How To Know How Much Weight My Floor Can Handle?

[VincentAquarium]

I'll get someone to have a look soon, when I get some time off from work, I do need my mind put at peace as I really don't want to risk putting it there and then one day come in and want to relax for work and see mine and downstairs flats destroyed, plus this could potentially kill someone.

Does anybody know how long it'll take for someone to look at it and tell me? A day or week or what?

And, don't worry I do want to move soon to a house with a garage or decent size garden to have a pond and tanks in a house/cabinet type of thing.

 

[sputnick]

another possible way to calculate the load that your floor can take would be to research the load bearing that each joists is rated for and then multiply by the number of joists that the tank would be sitting on. Then figure what a fully loaded tank would weigh and if its well within the calculation i would say you'd be fine. If its close i wouldn't risk it. Im not possitive but id bet that this is what structural engineers do.

 

[VincentAquarium]

How many kgs per foot and per square metre does a 6by2by2 tank work out to be? Sorry I just don't know the formula to work it out.

 

[snazy]

If I did it right, it should be 36kg/litre per square foot just the water volume itself. If you want to add the weight of the tank and cabinet.
Add their total weight to 648kg and then divide the sum by 18. I can't work it out in meters from the top of my head.

 

[Clearwaters]

another possible way to calculate the load that your floor can take would be to research the load bearing that each joists is rated for and then multiply by the number of joists that the tank would be sitting on. Then figure what a fully loaded tank would weigh and if its well within the calculation i would say you'd be fine. If its close i wouldn't risk it. Im not possitive but id bet that this is what structural engineers do.

Again but, like said before, do you kow the full history of the house? Dry rot, previous flooding, the building could be subsiding and that's really bad when it comes to weight on flooring as they are moving, this ain't a guessing game.

I have a false wall in my bedroom to cover an old fireplace, the chimny breast had been leaking and when I was doing some work in the loft I couldn't even see it, till the flat down stairs roof below me collapsed as his house had been empty for a few months no one seen the damp, so all this happens out of view in my house, not even a smell of damp, and the floor bords under mine are in a bad way, all needing removed, and beams need checked.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

6x2x2 on a stand with substrate etc. etc. is going to weigh well over a ton. Tank and water alone are about 2,100 lbs. Figure on being close to 2500 lbs (952 kg) when done.
 
That is like having 14 average weight, adult males in the UK stand on your floor within the footprint of where the tank will go. One of them should also have a 50 lb (22kg) child sitting on his shoulders

 

[VincentAquarium]

If I did it right, it should be 36kg/litre per square foot just the water volume itself. If you want to add the weight of the tank and cabinet.Add their total weight to 648kg and then divide the sum by 18. I can't work it out in meters from the top of my head.

Why divide by 18? I'm confused on the formula to work this out.

130kg per square metre is what is advised - from what I've read online.

another possible way to calculate the load that your floor can take would be to research the load bearing that each joists is rated for and then multiply by the number of joists that the tank would be sitting on. Then figure what a fully loaded tank would weigh and if its well within the calculation i would say you'd be fine. If its close i wouldn't risk it. Im not possitive but id bet that this is what structural engineers do.

Again but, like said before, do you kow the full history of the house? Dry rot, previous flooding, the building could be subsiding and that's really bad when it comes to weight on flooring as they are moving, this ain't a guessing game.I have a false wall in my bedroom to cover an old fireplace, the chimny breast had been leaking and when I was doing some work in the loft I couldn't even see it, till the flat down stairs roof below me collapsed as his house had been empty for a few months no one seen the damp, so all this happens out of view in my house, not even a smell of damp, and the floor bords under mine are in a bad way, all needing removed, and beams need checked.

I don't know the full house history but I do know these are buildings that were built roughly in the 1930s.

I've not had any signs of poor floors...I am going to get someone to look at it, so annoying though my brand new carpets!

6x2x2 on a stand with substrate etc. etc. is going to weigh well over a ton. Tank and water alone are about 2,100 lbs. Figure on being close to 2500 lbs (952 kg) when done. That is like having 14 average weight, adult males in the UK stand on your floor within the footprint of where the tank will go. One of them should also have a 50 lb (22kg) child sitting on his shoulders

So in order to get the number per foot or per square what's the calculations?

952 divided by what?

 

[snazy]

Ok. I don't know what i was thinking about the 18. This was supposed to be the amount of square feet of the tank base area, which for a 6"x2"x2" is 12 square feet,not 18.
 
