Am I Just Paranoid?

[fishwatcher]

Say you have 4 tanks (all 20-gal or less) set up in a dining room that's 12x16. The floors are unfinished hardwood floors, and the tanks are sitting around the perimeter of the room. It's an old house (about 60 yrs.), and the floors have always made vibrations when you walk on them. What I want to know is how do you know if the floors are holding the weight well or not, before a big crash happens? All of the tanks have been up for atleast 4-6 months, a few longer than that.
Also, do you ever worry about overloading the electric outlets with multiple tanks? I just think sometimes that one night a fire is going to break out bc of all the plugged in things in that dining room.

edit: I know, I know.... I'm a paranoid freak... but I can't help it. So any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's nigh on impossible to tell from that if your house is holding the weight properly or not.

personally with tanks that size I wouldn't worry. We've a 80g, 60g and 30g in our living room with no problems. and a 30g upstairs.

there's a member 'fillet o fish' who's a structural engineer perhaps if you pm him he will tell you what info he'd need to work out if it's safe or not. However he might also just kill me for making him more work!!

if your seriously worried the only possible solution is to consult an expert, perhaps speaking to one of the structural engineers in the planning dept of your local council they can help you. Or you could hire someone privately.

Simple facts is every house and circumstance is different, someone else being able to do something doesn't mean that you can in your house. You just have to ask someone who knows how to work it out properly. Might seem like a ball ache and expensive but if your floor did go through just think how much worse it'd be.

 

[fishwatcher]

Do you think that if it's held up this long that it would be ok, or do floors still give way months later?

 

[Bloo]

I think it's impossible for any of us to speculate and perhaps lull you into a false sense of security. If in doubt, have it professional checked by those qualified with the knowledge

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Do you think that if it's held up this long that it would be ok, or do floors still give way months later?

yeah I think they can do. Just depends, just imagine if the floorboards or joists are steadily being weakened by the extra pressure, they could take a while to become weak enough to actually give way. My fella's a builder and I work for an architects dept so I know a little about this sort of thing. not a hell of a lot though, it's best to consult a professional.

 

[fishwatcher]

ok, thanks! I'll have to shell out the bucks to get some sleep at night, I guess.

 

[Bloo]

Safe rather than sorry (and hope for the best while fearing for the worst)

 

[TigerIssey]

Did you get any structural surveys done when you moved in, might be a starting point to look at what that said, if you have one.

 

[fishwatcher]

no, this is a house that was passed down to us. My husband seems to not worry at all about it, but I've always been a little freaky about things like this. I have a 20-gal, 2 10-gals and a 2.5 gal. But it just makes me worry... at night I always think it's either going to be "crash" and no floor is left, or a fire will break out. (This is always at night, mind you. Never during the day! I really do need help....)

 

[TigerIssey]

Do what you have to do to ease your worries. Getting stressed is no good for you.

Hope everything is ok!

 

[smmetz]

None of your tanks are very large. I wouldn't even bother mentioning the 2.5 gallon, it is so small. Even a 20 gallon is not that big, and weigh about 200 pounds or so with the tank, gravel, and water. If the 10s are on a different wall than the 20, then they are either supported by different joists, or at least one of your walls is probably near the end of the joists, where it can hold a LOT of weight.

Really, I would not worry about it. Most pieces of regular furniture are easity 200+ pounds or more anyway. (like a dining room cabinet for your china, or a chest of drawers with stuff in it.)

 

[fishwatcher]

They are all 3 on different walls. One is against an outside wall by the door, the 20-gal against the largest wall in the middle of the house (I think it's a load-bearing wall, but I'm not positive), and the other 10 is on a bar that runs beside the fridge to seperate the kitchen/dining room. It also has the 2.5 gal on it.

 

[Bloo]

Under those circumstances I really honestly wouldn't worry about it at all !

 

[OohFeeshy]

If you wouldn't hesitate to have a party in case the floor collapsed then there's definately no need to worry about the tanks.

 

[fishwatcher]

oh, no, we have company over alot, and have a house full at Christmas time. I've never thought the floor would fall in from them.
I'm thinking they make medication for people like me....LOL, I think!
Oh, and what do y'all think about the electricity part of all this? How do you know when you've loaded the plug-ins too much and have a fire hazard on your hands? (see what I mean about the medication??)