Thinking Of Buying A Second Hand Fluval Osaka 155 - Advice Wanted

[CezzaXV]

Yup, what the title says.

My main question is this - how worried do I have to be on having this in an upstairs room? It would go where my current 60L tank is. I was worried about the weight of that one until I realised that I weigh more than 60L of water. This new tank is 155L. It's a tall tank, only 2ft wide so spreading across supporting beams probably wouldn't happen (I'm no architect but I don't imagine supporting beams are that close together?) even if I had a way of knowing which way the supporting beams go.

I'm sure it's fine, I'd just like a little reassurance before buying.

I think my house was built 1950-1970, though I'm not sure.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

You should be able to spread the tank load over two joists, but nobody on a forum can tell you how structurally sound your house is, for that you need an inspection by a qualified engineer.

As an aside, stocking these squat cube tanks is not an easy task, you could far more fish in a 48x12x15 140l than in a 2x1.5x2 155l tank. The Osaka has more volume, but less surface area and less lengthy space for fish to spread out.

 

[CezzaXV]

Sadly I don't have the space for a longer tank. I wouldn't be looking to stock bigger fish anyway, just smaller community fish along the lines of those I already have. I'm generally good at keeping a balance between bottom, middle and top dwellers. That's another thread for later though.

I did some calculations and say a 155L tank weighed 180kg with stuff in it. I'm sure I read a thread somewhere that said a floor should be able to support way more than that and it's not an issue until you get much bigger tanks than that.

I have a lot more than 180kg of junk in my attic and it's yet to fall through.

I can get into the attic and see what way the rafters run. Does anyone know if joists run the same way as the rafters?

I'm just looking for some reassurance that I'm being paranoid lol.

 

[robertsskippyj]

Yup, what the title says.

My main question is this - how worried do I have to be on having this in an upstairs room? It would go where my current 60L tank is. I was worried about the weight of that one until I realised that I weigh more than 60L of water. This new tank is 155L. It's a tall tank, only 2ft wide so spreading across supporting beams probably wouldn't happen (I'm no architect but I don't imagine supporting beams are that close together?) even if I had a way of knowing which way the supporting beams go.

I'm sure it's fine, I'd just like a little reassurance before buying.

I think my house was built 1950-1970, though I'm not sure.

If you can get the weight distributed you should be fine unless you have an unusually constructed floor, the weight of your bath if you brimmed it would be more heavier than that. The floor joists don't usually or have to follow the same way as the roof joists.

 

[elmo666]

Wether you have timber floor boards, or t+g chipboard, both will run across the joists. Looking where the fixings are (screws or nails) will tell you exactly where they are. As previously said, the weight involved really shouldn't pose a problem, it is only the same as 2 stocky adults. But if you want to put you mind at rest, measure the distance between the floor fixings, add around 5" then get a 3/4 plywood board cut to spread the weight over the joists.

 

[snazy]

155 litres is like having a couple of guests in the house standing on the spot where the tank would be, would they fall through the floor you think? Also, having the tank leaning against the wall is the safest.

 

[iantaylor]

I used to have a Aquarium in my bedroom that 60x18x24 with no problem
If you lift one corner of your carpet you should see floorboards the joist's will run the opposite way, they hold up your second floor.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Yup, what the title says.

My main question is this - how worried do I have to be on having this in an upstairs room? It would go where my current 60L tank is. I was worried about the weight of that one until I realised that I weigh more than 60L of water. This new tank is 155L. It's a tall tank, only 2ft wide so spreading across supporting beams probably wouldn't happen (I'm no architect but I don't imagine supporting beams are that close together?) even if I had a way of knowing which way the supporting beams go.

I'm sure it's fine, I'd just like a little reassurance before buying.

I think my house was built 1950-1970, though I'm not sure.

If you can get the weight distributed you should be fine unless you have an unusually constructed floor, the weight of your bath if you brimmed it would be more heavier than that. The floor joists don't usually or have to follow the same way as the roof joists.

155 litres is like having a couple of guests in the house standing on the spot where the tank would be, would they fall through the floor you think? Also, having the tank leaning against the wall is the safest.

Once again these awful comparisons are brought up...

Your bath is not staying full to the brim permanently for the forseeable future.

Your two average weight guests are not going to stay in that one spote for teh forseeable future.

However, ordinarily, you position a tank and its stays put for years. The weight of the glass; the sand/gravel; rocks etc. will likely weigh closer to 200Kg. Yes it will probably be ok if spread over joists, but only a structural engineer's inspection can give a qualified assessement of any floor in any building.

 

[CezzaXV]

Good news: I have discovered against the odds that having the tank where I want will mean the tank is perpendicular to the joists - perfect. Turns out my dad actually knows a lot more about this house than I thought he would and he's of the opinion that it should be okay. He does similar stuff as part of his job so I am going to trust his opinion and I have gone ahead and ordered the tank. We already have

Would it be of benefit for me to put a much wider piece of plywood underneath to spread the weight over more joists?

 

[robertsskippyj]

Yup, what the title says.

My main question is this - how worried do I have to be on having this in an upstairs room? It would go where my current 60L tank is. I was worried about the weight of that one until I realised that I weigh more than 60L of water. This new tank is 155L. It's a tall tank, only 2ft wide so spreading across supporting beams probably wouldn't happen (I'm no architect but I don't imagine supporting beams are that close together?) even if I had a way of knowing which way the supporting beams go.

I'm sure it's fine, I'd just like a little reassurance before buying.

I think my house was built 1950-1970, though I'm not sure.

If you can get the weight distributed you should be fine unless you have an unusually constructed floor, the weight of your bath if you brimmed it would be more heavier than that. The floor joists don't usually or have to follow the same way as the roof joists.

155 litres is like having a couple of guests in the house standing on the spot where the tank would be, would they fall through the floor you think? Also, having the tank leaning against the wall is the safest.

Once again these awful comparisons are brought up...

Your bath is not staying full to the brim permanently for the forseeable future.

Your two average weight guests are not going to stay in that one spote for teh forseeable future.

However, ordinarily, you position a tank and its stays put for years. The weight of the glass; the sand/gravel; rocks etc. will likely weigh closer to 200Kg. Yes it will probably be ok if spread over joists, but only a structural engineer's inspection can give a qualified assessement of any floor in any building.

As a chartered serveyor maybe my comparison was a little over simplified. Placed against the wall very close to where the joists meet the wall you would be very very unlikely to fail over time as combined with other things the majority of the loadings are transmitted directly down the walls. At that point in a building they would be far more likely to fail almost instantly and spectacularly, so if it supports your brimmed bath and bathroom it will support that kind of weight over any lenght of time.