How to move 5 gallon Betta tank across the room

How to move 5 gallon Betta tank across the room

My parents always make me move my tanks so I was wondering if Its possible to make a tank stand that's easy to move

 

Usually i empty it down to half or quarter tank then lift it and move.

An old microwave cart may do the trick. Should be able to hold a 5 gal tank no problem and they typically have wheels.

 

Tanks have allot of weight to consider, but yes there are rolling aquarium stands commercially available, even for tanks near the thousand gallon range.

There's a company called majestic aquarium caster carts that does 700 gallon and less with frame attachments you can add to a normal stand. You could look at the design as a basis to build your own version.

Design consideration if building from the ground up. "Racking" and "twisting" force is not usually well accounted for in aquarium stands. These two forces would need to be considered significantly more if the tank were to roll. When you accelerate, or decelerate a partially full vessel of liquid the weight oscillates which can cause sway and racking force to the stand.

Next consideration is floor loading both micro and macro. Micro example: I park a 6,000 lb truck in my car hauler, the truck has large rubber tires and it causes no damages to the floor. My 250 lb friend rolled around the empty trailer on my shop stool one day and the tiny hard wheels left permanent damage to the epoxy coating. If you choose wheels that are not appropriate in surface area for the weight of your tank and hardness of your floor they will sink into the floor over time, and then the stand will not roll. Macro example: I keep my tanks against the walls as those are the strongest structural locations in home built with joists. In theory your floor may bow as you move the tank around, most tank foot prints over 250 gallon exceed normal static load for residential floors but as you move towards the walls (ends of the joist) you can usually get away with a little more loading.

Just some thoughts.

 

Remove the fish to prevent any problems. If you have a deep bowl or container, that can hold tank water, add the removed water in there and pop the betta in there temporarily whilst you move the tank.

 

I feel safest removing the fish, and dropping the water level to just above the substrate before moving. (saving some of the water for refill)

I watched two muscular guys on a home makeover show move a 30 or so gallon aquarium that was still over halfway filled! I cringed and awaited a disaster but they somehow made it. No thanks!

 

water weight 41 pounds of water and then a bit more for the tank and substrate and accessories, guessing at about 50-60 poundsish.
then it depends on how much you are comfortable carrying and sloshing around, you'd drain some water to a container for the fish, and temporarily hold the fish there, use a 5 gallon bucket and drain your water to as low as you'll feel comfortable to carry to move it.

once moved put your water back in and then the fish, no reacclimation time, because not big water change or filter downtime being minimal and it won't dry out so you likely wont' lose your cycle as long as it doesn't all dry out.

So yeah, I'd save and reuse the water, just so everything stays roughly the same, you can do a water change as normal after the move is finished if you like.

 

Just take it down to a gallon or so. Bettas are fine in extremely shallow water. Move that aquarium, it should weigh about 12-15 lbs at this point. Refill water. Enjoy.