Is My Fish Tank Gonna Go Though The Flour ?

[shadow1200]

http/www.gardenandleisure.com/products/rena_aqualife_panorama120.html

I have that fish in my bed room upstairs.. i have had a look on google and it says 340 liters is 31 stone is this right ?

I have had the tank up stairs for about 5 months now ... and nothing has happened be for i put my carbit down there was serment under the wooden flour boards yes serment.
The boreds are little boreds going down ive heard it will go though if the boards are going down if there going across its fine. i have 1 bit of mdf filling the whole room then there wooden boards are under that then its serment

 

[StandbySetting]

Just make sure the tank is across the joists and it should be ok, only a structural engineer can definitively tell you if it's safe.

 

[shadow1200]

Just make sure the tank is across the joists and it should be ok, only a structural engineer can definitively tell you if it's safe.

You cant see the joints. If its been there for 5 months and haven't moved it shouldn't just go should it ? Unless its going slowly. the boards are going down and the tank is going down if that makes seance

 

[StandbySetting]

A diagram would help a lot.

 

[shadow1200]

My drawing in paint the boxes are the example of how my flour boards go.
That is my tank and the black boxes are how my flour boards would look under the carbit

 

[StandbySetting]

the tank should be fine, the red lines I have drawn into your image are how the joists will be orientated, joists are generally about 12-18 inches apart so divide the mass of your tank by the number of joists and that is how much mass is on each joint, still only a structural engineer can give you a definitive answer, but in my opinion, if it's been fine for 5 months, it'll be fine for the time to come, but as joists age the amount of stress and strain they can endure becomes less.

 

[shadow1200]

the tank should be fine, the red lines I have drawn into your image are how the joists will be orientated, joists are generally about 12-18 inches apart so divide the mass of your tank by the number of joists and that is how much mass is on each joint, still only a structural engineer can give you a definitive answer, but in my opinion, if it's been fine for 5 months, it'll be fine for the time to come, but as joists age the amount of stress and strain they can endure becomes less.

Thanks. That's a lot of pressure from my head. Hope it will be fine . just thought me messing around with water putting water in filling it etc might make them wet and over time it might go though.
But thanks

 

[Rorie]

Aquariums that come with their own stands are generally a good start! They will be distributing the load over a large area (think plank of wood on sinking sand) rather than some custom stands which look like coffee tables which have 4 legs (think woman in high heals in sinking sand!!).

I wouldnt worry about your aquarium where it is. The corner of your room is the strongest point! 360L is = 360kg, but on top of that you have the weight of the aquarium, stand, gravel etc.

If you are worried, further reassurance will come with a spirit level.... provided you used one while setting up your aquarium to ensure it is level, if you put it on now, it should still be level!

 

[shadow1200]

Aquariums that come with their own stands are generally a good start! They will be distributing the load over a large area (think plank of wood on sinking sand) rather than some custom stands which look like coffee tables which have 4 legs (think woman in high heals in sinking sand!!).

I wouldnt worry about your aquarium where it is. The corner of your room is the strongest point! 360L is = 360kg, but on top of that you have the weight of the aquarium, stand, gravel etc.

If you are worried, further reassurance will come with a spirit level.... provided you used one while setting up your aquarium to ensure it is level, if you put it on now, it should still be level!

Yer ive tried a spirit level and says its level. If you look at the photo tho it has 2 legs ( like a women in high heals ) them to legs are hopefully drilled / glued into the bottom of 1 big bit of wood. then there are like high heal bottom things under it 6 of them .
How much is 360kg in stone ? My mother in law seen it and she said it will be fine because houses are made to hold a 30 od stone person so should be fine. her words was if it can hold a person a tank will be fine.
Me and 3 other people tried to lift it half fill and couldn't. Think it ways the same has 4 people never mind 1

 

[StandbySetting]

The mass of the tank with water, substrate and stand in stone will be approximately 70 stone, the people standing in one spot thing doesn't really work as they're not permanent and a tank is.

 

[shadow1200]

The mass of the tank with water, substrate and stand in stone will be approximately 70 stone, the people standing in one spot thing doesn't really work as they're not permanent and a tank is.

70 stone I am not gonna go to sleep to night. I never thought it was that much. Hope its ok

 

[Rorie]

I'm a Structural Engineer.... let me assure you i am correct here haha.

I cant put figures to it just now as i now specialise in offshore structures, so i cant remember the loading allowance for onshore domestic builds...

But if your aquarium is in the corner of the room, that is best. Ideally you would put it flat up against a wall so that you can cover more beams (seen as they run perpendicular to the wall).

The theory of people moving all the time etc makes no difference. Your floor is designed for a Constant load.

If your spirit level is fine, it means no beams are bending, which means you dont have a problem! (in simple terms!).

I'll find out the exact floor loadings on Monday

 

[shadow1200]

Thanks. Be for i moved into the house there was a big fire . and the council had to re do everything. but the council with trys to bodge everything up when we moved in the windows was black.
Anyways thanks would be nice if you pmed me when you know
and a big thanks for helping me

 

[OldMan47]

A residential standard in the US is only 20 psf live load. I have no idea what it is elsewhere or even whether or not the particular building was built to those standards (in the US the individual jurisdictions vary a lot in their standards). I will go even further to say that judging the strength of a floor without an on-site inspection is a poor idea. The simple fact that a floor has held up for a few months does not mean that it is not being damaged. If I apply a force to a support for a prolonged period, especially a wooden support member, it will gradually deflect over a long time. If the force is close enough to the design stress of that support member, the deflection will become fixed and will not recover when the force is removed. If you want to see an example of that, look at the floor in a very old house where the floor joists were just marginal. The floors slant so much that the slope is visible to the naked eye. If the load is immaterial compared to the strength of the joists, no damage is evident after several generations.

 

[Rorie]

Old Man 47, you are correct, one cannot make a judgement. But generally speaking floors in buildings are capable of withstanding loading from an aquarium no problem, unless it just so happens to be a very tall and slender aquarium, or the building has been built on the cheap (like one multi-million pound block of apartments near me) where they limit the amount of people allowed on each floor! Crazy!

Of course i am not giving any guarantee that the floor will be fine etc, but deflections in steel and wood tend to be close to instant. Plastic deformation can take place of course, and fatigue will play a factor as you highlight....but again, generally speaking!

Shadow1200, having a fire in your place could cause an issue, but although your council (as they all do) cut spending where its really needed, building standards will be followed by law, so they will have done it to a set minimum standard. If you are worried, and wish to play it safe, move your aquarium against the wall rather than having it in the corner. Keep a gap between the wall and the side of the aquarium and that will ensure it lands on the highest amount of beams possible