Help!! Tank bowing - time to upgrade & need input!

[noodles62]

Well, my nicely planted 30 gallon tank is bowing. :mad2:
My LFS will gladly trade it out for me but I have decided to upgrade to a 45 (& pay the diff) as the 45 has a center brace. I am not thrilled at having to tear down my tank as the plants are doing nicely especially the wisteria - it is a jungle in there! I have attached a few (terrible!) pics - any advice on rearrangemnt of plants, etc and advice on how to transfer everything would be great! I will be using the same stand so it wil be a tedious process. UGH!
(looks a little cloudy right now as the driftwood is fairly new)......
edit: plant stock is lots of wisteria that is spreading like crazy, 1 giant hygro, 2 anubias, and 1 little grass like plant in front w/ no ID, and floating anacharis. (plus java moss/java fern)

[FluffynTex]

If it were me I would transfer the water fish and plants to a large plastic tote and put the hob on it while I trade tanks, that way you still have your bacteria/water everything and can avoid a cycle. Put the substrate in a separate container to avoid cloudiness/mess.

[noodles62]

I am planning on picking up a couple rubbermaid tubs (tank will be in Tuesday) - I hope to transfer the sand/substrate straight to the new tank. Any input on rearrangement since I have to re-do it all anyway?

[jmhart]

I'm guessing this is more than just the normal bow. All tanks bow a little.

Other than that, I think you've got a good plan.

[noodles62]

the front and back are bowed about 1/4" at the center. it is very concerning........is this normal?

[noodles62]

Nobody else has any comments on the arrangement of plants when I re-do the tank?
Or any input on the change out?
Bump?

[bluekrissyspike]

your arrangement looks pretty good already so i think that's why no one is commenting on it. maybe add a few more plants?

[bluekrissyspike]

also, while you are upgrading you should go up a few more sizes....but that's just my opinion

[noodles62]

I would LOVE to go up to a 75 or bigger but have to use my existing stand, so a 45 is as big as I can go.....I plan on more foreground plants as soon as I can find them.........

[bluekrissyspike]

lol...we all want to upgrade to giant tanks...

[fishorama]

It looks very nice. My suggestion would be to have it less symetrical. Move the wood a little to 1 side, maybe group some of the bigger stones closer together.

Good luck on the transfer. What a bother but better to be safe. Are a couple plants crypts, I can't tell? They might melt but will recover. Rather than grab & pull near the crown try to gently scoop them out if you can for less root damage.

Good luck.

[noodles62]

No crypts, just anubias, hygros, wisteria, and java fern.
Thanks for the suggestions. I will start a new thread when I get the new tank and post my progress. Hopefully all will go smoothly..........