How to Lift a Full Tank???

soilentgringa · Post by **soilentgringa** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 10:40 am

We recently moved to a 55 gallon tank. I schlepped 250 lbs of sand into my apartment, mixed bricks of coco fiber with water, mixed coco fiber with sand, and spent an eventful (sweaty) evening with an old pot dumping substrate into the tank. There's probably between 250-300 lbs of substrate and stuff in the tank now, which is sitting on an old steel desk in my living room.

Me, being the genius that I am, just purchased a lamp stand and dome lamp combo with a foot that needs to slide under the tank so that it's anchored. Right now I have it placed just so with a very large heavy conch shell sitting on it so it doesn't fall over...again.

I don't have anyone to help me lift the tank, and I can't lift up the end AT ALL. I thought about trying to find something to use as a lever but there's no room between the bottom of the tank and the top of the desk to wiggle anything in there.

Should I even attempt to lift the tank up or should I just find a brick or make a little sandbag or something to balance the lamp stand?

This wouldn't be a big deal if I wasn't so OCD about stuff.

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 11:49 am

Just use the brick

ETA: its not worth the drama, and you can afford to wait til you have help to move the lamp, BUT please consider the following:

As theres no space under the tank it can be assumed that the entire bottom brace is holding the tank evenly. If you got the stand's foot to go underneath you could be altering the load under the brace and potentially warp/damage the whole physical arrangement. It might just be best to leave the tank undisturbed, based on the amount of weight that went into it.

Post by **wodesorel** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:01 pm

You could crack the tank trying to lift it with that much weight in it. It would be safer to come up with something else until you have a reason to empty it again. Like YYWW said, it could also put pressure on the rim and cause damage so fitting it first will be important! A crab tank is closer to an aquarium in its weigh and how it needs to be managed. An unfilled reptile tank can take more abuse since its so much lighter.

soilentgringa · Post by **soilentgringa** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 6:47 pm

Yeah, I was thinking that the weight of the sand would break the glass if I tried to lift it. I also thought about the bin of sand on the patio last night and that I could just find an old metal coffee can and fill it with sand and plastic plants or something and add to the decor.

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:27 pm

I have a stand for my dual dome thing, and the foot is heavy, wide and long. It hasnt flipped over, and it just stands free. If you have a similar stamd you might not need to weigh it down. I think the foot just enables you to hang the lamp right over the tat. But if your lights can reach the proper area without having to slide the foot under, i think you are good to go. Let me know if i've misunderstood!

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association