2nd floor and tank weight
- Thread starter 3mm3
- Start date
steevareno2002
New member
That's why I chose a 72 without a sump. I sold some frags to an architect who looked at the joists in my basement and he said to keep it under 75 gallons to be safe. Also make sure you have your tank touching as many joists as possible, not running the length of just 1 joist that way the weight gets distributed more evenly.
SwiftysReef
Member
Im a conrete finisher and in most cases in basements the average thickness is will be 3.5 -4 inches.if you have a crawl space it 2-3inches thick. On average the concrete will 400 psi which does mean 400 pounds per square inch! So within reason you could pretty much put whatever size tank on it. On the highrises the psi will be higher for code reasons. But food for thought, almost all of those jobs being commercial or residential, the lowest bidder got the job, so where did they cut costs? But saying that you should be safe.
SwiftysReef
Member
That's what I did, I ran my tank across as many floor joists as possible. But mine is sitting against the load bearing wall as well.
steevareno2002
New member
Yes, mine is too.
MattinIdaho
New member
I have worried about this. Our plans for the location of our tank put it against a bearing wall but would run with our floor joists. It will only be sitting on one joist that is 17" from the bearing wall so this would be basically holding all of the weight. I am going to call the joist manufacturer in the morning to see if I can talk to an engineer to get his take.
redsoxfan692
New member
Yeah I wouldn't put that much weight on one joist. It might be ok for a little while, but in my experience with keeping fish, it's always better to err on the side of caution, especially when dealing with this situation.
MattinIdaho
New member
I talked with an Engineer this morning. He was very helpful and very thorough. He went over everything I had, tank size, sump size, stand, lr, ls etc. We came up with 2000lbs which is what I had calculated for a 120 with a 40 sump. He took my stand dimensions and came up with 144lbs per foot I believe.
Final judgement is no way in hell can that tank be supported upstairs.:eek1: For the record, my home is only 2 years old so new has nothing to do with it.
If you don't know which way your joists run, there is no way I would risk it. If the tank could span 2 joists it would be fine but not just one. My tank would be directly over the top of all of my ductwork so there is no way to shore it up either.
My options are to move the tank downstairs and wait to set it up when we get our basement finished next year or to downgrade to a smaller tank.
I may set up a 55 upstairs for now and then set up the 120 next year down in the mancave. Gotta run it by the house manager first though.:love1:
Final judgement is no way in hell can that tank be supported upstairs.:eek1: For the record, my home is only 2 years old so new has nothing to do with it.
If you don't know which way your joists run, there is no way I would risk it. If the tank could span 2 joists it would be fine but not just one. My tank would be directly over the top of all of my ductwork so there is no way to shore it up either.
My options are to move the tank downstairs and wait to set it up when we get our basement finished next year or to downgrade to a smaller tank.
I may set up a 55 upstairs for now and then set up the 120 next year down in the mancave. Gotta run it by the house manager first though.:love1:
James77
Team RC
It would be a mass of people standing in the same area for a prolonged period of time. Just because a floor does not immediatley buckle does not mean that some serious long term structiral problems could develop from having a heavy mass in such a concentrated area that was not intended for it.
Virtuoso
New member
I've seen a few threads about this and my interest is pretty much morbid curiosity, as my tank is on the first floor of my house. I read this but I am still throughly confused - http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm
MattinIdaho
New member
Don't quote me on the 144lbs per square. I was working and maybe didn't hear right.
I'm just reporting what an engineer for the joist company figured out for me. He also said that it was not even close to fudging the numbers and making it work.
Sure it can be and is done all of the time without even giving it any thought.
Doesn't mean it's right or safe.
dakineacct
New member
Thanks, that link gives a really good explanation of floor loads related to aquariums.
If your 120 has a footprint of 4'x2' (common size) and the wieght is 2,000 lbs, that would be 250 psf. And 250 psf, or even 144 psf, can be a significant load on a residential floor depending on where it is applied and over how large of an area it is applied to. In your case, not placing your 120 on the second floor parallel to the joists, and only over one joist is a good call.
James77
Team RC
Something raised a flag to the engineer of the joists in his house that made him come not even close to giving the stamp of approval on the tank. As dakineacct noted, it is more likely more towards 250 lbs/sf. If it was just one square foot, it would be fine....but we are talking a foot print of 8 of these square feet, all with the same 250 pounds, all together. Over time, it will most likely stress the joists and could definitely cause problems.
MattinIdaho
New member
Thanks a ton for that link!! That was a great read and helped to explain things.
I don't think I told the engineer the footprint of the tank, only the footprint of my stand which is 6'x26" (I was thinking ahead in case I ever upgrade). I'm sure that's why it wasn't the 250fps that dakineacct calculated. I'm sure your right with your calculations.:thumbsup:
After reading that info that was posted I am even more comfortable with my choice to not put it in the family room (although it would look killer in there)!!:spin1:
