Weight

[BCT182]

I am considering a 180 or up to 240 and was wondering if it could be too much weight for a upstairs room in my house. I can only guess what its going to weigh. I assume its HEAVY. The wall it would be against is an exterior load bearing wall. There is no concrete in the upstairs floor like an apartment would have.

Would I have problems?

 

[Allenfamily]

I would be afraid to put that much weight on a second floor. We put a 120 on the main floor and I went into the crawl space and added a couple of joists and a beam with two posts. I'm sure that's overkill but I would guess our set up weighs about 1500lbs (150lbs rock, 820lbs water and 400-500 lbs of equipment - tank, stand, lights, chiller, pumps etc.). Being by a bearing wall would help and if you were to have problems it would probably lean forward over time but that is a guess. I'm sure that it would be more weight psf than a floor is engineered to handle.

 

[G&NSalty425]

I would be very afraid that's a serious amount of weight.

 

[returnofsid]

Depends on how your stand is built. If the stand has continuous contact with the floor, then it's distributing the weight evenly. If this is the case, the tank will weight the same amount, per square foot, as a much smaller tank that's the same depth.

For instance, any tank that's 20" deep, if properly supported, will have the same weight on a floor, per square foot, whether it's 50 or 500 gallons. It will have the weight that a square foot of water, 20" deep weighs.

If the stand has "legs" then it's a whole different story, as all the weight is distributed in a few small areas...NOT GOOD.

 

[loohunter]

Depends on how your stand is built. If the stand has continuous contact with the floor, then it's distributing the weight evenly. If this is the case, the tank will weight the same amount, per square foot, as a much smaller tank that's the same depth.

For instance, any tank that's 20" deep, if properly supported, will have the same weight on a floor, per square foot, whether it's 50 or 500 gallons. It will have the weight that a square foot of water, 20" deep weighs.

If the stand has "legs" then it's a whole different story, as all the weight is distributed in a few small areas...NOT GOOD.

mike has something here with the stand, not to mention that if it is a newer two story house the bottom floor ext. walls are 2x6 framing and the floor joists the tank would be on are 1 foot apart from each other witch basicly meens you are probaly better off having it on the second floor next to the ext. wall than donstairs on the main floor

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Shannon knows what he is talking about
I had a large tank upstairs in an older 2x4 home, but ensured the load was spread out the entire 6 feet and also had the tank in the strongest part of the house, in an outside corner. Tank weights are over feared (they should definitely be respected)
Think of not just total weight, but pounds per square feet. Think of the lb/SqFt of that fridge in the kitchen, often blows the doors off by comparison. Do the math and google the requirements.

 

[krisfal]

Here are a couple links to help you out-a typical sub-floor system has a live load bearing capacity of ~ 40 psf. Here is an article that helps explain it. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

Here is a calculator that can help you find the weight of the tank including water, sand, rock etc (Don't forget to include you sump if it sits directly underneath your tank.
http://reef.diesyst.com/volcalc/volcalc.html

It will also help if you know which way your floor joist run, and set the tank perpendicular to the floor joist length so the tank sets on top of more floor joist.

Hope this helps.

 

[loohunter]

Shannon knows what he is talking about
I had a large tank upstairs in an older 2x4 home, but ensured the load was spread out the entire 6 feet and also had the tank in the strongest part of the house, in an outside corner. Tank weights are over feared (they should definitely be respected)
Think of not just total weight, but pounds per square feet. Think of the lb/SqFt of that fridge in the kitchen, often blows the doors off by comparison. Do the math and google the requirements.

exactly, alot of times main floor joists are like two feet on center, im not sure this is the standard, but if it is then the load on the floor would be twice as much if the tank was downstairs

 

[trido]

180*7.8= 1404lbs of water. Then add the wieght of the stand and tank. A couple more hundred pounds of live rock and viola! More than a ton sitting in one spot of the house.

A 90G is where I would draw the line. I had a 70 and a 55 very close together in a third floor apartment long long ago.

 

[trido]

1 foot apart

This is very rare. Especially in older homes. Typically all framing is 16"O.C. with the exception of roof trusses which are 2' O.C.

Older homes IMO are stronger because they are built with old growth lumber which is more dense and has fewer knots. Newer lumber is young (more porous) and soft in comparison

 

[The Apprentice]

check the links & facts Brett

I took what you posted Brett & I went to MoJo's link on the tank weightcalulator for a 240 gallon tank rough guess on Live rock 150LBS as posted guessed 150 more pounds for light fixtures and stand, not counting skimmer,calc reactors,fuges or any other add ons= 167 lbs per square Foot checkout the links do some more home work....Jeff
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85
then select:Tank Setup and Weight Calculator which links you here
http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/TankSetupCalc.php

I am considering a 180 or up to 240 and was wondering if it could be too much weight for a upstairs room in my house. I can only guess what its going to weigh. I assume its HEAVY. The wall it would be against is an exterior load bearing wall. There is no concrete in the upstairs floor like an apartment would have.

Would I have problems?

