Tank weight problem...?

[logan89]

I made a topic in the begginers forum, and a few questions arose about my tank being too heavy for my floor to support.

It's a 250gal, the water plus the sand (or gravel) add up to ALOT of weight.

Do you guys think it will be a problem? I was thinking I could stack some bags of cement in the crawlspace under my house direcly beneath the tank...

Any ideas?

Thanks guys.

 

[john5748]

I can't do the link thing that other people do but there is a guy in the marine section called navarre who has a massive tank project going on in his living room.

he had to pour concrete into the floor space to support the tank, I will try and find a link for you.

Edit: Here is the link

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=69251&st=32

Sorry but I don't know how to change it like other people do, if someone wants to let me know I would appreciate it.

 

[clunkster]

anoter way is if you can get to your floor joists you can put extra support under the joists in the area that the tank will occupie this is what i did when i set my 187gallon (uk) tank which also has a sump tank underneath

 

[logan89]

You think adding support to my floor joists will be enough? My tank is nearly twice yours...

Anyone know if this SHOULD work?

I really hope I don't have to rip up my floor, pour concrete and recover t just for this. Simply because I connot afford it, I would have to get a much smaller tank, which I really don't want to do

Thanks.

 

[Tolak]

I wouldn't use bags of cement, they don't handle compression well when the cement is dry. Cinder blocks will handle the compression on the floor, you may have to pour a few inches of concrete for a pad to distribute the weight of the blocks, or you may get by with some heavy planks. If your crawlspace has a concrete floor, you could get by with just the cinder blocks. This will keep you from having to rip up the floor.

If you look at the pics in the link, the stand is made of cinder blocks. If they support between the tank & the floor, they will support between the underside of the floor & the crawlspace.

Tolak

 

[logan89]

Yah but ripping up the floor is completely out of the question (it's my moms house afterall...), she wouldnt go for it.

No, my crawlspace floor is dirt, not concrete. What did you mean when you say heavy planks? You mean stacking them? Or using them upright against the floorboards (or joists)?

This is a first priority type of thing, it would be pointless for me to get a tank I can't even use safely. Although there are other people I can consult about this, I was just wanting the most opionons I could get before taking ANY kind of action, I don' feel like crawling 80feet under my house more than once.

Thanks for the helpful comments, keep them comming if you can,

-Logan

 

[brown metal-head]

This may help
http/www.reefcorner.com/big_tank_journal.htm

 

[Boxcar Muzzdogg]

Your fully stocked and operational 250 gal. tank will probably weigh somewhere between 2500-2800 pounds. One of the things that it is always important to do with heavy tanks is to make sure that the length of your tank is running perpendicular to the floor joists so that the weight is distributed over as many joists as possible. If you have a home that was built farily recently It is best to call the company that built the home and ask them how much each joist can hold safely.

If you do not know who built your house then you should contact a building comany until you find one that is willing to answer some questions. Be prepared to tell them when your house was built and with what materials.

If no one wants to help, you may have to resort to telling them your going to be building a house and you need to know what is needed to support that kind of weight and have the dimensions ready of what amount of area the weight will be distrubuted over.

I don't know much about construction but you should deffinitley call a few builders before you get started because If I understand correctly you can no just simply place cement blocks on a dirt surface then add weight and not expect some sagging. This is the purpose of a foundation. Foundations are dug deep enough to ensure that the foundation will be stable in the type of ground that it is in. You may have to dig some deep holes and fill them with cement. I must stress that you check with professionals. I would not want you to use the method described in the above link and find out that the dirt floor gave way under the pressure.

 

[itZme]

This is pretty much the best explanation I have ever seen. House framing and aquariums

-- itZme

 

[brown metal-head]

Or you could put it outside?

 

[~nessy~]

ok im kinda worried now im wanting to get a 230l tank saving up for it will i need to put floor supports in for it

 

[Undawada]

ok im kinda worried now im wanting to get a 230l tank saving up for it will i need to put floor supports in for it unsure.gif

Don't worry, that tank isn't nearly as heavy.

 

[camshaft]

i think some of you guys are way over thinking this.

think about waterbeds people. back in the 80's, just about everyone here in the states had them, and they are HEAAAAVY. many people even had them upstairs (my parents included.)

definately try to have the tank running perpendicular to your floor joists as the other guy stated.

if your crawlspace floor is dirt, as i suspect it is, then the BEST option would be to pour a small concrete pad, then buy floor support jacks and run them up to the bottom of the joists.

if you are pretty handy, you can go to your local lumber yard and buy some engineered I-joists, or possibly LVLs (laminated veneer lumber) and further support your joists. you could also hire a contractor or handyman to do this.

 

[abstract]

i think some of you guys are way over thinking this.

think about waterbeds people. back in the 80's, just about everyone here in the states had them, and they are HEAAAAVY. many people even had them upstairs (my parents included.)

i think you are underthinking it slightly j/k j/k....you have to take into account the size a waterbed vs the size a fish tank takes up....all of that weight in a waterbed is spread out over a much larger surface than most fish tanks...the most accurate way for this comparison would be to figure out how much the average water bed weighs with 2 people on it and figure out the weight per square foot for instance...i think the hardest thing with fish tanks is that they have a relatively small footprint

 

[Boxcar Muzzdogg]

Lets not be confusing people with water bed analogies. The fact is that a 250 gal tank will be possibly 1 and 1/2 tons of weight on your floor. Thats the size of a small car. If your an american think chevy lumina or ford taurus. Would you park this in your living room? No, but you do park it in a garage which has a concrete floor.

So if your putting a 250 gal. in your house you will deffinitley need some sort of support. The link provided above by Itzme is very helpful. The man who wrote the article is a structural engineer and he explains some of the basic concepts of what you have to look at when adding such a large amount of weight to the floor. Logan, I hope you read this article carefully, but do not get discouraged from getting your tank. It may cost a little extra money to have extra supports for the floors but it will be well worth it when you look at the fish in your new tank.