Aquarium Placement Question-HELP!!

golferbud101691

New member
Alright. I have been in the freshwater hobby for years. Im trying to get into the saltwater side. I am wanting to know if I can put a 46 bow front upstairs on a load bearing, exterior wall. I have called multiple engineers and they have differing opinions. The tank is 36" wide and would cross floor joists in my home. Here is the problem, overhang. My home has a 12" overhang on the front exterior wall being a split level home. I am wondering if I can put my tank on the overhang, or half on, off. I can position it so the aquarium does sit on the wall underneath(lower level wall). Has anyone had experience with this? Any opinions would be appreciated. I am eager to get this project going.
 
I don't have first hand experience, but I would be shocked if the overhang didn't support just about anything you put there.
Those joists should be running right through the house, and if they weren't able to support an immense amount of weight, the house itself would compromise it or make it sag, let alone a fish tank.
At a 46 bow, full of water, rock etc, you're talking about what, 600lbs?
 
you would need to look at your floor plan. really depends on what type of materials are used in your building. and go from there.
 
As long as the house was built to code you should be fine. Of course knowing it was built to code and what the code was at the time is the tricky part.
 
The cantilever is cleverly designed to be the perfect structure for what you want to accomplish. The beam that supports that overhanging part of your house runs through the entire house and then the weight of the whole house sits on top of that beam as shown in the example below. So, no fish tank is going to be able to lift up the whole house off that beam. You are good to go. https://www.google.com/search?q=can...tilever-balanced-pad-foundations.html;424;295
 
Alright. I have been in the freshwater hobby for years. Im trying to get into the saltwater side. I am wanting to know if I can put a 46 bow front upstairs on a load bearing, exterior wall. I have called multiple engineers and they have differing opinions. The tank is 36" wide and would cross floor joists in my home. Here is the problem, overhang. My home has a 12" overhang on the front exterior wall being a split level home. ...

That's *exactly* were my 46g bow has been for the last 8 years. No issues whatsoever.

House is split level, built in 1979, with the overhang running along the front (north) side of the house. The tank sits in the northwest corner of the house, with the back against the west wall. So part of the tank is technically over the overhang.
 
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