So you need to divide your 952kg number by 12 to get the weight support needed per sq ft
Or if just calculating the water volume of the tank, divide 648/12=54litre per sq ft

 

[VincentAquarium]

Ok. I don't know what i was thinking about the 18. This was supposed to be the amount of square feet of the tank base area, which for a 6"x2"x2" is 12 square feet,not 18. So you need to divide your 952kg number by 12 to get the weight support needed per sq ftOr if just calculating the water volume of the tank, divide 648/12=54litre per sq ft

Would it not be 108 per sq ft since its 2ft high? Divide it by 12 then x2?

 

[snazy]

Ok. I don't know what i was thinking about the 18. This was supposed to be the amount of square feet of the tank base area, which for a 6"x2"x2" is 12 square feet,not 18. So you need to divide your 952kg number by 12 to get the weight support needed per sq ftOr if just calculating the water volume of the tank, divide 648/12=54litre per sq ft

Would it not be 108 per sq ft since its 2ft high? Divide it by 12 then x2?

No. We are measuring square, not cubic feet. You have the total weight of tank,cabinet, water, substrate, fish,etc...as in your example 952. Then you need to know on how big area this is spread out, which is the base of the tank cabinet but we presume its the same as the tank, which is 6" long and 2" wide(12 sq feet)

 

[egore81]

Depending on your spend and if it is your house?
I am planning in the future to have a similar size tank. I would suggest making an opening in a structural wall to accommadate the tank.
Obviously this is not a small job but doable and it would look great with a view from both sides of the wall

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I'm getting the feeling this guy is desperate for someone on here to tell him it's ok to do what he's doing.

If you're just an ordinary fish keeper I would seriously suggest you think of a different size tank. If you really have to have this size tank the only way your're going to be 100% certain it is ok is to get a professional in to assess your house.

As much as I respect the advice regarding fishkeeping on this board, it's not a structural engineer's forum so I would be reluctant to accept a few calculations by some people I've never met.

Please, for your own sake, just get a professional in or downsize your ambitions until you are certain you can have that size of tank without risking things. Imagine how you'd feel if it collapsed on top of someone...

 

[VincentAquarium]

Depending on your spend and if it is your house?
I am planning in the future to have a similar size tank. I would suggest making an opening in a structural wall to accommadate the tank.
Obviously this is not a small job but doable and it would look great with a view from both sides of the wall

 
I won't be staying in this flat for many years so it would be pointless me spending x amount of £££ just for the sake of it.
 
I've often though about the "tank in the wall" idea but it won't be good in the upstairs flat.
 
Plus, this will require permission, for sure.
 

I'm getting the feeling this guy is desperate for someone on here to tell him it's ok to do what he's doing.

If you're just an ordinary fish keeper I would seriously suggest you think of a different size tank. If you really have to have this size tank the only way your're going to be 100% certain it is ok is to get a professional in to assess your house.

As much as I respect the advice regarding fishkeeping on this board, it's not a structural engineer's forum so I would be reluctant to accept a few calculations by some people I've never met.

Please, for your own sake, just get a professional in or downsize your ambitions until you are certain you can have that size of tank without risking things. Imagine how you'd feel if it collapsed on top of someone...

 
I don't rely on calculations from people on here as many have shown (no dis-respect) that there has been a bit of mumble and jumble confusion.
 
I think you are right, I will down size my tank until I move into my house - in the future - and then concrete all the bottom floors and then have a huge tank downstairs, the risk of a 6fter upstairs is too much in my opinion.
 
This fish keeper was successful after a structural engineer gave him the go ahead - http/forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32673
 
His joists are not standard though "3/4" T&G boarding on 8'x2' Joists at 18" C/S -see joist plan - 2 layers 1/2" plaster board Artex finish (1/2 hour F.R.)"
 
I will downsize to a 4ft tank, better option, yes?

 

[snazy]

You really need to get an engineer to evaluate it. No point of this thread and more " mumble and jumble" from us.
A deep 4f tank poses more risk than a shallow 6f tank. It isn't about the size of the tank, but the surface area that weight is spread out to.
For example for a 4" long, 1" wide tank, lets say 500kg weight everything, the floor must be capable of 125kg per square foot compared to a 1000kg 6"x2" which only needs 83kg per sq ft. And then there are other factors that we have no idea about.

 

[bullit]

Without reading the whole thread. 6x2x2 is more like 600 litres. I read that you have an alcove, if the sides are walls then it would be pretty easy to put in a few steels to take the weight. Again though, a structural engineer is a must really.