Tank weight Vs Floor

[jezzeaepi]

So I was cleaning around my tank yesterday and made a startling discovery. My tank is on a wood floor, and the "planks" that its resting on are about a third of a cm lower then the rest of the floor. How concerned about this should I be? The tank is only 40 gallons. I thought there was no way Id have weight problems with a tank that size. I live on the third floor of an apartment building. The building is only about 10 years old.

 

[ReefJunkie]

Your weight of a 40 gal tank is about equal to that of a side-by-side refrigerator, so I would guess that your flooring was designed to hold much more than that. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Krish]

I would think that any floor put down properly should be able to support a 40gal, but you never know how the floor was put down. Some people like to cut corners when doing a job and may not have put down the floor properly. Just a thought...Not sure what to suggest to help support it though :doubt:

 

[Brenden]

I think you will be fine. I may have just settled a little more than the rest of the floor. Maybe I should check my floor.

 

[balogh03]

i cant remember what the code for apartments was...but i think it is somwhere around 300lbs per sq. ft.? but i cant remember.

i will find out

 

[jezzeaepi]

Thats what I was looking for too balogh03 but I didn't know how to look it up. I recieved permission to set the tank up when I moved in, and the landlord has been by before to check the apartment for damage, and said nothing. If the floor is sagging because of improper construction and it causes damage, well Im not going to be held liable. Even at 400lb total for the tank(its acrlic) thats only 133lbs/sqft. I was more worried about the tank going through the floor somehow. I know it sounds rediculous, but I was concerend.

 

[Meche]

Are you talking about hardwood flooring? If so, I believe, there is batting between the "planks" and the subfloor. You are probably noticing the planks that are supporting the weight of the tank, compressing the batting more thank the ones around them.

400lbs isnt much for a floor. Think about a really fat person that is transmitting all of their weight through a foot print. Much more pressure.

You may want to use some 1/2 or 3/4" plywood squares between the stands legs and the hardwood floor if it is a metal stand.

 

[jezzeaepi]

Good call on the batting meche, I think you are 100% correct.

 

[burning2nd]

you know, Ive said this b4.


"law suit"

"yes hello (landlord) this is john, could you come down here?'"

Two guys standing next to a hole in the floor that goes down 3 storys looking over the edge saying to each other

"ya it was only a 40 gal fish tank"


Lol

 

[dnjan]

i cant remember what the code for apartments was...but i think it is somwhere around 300lbs per sq. ft.? but i cant remember.

i will find out

Typical design load for residential is 40 lbs/sq. ft. live load.

 

[jezzeaepi]

only 40lbs/sq. ft? So I cant evenly safely leave my bucket of salt sitting there? =P

 

[dnjan]

That is 40 lbs over every single square foot of the room. Floor designs are usually controlled by bending, not shear. So a load near a load-bearing wall is much less of a problem than a load in the middle of the room. And, unless your room is packed full of people, you will not be loading every square foot.

 

[jezzeaepi]

Thanks for the explanation. Makes a lot more sense to me now.

 

[balogh03]

okay, i was totally wrong...my dad just informed me that the last one that he did was 52 lbs/sq.ft.

at least i tried though right?

 

[dnjan]

40 lbs/sqft is the standard residential live load. There is an additional dead load allowance that is something in the range of 12-20 lbs/sq.ft. So a total design load of 52 lbs/sq.ft. sounds reasonable. Of course that includes the weight of the floor joists, the subfloor, the flooring, etc.

 

[Meche]

Floor designs are usually controlled by bending, not shear. So a load near a load-bearing wall is much less of a problem than a load in the middle of the room.

Pure gospel