Big tanks

[Squirrelbuddies]

For those of you who have 100 gallon or bigger tanks --- do you have them on the 2nd floor or on the first floor over a basement? My point being, is that much weight ok on other than a concrete floor?

I'm thinking that a 1000 pounds wouldn't be too bad if located on an outside wall as there would be the support of the foundation along the perimeter of the house. And I guess it's not much different than 4 big guys sitting on your sofa watching the Superbowl!

But just curious as I really would like to get a large tank someday....

 

[fufanu360]

unless those guys are sitting there for a life time its a bit different...

i think concrete is the best thing, other wise your floor can sage, and be weakend terribly

 

[Mr Miagi]

The weight is spread, but aslong as your floor is secure, stable etc. it should hold up. Check with the local council or people who built your house. Sometimes they can provide you with the floors maximum baring capacity.

U could always re-inforce your floors!!!

Edit: Like fufanu said, concrete is always better.

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

unless those guys are sitting there for a life time its a bit different...

Yes, different indeed! I certainly wouldn't enjoy looking at them nearly as much as my fishtank either!

I never really thought about developing the basement area into a fish habitat....There's so much room down there, too! This could be the start of something very big.

 

[freddyk]

I had 125 gallons in a bedroom on the second floor of my last townhouse - didn't even think twice. Houses are built seriously over-spec, and unless there is some other factor (very old house, termites or rotting beams) there is no reason you can't do it.
There are heavy household items people will or have installed in the past without even thinking about it - a full oak armoir could weight half a ton, and what about the age of waterbeds?

 

[astroboy]

My house has a crawl space under the floor.

The floor is made of 2 X 10s spaced every 16 inches apart. It would not hold my 180g.

I had to go under the house and reinforce the floor using concrete slabs and 4X4s

 

[FrAnK3333]

M mom makes me mad. My dad is a use to be a general contractor and said that the 40 gallon I was going to get was fine on a bearing wall, but my mom said no the weight would be to much. She eventually chnaged the reason to there is no room in my room for a tank of that size, but made her look stupied.

 

[CFC]

Modern houses (those under 5 years old) are now often built with the floors constructed from I shaped 3/4 chipboard and 2x1" timber joists which will certainly not hold the weight of anything much above a 55 gallon. Older houses which are constructed with solid timber joists should be able to hold the weight of a 180 without problems as long as the tank is positioned to have the weight supported by as many joists as possible and placed close to a INTERNAL wall, internal walls support more weight as normally they are bearing the entire weight of the joist.
Any tank above 180 gallons (6x2x2') should ony be placed onto a solid concrete or reinforced floor.

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm thinking the basement is the way to go. I woke up really early this AM thinking about it!

I'm having visions of a 6 foot tank....hmmmm...maybe setup a bar area down there, too. Now this is what I call a home improvement project!

 

[Blue Lobster]

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article....tid=415&aid=950

To figure the psf of the aquarium you are considering, find its total weight by multiplying its gallon size by 10 (55 gallons x 10 = 550 lbs.). Next, divide total weight by the square-foot floor space (footprint) it uses. For example, a 55-gallon tank with a weight of 550 lbs. that uses 4 sq. ft. of floorspace (4' x 1'), exerts 137.5 psf (550 lbs. divided by 4 sq. ft.). Larger gallon-size doesn't always mean more psf weight. Generally, the more the weight can be spread out, the less psf you're exerting on your floor. Consider this: a 120-gallon tank that has a 4' x 2' footprint (8 sq. ft.) can weigh 1,200 lbs. and exert 150 psf, whereas a 125-gallon that has a 6' x 1.5' footprint (9 sq. ft.), could weigh 1,250 lbs. and exert less than 140 psf.

Just think of it this way, you exert more weight per square foot on the floor than a tank. I wouldn't sweat it, just put the tank on a load bearing wall for safe measure.

 

[Stryker]

My stand holds a 180gal and a 120 litre tank. Its on the ground floor of my house, the house is around 70 years old. I just made sure of the following:

1) The joists ran across my tank. IE tank not placed inline with the joists.

2) The stand was TOTALY rigid, thus the weight spread. (built from 2x4 frame, ie frame on the floor and NOT legs).

3) All the joists that held the tank had additional support underneath.

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Good point about running across the joists. Plus the joists are exposed in the basement so it would be easy to add additional support. So I guess I could still have a large tank on the first floor....but I have to tell ya, there is some prime real estate in the basement (it's not like a root cellar!) and I am still envisioning a VERY large tank with a comfy little bar area where people can sit around with a glass of wine and admire my beautiful fish!!! (I like to make wine, too -- hence, the excitement about the wine and the fish.)

 

[Dorkhedeos]

well, the floor in my house can support a piano tahts about 1000-1500 pounds. its on 3 wheels