Aquarium On Second Floor

[Mr. Fish]

I want to set up my 180 gallon on the second level of my house. Is the weight of the tank a problem on the second floor? It would be against a load bearing wall and my house was built in the mid 90s, but when the tank is full and on the stand everything together would probably weigh over a ton.

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[Northside Reef]

Do you know if it will be sitting parallel to the floor joists or perpendicular?

Perpendicular would be best and if there is a load bearing wall under it (the tank) that is also perpendicular to the floor joists and parallel with the tank you would probably be OK.

And you could always build the stand to be a little wider to pick up more floor joists to help spread the weight.

 

[Ruskin]

Like Northside said, if you can tell which way the joists are running we would be able to give you a better idea. You should be able to use a stud finder on the first floor ceiling to see if you can tell which direction they run. Or just make a hole in the ceiling that always works too.

I dont think the issue is it coming through the floor, its rather, how bouncy it makes your floor in that area.

Im currently in the middle of planning my 180 as well, but I have already begun sistering the floor joists on my first floor to better deal with the weight.
Its far safer then assuming everything will be fine.

 

[TaNuki]

I put my 180 on the second floor 4-5 months ago?

it is fine so far (crosses fingers).

I think it will be fine assuming I dont have a dance party up there.

 

[HOB]

I have a 8 foot 350 gallon on the second floor against a half wall with the floor joists running perpendicular since Nov 2008. There is no movement on the floor and it must weigh around 3500 pounds. Then again, your situation and house may be different than mine but just for reference.

 

[corpse_grinder0]

I had a 135+75g sump along with another 75g set up right next to it on the second floor a few years back with a house built in the 70s, with no issues at all.

 

[Mr. Fish]

The floor joists run parallel.

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[Northside Reef]

The floor joists run parallel.

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I think I would look for a new place to put it.

 

[MTWiley]

I think I would look for a new place to put it.

Perhaps on a wall perpendicular to the one you were thinking of putting it on.

 

[Mr. Fish]

What would be the largest aquarium I could have? I was thinking about selling my 180 and doing a 36", 36", 20" cube instead, would that be ok?

 

[Tremelle]

You also want to think about the foot print of the tank. A cube maybe smaller but putting more weight on a more concentrated space. It may also span fewer joist giving it less support.

 

[borap]

I wouldn't risk it or just go with a smaller tank size.

 

[Mr. Fish]

I wouldn't risk it or just go with a smaller tank size.

What would be a tank size that wouldn't be risking it?

 

[Northside Reef]

What would be a tank size that wouldn't be risking it?

Really tough question since none of us really know exactly where the joists would be or how sound the structure is. Honestly we can't even say for 100% certainty that your 180 would not work. A 180 gallon aquarium is "normally" 24" wide which is also the typical spacing of floor joists. Possibly where your tank was going to sit parallel to the joists it may have picked up two joists. That might have been fine if they were structurally sound. especially if there were a load bearing wall beneath one of them. If the tank straddled only one that would have been a lot of weight for that one joist to support.

It might be best to hire someone (maybe a contractor) to inspect what you have and ask them to give their professional opinion. We really will not be able to give you an adequate enough answer based on our limited knowledge of your specific situation.

 

[FuzzyZipperbaum]

I agree with Northside... You really need to find out exactly where those floor joists are. The load bearing wall you mentioned...is it the wall behind the tank? If so the tank itself does not really sit on the bearing wall itself. Furthermore, homes will mostly likely have 12" (rare) 16" or 24" on center floor trusts. If yours is 24" and the tank is 24-36" wide then you will really only have one long trust to support the weight.

I am putting two 600G tanks on the second floor. My joists run 16" on center and are perpendicular connecting to two load bearing walls. I will have approx 5 floor trusts supporting the weight of each tank. Even with this I am considering either beefing up the trust underneath or adding a long beam directly under the tank that has 3 metal supports that are connected to the ground on the first floor.

The real key for you outside of the obvious is the keep your pounds per square inch low.... and you can do this by going wider with the tank NOT deeper.

 

[FuzzyZipperbaum]

Do you have the house plans? If not your county will most likely have a copy of them.... Mine happen to be sitting next to me... should tell you all you need to know.