am not looking foward to this at all..


TIA,
James

 

[NaH2O]

Hey James - the best route may be to drain your tank into some tubs and take everything out, except the sand. I'm not sure how heavy it will be, but maybe you could get a few friends to help heave it off the old stand and onto the new one? Just put your powerheads and heaters in the tubs to keep the livestock happy.

 

[acropora]

James,You can use new plastic garbage pails or Xl plastic containers to put your livestock in while you make the move. Make sure you have a pump and heater for each containor.You can start now by making some new salt water since you will not be able to use all the water from the old setup.Start by syphoning some water from the old tank out into a bucket in which you can put your RBTA temporarily.Then syphon out about 3/4 of the water into your containers and place your livestock in them.You can use the remainding water in a bucket where you can shake off the existing L.R. to remove any detritus.
The problem I see is the sand bed.If it is stacked with critters,then you can carefully remove the top inch or so and save them.The lower layers will be a mess and it will have to be cleaned out. If you have southdown playsand available, I would just discard the old sand.
I personally am not very confident in the construction of wooden stands offered by aquarium manufacturers in general. I would consider beefing it up with some 2 x4's in each corner if it will leave room for your sump.
I know how you feel,since I have moved live stock a few times to larger tanks.Just line everything up and hopefully you have some help.

Good Luck with the move.

 

[NaH2O]

Great advice, Anthony!

The one thing I never did understand was wooden stands made by aquarium manufacturers. My Oceanic tank only had a warranty if I used an Oceanic Stand....well, I know my DIY stand would have outlasted theirs, so i took the risk and didn't have a warranty.

 

[Illusion]

Well There is not really any way of beefing up the Stand at all so thats out of the question... I have 30g of water ready and my Sandbed is completely stocked with critters so I am not removing it to replace it... I think I will just pull out as much as I can and drain as much as I can for water... And just get another strong person to help me move it onto the new stand... They say this stand can hold up to 2200lbs of weight as tested by the UL inspectors the day before I called... I would almost rather sell my tank then do this but I have way too much invested into it..

Thanks again,
James