Hello! 1st post, need help moving 400lb IM SR120 inTacoma, WA, LFS backed out

[ReefSakes]

What area are you in? I know what store probaly left you hanging lol. There are alot of us locals that don't mind helping. I've had many nice local reefers help me move my redsea 850s (180g) , Crystal Dynamics 260g and an innovative marine 100g displays. I'm in the Lacey area. There are many reefers in the Tacoma area. Check out the local FB group Pacific NorthWest Reef Keeping.

 

[TheWB]

I actually work for a major moving company based in Algona WA so not too far away. What are the dims of the tank? I'm sure we could move it for you but I don't know that you would love the price. PM me if you want more details.

 

[srobertb]

Sorry that leak happened to you, what a nightmare. This is the first "new" tank I've ever bought - in the past picked up tanks on craigslist or even one time on the side of the road - never had a leak. I specifically avoided Red Sea because of all the nightmare stories. Crossing fingers...

It’s a beautiful tank and aside from custom, the absolute best AIO despite my issues. I don’t know if I mentioned but I still have a 20g and a 10g version and loved my 40g version when I had it. Check the acrylic on the back wall that is siliconed to the glass pump area and maybe run an extra bead across the top where acrylic meets glass. If I had small hands I’d run a bead across the bottom too. Run a bead across the front of the acrylic sheet where it meets the bottom glass in the front of you’re going to run a sand bed. That was really annoying to have that pop off and be like “oh well. I guess I’ll live with this now.”

The shallow reef makes it easy to light but honestly due to the lack of depth I had a hard time with LPS and soft corals because I still wanted SPS- which is what my tank gravitated towards growing best. I’m using a 125g “off the shelf” tank temporarily and my LPS on the bottom are much happier now that they’re another 6-8

Sorry if I’m repeating myself- I had Kessil 360x and a T5 fixture and I liked the color and shimmer but had no growth. 4 Radion XR30’s have been very successful. The new tank is much wider and deeper so I have ordered one test Kessil A360x to see what it looks like with them in between the Radions- also to try and figure out how to mount it on the Ecotech Rail. The plan will be Radion-Kessil-Radion-Kessil-Radion-Kessil-Radion with the Radions turned on their sides. The Kessils will be for shimmer which I love.

 

[Jekyl]

You lost me when you said "undergravel filter"

I have a 5 year old tank running RUGF system. @Paul B has one that's 52 years old. Don't always believe everything on BRS

 

[mosreef]

4 Radion XR30’s have been very successful. The new tank is much wider and deeper so I have ordered one test Kessil A360x to see what it looks like with them in between the Radions- also to try and figure out how to mount it on the Ecotech Rail. The plan will be Radion-Kessil-Radion-Kessil-Radion-Kessil-Radion with the Radions turned on their sides. The Kessils will be for shimmer which I love.

This is where I've been stuck in analysis paralysis - lighting. It is only 16" deep and I want mainly LPS. All the studies are based on normal depth tanks & I don't want to melt everything - so I decided I will wait until I get the tank, then rent or borrow a par meter. One day I'm leaning towards AI hydras, then Radion XR15s, and then I see the gen 5s are only $380 on Amazon...

 

[mosreef]

I actually work for a major moving company based in Algona WA so not too far away. What are the dims of the tank? I'm sure we could move it for you but I don't know that you would love the price. PM me if you want more details.

Thanks - It would be great to have someone who has liability insurance plus knows about aquariums.

 

[mosreef]

What area are you in? I know what store probaly left you hanging lol. There are alot of us locals that don't mind helping. I've had many nice local reefers help me move my redsea 850s (180g) , Crystal Dynamics 260g and an innovative marine 100g displays. I'm in the Lacey area. There are many reefers in the Tacoma area. Check out the local FB group Pacific NorthWest Reef Keeping.

Yes, I'm pretty unhappy with them. I will probably still buy small stuff there because they are relatively close by. But no longer feeling that whole "buy local" responsibility towards them.

Can't get on facebook because I'm a terrorist. lol (my business ads account was hacked & now I am "no longer eligible" for the rest of my life. no appeals, no tech support, no customer service number at facebook.)

I looked for a local group on here but it's inactive. Any other way to connect? I looked at meetups.com but there are no reefing groups here either.

