Will My Apartment Support A 90 Gallon Tank?

[rothenb1]

Hi everyone,

This might be a silly topic, but I figure I'd give it a whirl.

I have a 30 gallon right now, but I have gouramis (which I know will outgrow the tank quickly) and I'd like a school of 5 or 6 clown loaches, and I know a 30 is far too small for them. After much thought I have decided a 90 gallon would be best. The only reservation I am having is the fact that I live on the second floor (the top floor) of a small apartment building. I have been doing a lot of research on the support that such a large tank would require, but am still a little concerned.

The apartment building was built in the 1970s. There are eight separate apartments, four on the first floor, four on the second, each is 900sq ft and the whole building is longer than it is wide. I checked in the basement and it seems as if it has steel support beams running lengthwise (I don't know if these same beams run between the first and second floor, though). There is wall-to-wall carpeting so I am assuming there is concrete underneath. I'm guessing that a 90 gallon would weigh about 900lbs with water and gravel. Based on what I saw in the basement (steel beams) the tank would be sitting lengthwise on one beam.

Does anyone have any experience with this, or is anyone in a similar situation?

I'd really appreciate any input. Thanks so much.


(crossposted to an aquaticcommunity.com forum)

 

[fatheadminnow]

A fully filled 90 gallon tank weighs 1080 pounds, plus a couple hundred pounds of substrate. I would assume that your tank filled, and substrate added will weigh about 1200 pounds.

I would think this would be fine.

I would also as your land lord and see what his opinion would be. Ask him if you can maybe see blue prints, structural layouts of the place to get a better idea what is under your floor.

Vertical strength of wood is phenomenal. A 2x4 vertically can hold A LOT of weight, so an even bigger piece of wood would hold even more and should easily hold your tank.

I have a 55 gallon tank with 100 pounds of substrate on the second floor in our house. This weighs about 750 pounds and the floor holds just fine. I also have a desk with 3 more tanks on top of that weighing roughly 400-500 pounds. All we have for supports are horizontal pieces of wood (not sure on what size they are; bigger than 2x4's...lol.).

In other words, your tank will hold just fine.

We also have a 6 person hot tub on top of our wooden deck. The deck is not built as strong as our house, and I would say the hot tub is nearly 2000 pounds.

-FHM

 

[rothenb1]

A fully filled 90 gallon tank weighs 1080 pounds, plus a couple hundred pounds of substrate. I would assume that your tank filled, and substrate added will weigh about 1200 pounds.

I would think this would be fine.

I would also as your land lord and see what his opinion would be. Ask him if you can maybe see blue prints, structural layouts of the place to get a better idea what is under your floor.

Vertical strength of wood is phenomenal. A 2x4 vertically can hold A LOT of weight, so an even bigger piece of wood would hold even more and should easily hold your tank.

I have a 55 gallon tank with 100 pounds of substrate on the second floor in our house. This weighs about 750 pounds and the floor holds just fine. I also have a desk with 3 more tanks on top of that weighing roughly 400-500 pounds. All we have for supports are horizontal pieces of wood (not sure on what size they are; bigger than 2x4's...lol.).

In other words, your tank will hold just fine.

We also have a 6 person hot tub on top of our wooden deck. The deck is not built as strong as our house, and I would say the hot tub is nearly 2000 pounds.

-FHM

I definitely appreciate the quick reply and your advice, but I'm just wondering about your numbers-- it is my knowledge that a gallon of water weighs 8.4lbs, so 8.4x90 is roughly 760lbs + tank weight + substrate (I guess that would be over 900lbs but I don't think it's 1080)... I might be wrong?

 

[llamalord305]

Have you had a gander at this article written by a structural engineer about aquarium tanks and floors?

http/www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm

I don't want to start anything, but its not as simple as: "I have a tank on the second floor, and its fine, so therefore YOUR tanks will be okay."

Really, none of us are experienced in this matter (Structural engineering), and none of us can come up with a definitive answer. I would agree, you should have a look at blueprints and maybe have a word with an engineer. Just imagine 90 gallons all over your floor!

