380g tank in mobile home

[jmccown]

Hey guys, I may have an opportunity to pick up a good deal on a huge tank with stand and canopy. 380 gallons to be exact. my dilemma is that I live in a mobile home, double wide. The tank is 8' long so weight will be spread out somewhat. Would a tank of this size and weight be okay in a mobile home? I know that the home has steel runners every 6-8' under it for support. Another option would be to put it in my garage (which is too large to heat). The aquarium is acrylic. Would it be okay through the winter? Just trying to look at my options before I commit to buying a beast of a tank. Later on down the road I may get a bigger house and I would have a nice display tank for the house. Any opinions or experiences with big tanks and mobile homes?

 

[Glove]

Just consider the water is about 8 lbs per gallon. 8 x 380=3000+ lbs.
Thats just the water and just from the 380. No sump, no rocks, no sand....

I would not be able to sleep knowing I had that much weight from an aquarium in a mobile home, that weight is equal to some cars.
Its possible to do if you were willing to add some additonal support to the floors.
Will it even fit through a door?

 

[jmccown]

Would it be hard to heat a tank of this size in a garage. My garage is concrete floor.

 

[jmccown]

Oh jeez, it just dawned on me that the thread I just started sounds like something Jeff Foxworthy might bring up on the "you might be a redneck" album.

You might be a redneck if you live in a mobile home and your fish tank is bigger than your livin' room

Ha! who cares! LOL

 

[Reef4Fun]

Pound per square inch is all that you need to consider. The tank being 8 foot long is going to be less weight on the footprint of the floor than if it were say only 4 foot long and 380 gal. Personally, I would add support to the floor, at least add pillers under the joist where the tank will be sitting, I would do this even if I were adding a smaller tank (120, 125...)

 

[Glove]

Heating the tank in the garage would be possible, concrete floor or not- it wont set directly on the floor anyway -but acrylic tanks should have some sort of foam pad under the bottom. They are made a little different than a glass tank.
Is your garage heated, by chance? I dont see much fun in a big set up in the garage if its not someplace you can hang out and enjoy the view.

Now supporting your floor in the mobile home shouldnt be too difficult. I mean you should have lots of room under there to crawl around and dig some holes, pour concrete, build some bracing and sleep a little easier with the tank in the house.

 

[LtPiper]

How cold does your garage get in the winter?

 

[jmccown]

It usually doesn't get to freezing temps. Usually down to about 45 degrees. It's attached to the house, so it stays a little warmer than outside temps.

 

[firefish2020]

Pound per square inch is all that you need to consider. The tank being 8 foot long is going to be less weight on the footprint of the floor than if it were say only 4 foot long and 380 gal

That's right and some double wide floors today are rated at over 200 Lbs per square inch, thats the one we are looking at right now anyway, more like ranch style houses with wheels LOL. I would check with the manufacturer to see what your floors are rated at and maybe ask there opinion on it. I would also add a few extra jacks under for stabilization purposes. 1 jack will hold about 2 tons max, use about 3 on the beams under the tank space and the weight distribution should be ok.

 

[H.crispa]

Figure the tank at 12lbs per gallon just to be on the safe side.
If the dimensions of the tank are 96x36x28, giving a total volume of 373.6 gallons on a footprint of 3456 square inches....
12 x 373.6=4483.2lbs/3456= 1.297lbs/square inch x 144= 186.8lbs per square foot. That is quite a load.

However, by the same calculation, my 75 gallon is weighing in at 150 lbs/sq ft.

I have been under MANY mobile homes doing termite inspections while working for Terminix. I have to say those thing are built pretty darned solid. something like 1 inch 90 degree angles top and bottom joined by something like 1/2 inch steel rods welded in a triangular pattern and spaced as you describe. That is pretty solid! However if you have concerns, there are cheap floor jacks available at Lowes and Home Depot that you can put in place under the floor supports and a simple 3 or 4 inch thick quickcrete foundation under those supports should be plenty to bear the load. I doubt you'd even need the supports.

Call the manufacturer of your home and ask about the load carrying capacity of the floor support beams. Heck, there is a LOT you can do to figure this out.

Here is where I found a good aquarium volume calc:
http://www.angelfish.net/tankvolcalc.php
Of course, the dimensions I used are probably not accurate and I may have even screwed up on the math-- always verify! But, you can figure it out at least close enough to know if you can do it safely.

 

[phljess]

You could always pick up the tank and wait to set it up later.

 

[Reef4Fun]

You could make it work, by placing supports under your beams it would give you piece of mind. If I had the chance and means of getting a 380, I sure would.

 

[jmccown]

I'm more than likely going to get it. Only downfall (if any) is that it is 36" tall. I'll have to scuba in that sucker when it's time to clean it.

 

[essop3]

Pounds per square inch matters but isn't all that matters. I don't think it will fall through the floor before it will throw your house off level. Is the house on a block foundation with footers or just stacked on blocks?

 

[Reef4Fun]

I have my 120 on a 3 ft cabinet. I have to use a step ladder to get in it. The one thing I have found so useful is the magnet cleaner. I also have a pair of long tongs that I use all the time. You will have to make sure you have a really good light, of course I know you know that already

 

[cwegescheide]

Well if you get that big 380 setup then you don't have to worry about your house blowing away in a Tornado!!!

I definatley wouldn't do the garage thing!!!

 

[CoralFiend]

If you are wary of putting it in the mobile home and have a larger space in the garage, it can be done. I have a friend that has a 16' long propagation tank outside in a greenhouse. He uses a number of large heaters on Ranco controllers and probably has some other heat sources also. It gets down in the 20s on ocassion here. It has been running for 10-12 years, so yes, it can be done outside your house. His biggest problem is not with the cold, but with the heat of summer. You may need to figure a good chiller in the budget if you put it outside.

I had a friend that had a 225 in a single wide and I think he used some floor jacks on concrete pads to add extra support. So, I would say it would be possible to put it inside as well. I would just be very careful and make sure it (and your mobile home) has a solid foundation.

 

[LtPiper]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8293077#post8293077 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CoralFiend
If you are wary of putting it in the mobile home and have a larger space in the garage, it can be done. I have a friend that has a 16' long propagation tank outside in a greenhouse. He uses a number of large heaters on Ranco controllers and probably has some other heat sources also. It gets down in the 20s on ocassion here. It has been running for 10-12 years, so yes, it can be done outside your house.

Okay salt water pond here we come!!!!!! Anybody know where I can get a shark? Maybe it will eat what ate my kois!!!!!!






LOL!!!!!!!!!! Could you see the look on that racoon, cat, what ever the he** ate the kois face having a shark come up after it??

 

[jmccown]

My double wide has block underpinning as well as many, many concrete piers under it. I would probably do the same under the 380, just add 2-3 addditional piers directly under the tank.