 

[Allenfamily]

The joists being 12" spacing isn't necessarily right, if the house is built with dimensional lumber (2X12) that may be true but if is an I-joist floor the spacing could be 16" on center or even 19.2" on center. So if the edges of your tank land on a joist that's great but if they hit between joists you have all of that weight, even though distributed by the stand landing on what is probaly 3/4" OSB decking. Also the direction the joists run in relation to the tank will make a big difference(perpendicular would be better).

 

[Herefishyfishy]

180*7.8= 1404lbs of water. Then add the wieght of the stand and tank. A couple more hundred pounds of live rock and viola! More than a ton sitting in one spot of the house.

A 90G is where I would draw the line. I had a 70 and a 55 very close together in a third floor apartment long long ago.

Good points all, when I upgraded to my 180 with large sump, went into the basement onto a cement floor:lol:

 

[balogh03]

3/4" OSB decking

f the house is built with dimensional lumber (2X12) that may be true but if is an I-joist floor the spacing could be 16" on center or even 19.2" on center.

All too many factors to tell without knowing who built your home. For instance in my house (my dad always builds more than common) we run true 3/4" tongue/groove PLY wood through out the house floors and roof. Something about strand board just doesn't seem to be right once it gets wet...If it is newer and in a developement, then it could be I-beams. Said to be just as strong as conventional 2x12's, but every person that I know that have built with them said there is way more bounce.

Good luck

-augustus

 

[trido]

All too many factors to tell without knowing who built your home. For instance in my house (my dad always builds more than common) we run true 3/4" tongue/groove PLY wood through out the house floors and roof. Something about strand board just doesn't seem to be right once it gets wet...If it is newer and in a developement, then it could be I-beams. Said to be just as strong as conventional 2x12's, but every person that I know that have built with them said there is way more bounce.

Good luck

-augustus

Here here.. I remodel homes. Ive seen floors built with 2x12s, 12 inches on center and houses built with 4x6 beems four foot apart with nothing more than 1 1/4 plywood spanning the four feet. There are a million variables. To assume that the joists are even 2x12 is a big stretch. Ive seen ALOT of two story homes with 2x6 and 2x8 floor joists. I would say to get an opinion from a contractor but then, its only an opinion. You need an engineer to calc it out after finding out what the joists are.

 

[loohunter]

despite all of these "factors" the second story floor is usually always stronger than the first floor because you are unable to support the floor in various locations with say a post and pillar type situation. also in all the remodles i have done (too many to count) i have never seen a span of more than 16 inches on second floor joists also the I beam style joists are way stronger than regular would joists provided it is a newer home this should be the case with no exceptions

 

[returnofsid]

Once you do the calculations, you'll find that, since larger tanks have a larger footprint, they typically don't put much more, if any weight, on the floor than smaller aquariums.

Also, don't add ALL the water weight AND live rock and sand weight. Live rock and sand will displace water, so it's less water to take into account.

Consider a 55 gallon aquarium. 1'X4'=4 square feet. 55 gallons of water weights approximately 478 pounds. 478/4=119.5 pounds. Of course, this isn't taking into account the weight of the tank and stand, which is negligible. You can see that a typical person, standing in your living room, puts more pressure on your floor than a 55 gallon aquarium.

Now, let's do the same for a 75. 18"X4'=6 square feet. 75 gallons of water=approximately 652 pounds. 652/6= approximately 108 pounds. So you can see that a 75 gallon aquarium exerts less weight on a floor than a 55 gallon, per square foot.

Again, this is only taking into account the weight of the water at 8.7 pounds per gallon, since SW is a little heavier than FW. When adding the weight of tank and stand, the same applies since larger tanks have a larger footprint than smaller tanks. Keep in mind that a 90 gallon and 75 gallon have the same footprint, so a 90 would exert more pressure on your floor.

180 gallons of water would exert about 104 pounds per square foot, less than 75 pounds of water.

This only works if your stand has continuous support instead of 4 or 6 legs.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Once you do the calculations, you'll find that, since larger tanks have a larger footprint, they typically don't put much more, if any weight, on the floor than smaller aquariums.

This only works if your stand has continuous support instead of 4 or 6 legs.

You want to see something very scary? Calculate your own body weight in pounds per square feet.

I try not to stand in the middle of any room on one leg:badgrin::lol:

Michael, agree with your point, water depth is more important than gallons.
Both in glass thickness and pounds per square feet. Great discussion, yep be respectful of the load and check engineering when in doubt, but in most cases a large tank can be placed in most houses with enough forethought and design.

 

[matts125]

Brett, I wouldnt do it man, thats a good 2000 lbs!!! My 100 gallon upstairs settled the floors a good 1/2'' bad enough I hade to re-hang some interior doors cause the locks/hinges were out of align....

Matt

 

[BCT182]

FIRST, THANKS EVERYONE.

Well, I just picked a tank up. I went with a 210. Same dimensions as the 180's but 5" taller. Im not sure we could even get this thing upstars.

I am not really fimiliar with house construction and things of that nature.

Should I re-enforce the floor on the bottom floor if I keep it down there?

Tank is 6'x2' footprint with a solid base.