Hi I've had my 100 gallon tank now for about 5-6 months and love it, however I'm terrified that it'll fall through the floor taking out three water lines that lay underneath it. It's a 100 gallon acrylic tank 5'X18"X20" with a 15-20 gallon sump. I have 100LBS or so of live rock and 50 LBS of sand. The tank is located on a non load barring wall in the living room of the condo my fiancé and I rent. It's a single story condo with units on either end. The tank is parallel to the floor joyce spanning almost 2 2X10 joyces. I did buy some 4X4's and place them on the right side of the tank but couldn't get to left side of the tank due to heating duct. I am concerned about this because I can see and feel high and low spots on the floor, and lately hear a fair amount of cracking coming from the house as if the tank is falling through, or the house is just settling in from seasonal changes. The condo was built in 1996 and I'm fairly concerned about this I almost broke down the tank last night in fear of a structural failure. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks Matt.
To much weight on the floor?
- Thread starter capdippe
- Start date
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pewpewlazerbeam
fish in cycler
So tank, water and rock is what like 1300 lbs? I would really hope the floor was built to withstand that. You could easily get that much weight with 4 big guys on a couch!
iroll253
Well-known member
Nicce tankk
Dalbery
Saltwater Nut
Well you'd be better off going perpendicular to your joists. I think you should be fine. I have a 230 gallon glass tank in my front room on the second story. I have 2x12's that are 12" oc and my tank is perp to them so I'm catching 5 joists. How much room do you have in your crawl space? Bracing it up would make me feel better as well. Cross bracing between the joists would help transfer the weight as well.
dogfrog
latezonatus
Residential Wood Framed Floors and Aquarium Weights
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php
Burke
Well-known member
How close is it to a load bearing wall? Also any floor supports near by?
BTW, I met you at BRA today.
BTW, I met you at BRA today.
dogfrog
latezonatus
If you do decide to increase the strength of your floor, just keep in mind that this is best done before the aquarium is placed on the floor and the floor has deflected under the load. For example: Let's say that you fill that 180 gallon tank with water and then later get concerned. So you go into the basement and nail another 2 x 10 right alongside the existing 2 x 10 joist. (see:http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/framecarp/supplement/floor/joist1/sister.htm ) Unfortunately this doesn't accomplish much since the load was already in the existing 2 x 10 and you haven't removed any stress out of the existing 2 x 10 by adding another joist. If you had added the new 2 x 10 first, and then put the aquarium on the floor, then the joists would have deflected together and shared more of the load. Same idea with a post. You should either add the post first (before you fill the aquarium with water) and shim it very tight to the underside of the joists, or you should jack upward so that the post carries more load. (see: http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/framecarp/supplement/floor/joist1/raising.htm )
Thanks guys. Burke great to see you here! The tank is about 5 feet from a load bearing wall. There is a floor support about 3 feet to the left of the tank that has risen up about 1 1/64" in the master bedroom (just to the left of the first pic) along that wall. My initial thought is that it'll be fine, but it would sure be embarrassing if the floor collapsed. From what I've read anything under 150 gallons should hold up under most conditions. However Dogfrog you've bread doubt into my mind with the very informative links! Do any of you guys/gals see an immediate reason to support the existing floor, and or tear down the tank?
marlinmero
Marlin
Id think if its been 6months you should be fine. You think with that much weight after that long if something was to break it would have done it by now
peddy10181
Well-known member
Could illways stack up a few bricks under the house. Hammer in some shimms, but that will just keep it from sagging any more.
Burke
Well-known member
Your moving soon anyway right? I say support it best you can the way it is and keep an eye on it.
WA98296
Well-known member
Did you add extra joists or not? Time does effect the the amount weight a floor can hold.
I went uder the floor with 4 4X4's and did a shotty job of supporting the two main joists. Then I had "Trido" come out and check everything. He was great, and thought that there would be no problems for at least the next 6 months. I am already working on a new tank. I'm thinking of a 180gallon. Thanks for all of the input.
eddiecorrea
Reef Addict
Dude its perfectly fine. I had my 55 reef and 40gallon sump with well over 300lbs of rock on the second story of a 100yr old house for 3 years. You could breathe and the floor would creak haha. So I wouldn't worry about it at all.
peddy10181
Well-known member
Lol back when a 2x4 was 2 by 4 inchs and things where built to last
