anyone have a 300 + gallon tank on a first floor

[dominic]

I have a 375 going in my living room and looking to see how you guys braced it in the basement . please no don't do it stories I have the stand in the living room already and tank coming wed. to the tune of 5000.00 so no backing out now.
I have a 270 that is in here already but this is replacing it on the other end of the room. I don't know weather to get those adjustable joyce stands or just do what I did before , I put 2x6 doubled up and 2- 2x4 on end to brace those .

anyone have any pictures of theirs and what size tanks do u have .

thanks Dominic

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Is the tank parallel or perpendicular to the joists because that'll make the difference.

 

[dominic]

these are parallel which stinks I am catching 2 to 3 joyces .
I also have the tank on a piece of plywood under it . no other choice .

 

[Psirex]

these are parallel which stinks I am catching 2 to 3 joyces .

I think that makes it perpendicular not parallel.

 

[dominic]

yes I know the way that is good this is the other way .
so I just need to see what I can do .

 

[Psirex]

So the tank is parallel to the floor joist (runs length wise with joist)?

 

[dominic]

yes it does .

 

[dave.m]

Best thing to do would be to place some cross joists under the existing ones to spread the load. Then put four jack posts, one per corner under the cross joists. I would go with sistered 2x10s for the cross joists, nothing less. If it's a really long tank I might even go for a third cross joist with 2 more jack posts in the middle.

Dave.M

 

[dominic]

thanks dave I have 2x6 now I will add those also to be safe .

 

[Reefsi]

3 Questions and a statement I have.
Statement
1. I have been a carpenter since the age of 10, it was a family business and my father was tough so I was building houses with my brother very young. So when I say I know carpentry, I know it. Considering that your joists are running parallel thats my first concern... thats a lot of weight on 3 joists.

Questions

1. What size joists are they under the tank?

2. How old is the house?

3. How close are you to the foundation or nearest supporting beam?

From these answers I can probably get you a good solution, as expect some major changes with all that weight on 3 joists.

 

[dominic]

I am next to the main beam
house is 1964
joices are 2x8
less than 3 feet from main beam
and I am backed to a wall .

 

[Reefsi]

Also just letting you know a 240 Gallon tank weighs in at about 550 pounds empty and 3000 pounds full of water. So a 375 Gallon tank has to be around 1000 pounds empty and about 4200 pounds full of water. Thats 2 tons.

What are the tank dimensions?

 

[Reefsi]

Yeah your joists will definitely crack and your tank will go through your floor is my educated guess. I would put money on it. Thats way more than enough weight to crack a concrete floor.


What is your basement like? Finished or unfinished?

 

[dominic]

great answer thanks

 

[Reefsi]

We can prevent it though.

If your basement is unfinished I would buy 5 2x4's.

Frame up a small wall, make sure that your studs are lined up under your joists. Try to to center the stud wall with the tank. I would also put braces on the stud wall half way up(4' on a 8' wall). Thats a good start. If your planning on finishing the basement frame a whole wall and it will not be noticeable.

 

[Reefsi]

Another option, which is the option I would take would be.

Frame a closet in your basement with the back wall running the length of the tank and the sides running the width of the tank, put bi-folds or or a single door in the front. That should for sure support any of the weight the tank will have.

If the basement is finished by 3 2x12 or a LVL's and triple them up. Run them centered of the tank as you would a simple stud wall. Run them whatever distance you would like and put 2 cripples and a stud on each end, then trim the ends out to be nice wood columns.

Hope this stuff helps, Just would not want anything like that to happen to anyone.

 

[dominic]

thanks guys I have a carpenter coming tomorrow . now

 

[dominic]

Thank you guys for that info much appreciated

 

[TRENT_G]

Here is what I did with my 300dd 50gal sump. I understand your floor joist are running the other way. This is the location of one of my tanks then I moved the 300 to another wall and moved the floor support to parallel joist and it worked just fine.

 

[Jon]

Hello,

Had a similar issue with my tank. Tank was 8'L x 2'W for about 250 gallons and would be sitting parallel with only 3 joists that spanned 15'. We had a structural engineer come out and put a solution in writting. He did and what we installed was (3) paralams (12"x4") running under the tank for the full 15' span supported by hangers. He then rated it safely able to hold up to 5,000lbs with I beleive no more then a 1/4" deflection. We also added in another point load of 1,000lbs toward the one side for make up water. Then to make myself sleep better I build some additional 2x4 vertial supports under the two hanger points in the basement. Tank has been up and running for over a year without issue. May be over engineered, but hope this helps....

Jon....