 

[mfinn]

This is where I've been stuck in analysis paralysis - lighting. It is only 16" deep and I want mainly LPS. All the studies are based on normal depth tanks & I don't want to melt everything - so I decided I will wait until I get the tank, then rent or borrow a par meter. One day I'm leaning towards AI hydras, then Radion XR15s, and then I see the gen 5s are only $380 on Amazon...

Normally on a 6' tank I would recommend 3 XR30's, but since it's lps and only 16" deep you could get away with 4 XR15's.
Maybe a wife/girl friend or a friend can get on the FB group and ask for help. It's really where a large majority of western Washington reefers hang out.

 

[Ken Goldsmith]

Hello R2R & thanks so much for all the valuable info posted here. I’ve been educating myself by searching here about 30 times a day - any question I could think of has been answered & I’m so grateful.
Just getting back into the hobby after a 30 year break - still shopping for my undergravel filter, metal halides and where are all the $19 yellow tangs?

Anyway I’m in Tacoma WA and am looking for recommendations for an insured experienced aquarium co to move a very heavy tank

Here’s my problem - before placing the order for my made-to-order Innovative Marine Shallow Reef 120 I reached out to the 3 LFS in my area for bids to move the 400lb tank from my garage to the stand, and only got a bid from one (2 said they couldn’t do it). Once I got his quote, I placed the order.

Last night the LFS service department texted saying they can’t move the tank for me because they don’t have enough staff. It has already been ordered, no cancellations.

Tank will be here in 4-8 weeks. IM says 4-6 people are needed to move the tank, and I want them to be insured.

I’ve reached out to 3 piano movers, none will do it. I’ve found a company on thumbtack who says they can do it. They are a vent cleaning company (!) but they also move pianos. They are insured - but I asked if their insurance would cover moving an aquarium - they didn’t answer that question directly.

Any recommendations or advice? Trying not to panic. It’s 6’ and 400lbs empty.

Wish I could help you as I am 75 and in NJ, however, I recently received an IM 112 Lagoon. I hired a moving company to move it from the garage to the home office. I might have been able to hire younger friends, but I knew that these guys were insured.

 

[mosreef]

Wish I could help you as I am 75 and in NJ, however, I recently received an IM 112 Lagoon. I hired a moving company to move it from the garage to the home office. I might have been able to hire younger friends, but I knew that these guys were insured.

yes we are seniors also - how do you like the new tank? I bought a couple of IM Fusion 15's for quarantine tanks and am very impressed.

 

[mosreef]

Just wanted to say thanks everyone for the input - the movers came this morning and put the tank on the stand without any hiccups.

For a team of 5 they charged $270 an hour with a 2-hour minimum.

They would not insure the tank however. They were very clear that their insurance would not cover any damage because the tank was not going on their truck, and that my homeowners insurance would be responsible for any damage. There were many many pages of waivers and signatures. But at least the workers were covered and that was a big concern of mine.

Now the fun begins! Thanks again.

 

[Gunnyreefer]

I’m glad it worked out. Are you on the local forum in your area? I know those Seattle guys well, and they help each other out a lot. I use Seattle as a general area because I’m near portland and those folks up north are usually a good group of reefers. That sucks about the local shop not coming through. We routinely use all of my guys to move tanks (after hours). Doing stuff like that keeps us in business.

 

[mosreef]

Do you mean the local forum on here? I have not seen a lot of activity. I will try again

And yes that was kind of my plan, to buy all the rest of the stuff from the LFS. But saltwateraquarium.com has much better prices so that's okay.

 

[RedoubtReef]

good ol reeffrontiers.com. Was a great site for a long time.

 

[workhz]

Did it look like they were even remotely exerting themselves?

 

[mosreef]

Did it look like they were even remotely exerting themselves?

No, but mainly I was interested in lots of hands on it continuously lol. They were very very careful and I am thankful for that

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Just wanted to say thanks everyone for the input - the movers came this morning and put the tank on the stand without any hiccups.

For a team of 5 they charged $270 an hour with a 2-hour minimum.

They would not insure the tank however. They were very clear that their insurance would not cover any damage because the tank was not going on their truck, and that my homeowners insurance would be responsible for any damage. There were many many pages of waivers and signatures. But at least the workers were covered and that was a big concern of mine.

Now the fun begins! Thanks again.

Glad it worked out for you!!!

 

[Sleeping Giant]

looks great, glad you were able to get people to help

 

[mosreef]

Glad it worked out for you!!!

thank you!

 

[mosreef]

looks great, glad you were able to get people to help

Thanks, it was "Neighbors Moving" of Seattle and I highly recommend them