That's a great article, I would certainly recommend reading it.

 

[rothenb1]

Have you had a gander at this article written by a structural engineer about aquarium tanks and floors?

http/www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm

I don't want to start anything, but its not as simple as: "I have a tank on the second floor, and its fine, so therefore YOUR tanks will be okay."

Really, none of us are experienced in this matter (Structural engineering), and none of us can come up with a definitive answer. I would agree, you should have a look at blueprints and maybe have a word with an engineer. Just imagine 90 gallons all over your floor!

That's a great article, I would certainly recommend reading it.

Took a short glance at the article; wow! A lot to read, but it looks good, I will definitely take a crack at it. I will definitely ask my landlord and maintenance man about this; I was hesitant to at first because I was afraid they'd say no, and I really want my loachces However, I reaaaaaaally don't want to break my apartment and owe a million dollars, lol.

 

[fatheadminnow]

A fully filled 90 gallon tank weighs 1080 pounds, plus a couple hundred pounds of substrate. I would assume that your tank filled, and substrate added will weigh about 1200 pounds.

I would think this would be fine.

I would also as your land lord and see what his opinion would be. Ask him if you can maybe see blue prints, structural layouts of the place to get a better idea what is under your floor.

Vertical strength of wood is phenomenal. A 2x4 vertically can hold A LOT of weight, so an even bigger piece of wood would hold even more and should easily hold your tank.

I have a 55 gallon tank with 100 pounds of substrate on the second floor in our house. This weighs about 750 pounds and the floor holds just fine. I also have a desk with 3 more tanks on top of that weighing roughly 400-500 pounds. All we have for supports are horizontal pieces of wood (not sure on what size they are; bigger than 2x4's...lol.).

In other words, your tank will hold just fine.

We also have a 6 person hot tub on top of our wooden deck. The deck is not built as strong as our house, and I would say the hot tub is nearly 2000 pounds.

-FHM

I definitely appreciate the quick reply and your advice, but I'm just wondering about your numbers-- it is my knowledge that a gallon of water weighs 8.4lbs, so 8.4x90 is roughly 760lbs + tank weight + substrate (I guess that would be over 900lbs but I don't think it's 1080)... I might be wrong?

Glass also plays in the weight, see this link:

http/www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/size-chart.html

The tank dry weighs 182 pounds.

-FHM

 

[rothenb1]

A fully filled 90 gallon tank weighs 1080 pounds, plus a couple hundred pounds of substrate. I would assume that your tank filled, and substrate added will weigh about 1200 pounds.

I would think this would be fine.

I would also as your land lord and see what his opinion would be. Ask him if you can maybe see blue prints, structural layouts of the place to get a better idea what is under your floor.

Vertical strength of wood is phenomenal. A 2x4 vertically can hold A LOT of weight, so an even bigger piece of wood would hold even more and should easily hold your tank.

I have a 55 gallon tank with 100 pounds of substrate on the second floor in our house. This weighs about 750 pounds and the floor holds just fine. I also have a desk with 3 more tanks on top of that weighing roughly 400-500 pounds. All we have for supports are horizontal pieces of wood (not sure on what size they are; bigger than 2x4's...lol.).

In other words, your tank will hold just fine.

We also have a 6 person hot tub on top of our wooden deck. The deck is not built as strong as our house, and I would say the hot tub is nearly 2000 pounds.

-FHM

I definitely appreciate the quick reply and your advice, but I'm just wondering about your numbers-- it is my knowledge that a gallon of water weighs 8.4lbs, so 8.4x90 is roughly 760lbs + tank weight + substrate (I guess that would be over 900lbs but I don't think it's 1080)... I might be wrong?

Glass also plays in the weight, see this link:

http/www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/size-chart.html

The tank dry weighs 182 pounds.

-FHM

Huh! Would you look at that. The tank weighs much more than I thought. Thanks for your advice!