3rd floor apartment and 93 gallon

[VeriasCurat]

I posted this over on TRT and wanted to get some opinions on here as well. my girlfriend is worried about our 93 gallon falling through our floor and causing damage in our apartment. We live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building built around the 80s.

one wall is a weight bearing wall of the apartment flush with the staircase on the other side of the wall, the other wall is an external wall that is attached to my balcony...to me these both sound like very stable walls but what is your guys opinions?

square tank
30x30x24

stand will be marineland cube stand as well..distributing weight across approximately the same area.

 

[Sinocard]

I would never have an aquarium that big on the third floor.

Lots of weight, lots of water if it breaks.

 

[VeriasCurat]

I would never have an aquarium that big on the third floor.

Lots of weight, lots of water if it breaks.

I'm not terribly concerned with if it breaks /leaks as I have renters insurance. I'm more concerned with floor integrity. But from my reading where it's going will be sufficient.

 

[jeffp1]

I have had an 100 gal. Reef Tank in a Double wide for 16 years with no problems. Should be alright.

 

[heathlindner25]

I would ask the apartment complex their thoughts on the issue,since it's their property involved.

 

[bmrigs]

Make sure that you are allowed to even have a aquarium in your apt. building. My condo won't allow anything over 10 gallons. Also, and more importantly, if the floor is concrete then it will easily handle the weight. Walls don't factor into it.

 

[geo]

I would also make sure your renters insurance would cover any water damage created by a mishap.

 

[bimini_bread]

+1 to what geo said. Some renter's insurance only covers certain loss, i.e. theft

 

[buckeyereefer1]

++++1 what Geo said also. but as far as the weight it really shouldn't be an issue. 1st or 3rd or 15th floor....all will structurally be designed for same weight etc. unless first is concrete which is real possibility.

 

[tekjunkie28]

3rd floor apartment and 93 gallon

I had a 75 with a 30 gal sump on the second floor... Had 2 heavy set friends come over and sit at the kitchen table along with 3 other adults and 2 kids. Floor never budged.

 

[CStrickland]

I wouldn't want my upstairs neighbor to have a tank, and if (when) it flooded in the middle of the night I wouldn't want to hear about no renters insurance check probably coming to me next month. Like, say you drench their couch in fish poo water... idek how you would make that right.
But I'm on the first floor so I didn't ask my landlord, that way they didn't have a chance to say no

 

[ReefCowboy]

I once bought on impulse a 150 gal tank for the second floor and had to sell it before I put water in it. I consulted an engineer and he told me I did the right thing. You could be dealing with big problems in case of an accident. Renters insurance might not cover water damage due to big aquarium tank leaks, I would check to be sure.
This is not probably what you want to hear, but it isn't worth it.

 

[VeriasCurat]

I once bought on impulse a 150 gal tank for the second floor and had to sell it before I put water in it. I consulted an engineer and he told me I did the right thing. You could be dealing with big problems in case of an accident. Renters insurance might not cover water damage due to big aquarium tank leaks, I would check to be sure.
This is not probably what you want to hear, but it isn't worth it.

i will definitely check with my renters!

I took the liberty this morning of pulling up the carpet in a couple spots and now have photos to show you guys! It looks like to me under the carpet/carpet pad is concrete but I can't really tell if it's that or really effing hard drywall...underneath that is where im sure the true answer lies as far as joists etc. as you can see in the picture one of the 2x? that is on the external wall runs with the wall which would lead me toa assume the others run with it as well? You guys give me your opinions once you see pictures..

I created the little hole in an attempt to see toughness and how thick this substance is...it's thicker than I had time to mess with and harder than drywall but not quite concrete?

this is the 2x? that runs with the wall on the external wall..

 

[danrobberg]

I had a 120 on a third follow apartment for 4 years. No problem at all. My brother had a 220 on a second floor apartment and same thing, it was fine.

 

[Misled]

You are jumping the gun. Talk to your landlord. Read through your lease.

 

[R1ant04]

I highly doubt that the floor in an apartment building with multiple floors could not handle the weight unless the building was older then say 60 yrs......

 

[GrayWhale]

Your floor surface is light weight gypsum concrete. In wood frame buildings it is typically poured over a plywood sub-floor supported by wood joists. The wood you see are tack strips that keep your carpet from moving.

The weight of your system is probably not an issue.
The possibility of a leak very definitely is.

While the chance of major tank failure is small, most people will sooner or later have a spills from plumbing problems, burst hoses, overflowing skimmers, etc. Even 10 or 20 gallons of water can cause significant damage if it gets into your floor or wall structure. Fixing mold or rot requires major demolition. If water gets into the electrical system, you could start a fire.

CHECK YOUR LEASE!!! Most landlords and condo associations prohibit "water filled furniture" above the ground floor.

CHECK YOUR INSURANCE!!! Some policies only cover your personal belongings and do not cover damage you cause to your neighbors or the building. It may also have specific exclusions, such as "water filled furniture" or "prohibited activities" or lease violations.

I am am not trying to discourage you, but you need to think this through. If you go ahead, do everything you can to plan for the eventual leak by making sure that most of the water will remain inside your cabinet.

 

[joesfiddy]

Your fine go for it

 

[VeriasCurat]

I have not been able to get ahold of my insurance yet bUT I read through my lease and all that it says is that waterbeds a are allowed with proof of insurance and written permission. Nothing about fish tanks.

 

[joesfiddy]

I had an upstairs apartment before above a business and my tanked leaked down thier. And was suppose to have no pets I lucked out and landlord says he doesn't consider a fish tank a pet lol