Aquarium weight on floor.

[swencel]

I'm pretty sure that I'm OK, but I figured that this must have come up before so I'll ask. I have a 220g that I'm wanting to put on a main floor. It will be around 3500 lbs (approx) all told with everything in it. The joists are running parallel with the tank length and the main bearing beam is in the middle of the tank length. Do I need more bearing posts on each end or am I fine in not doing it? Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.

 

[forddna]

I have a 220g on a second floor. I was told that if your house passes code inspection, there's no reason it shouldn't hold. I was also told that a standard refrigerator was more weight per square inch than a typical fish tank.

 

[gbreynol]

My house is 80+ years old so I decided not to take a chance. I used 2 floor jacks(lolly columns) from Home Depot, and used a 4" x 6" plank stretched across the beams in my basement to provide extra support. My beams also ran parallel, but my main beam was on one side of the tank. The jacks are $30 each and the wood is minimal. Took about an hour to do. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I got the idea from a Tank of the Month article on this site.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/totm/index.php

 

[8BALL_99]

IMO if have a crawl space or unfinished room under the tank where you can add the Floor jacks its crazy not to once you get over the 200 gallon mark. jacks are like 60 bucks a pair. Takes maybe 30 mins to install them with a beam like gbreynol said. Its not like it will hurt to have them if you dont need them..

 

[swencel]

Kinda' figured I should but you know how it goes. I will put a jack under the sides as well. Thanks for the reinforcement.

 

[8BALL_99]

LoL, Well the way I look at it. Even if your floor can hold it. At the very least its got to add a lot of stress on it.. Kind of like you could probably only change your oil in your car every 12,000 miles with out it blowing up.. But I'm sure it would start showing the extra stress sooner or later

 

[Northside Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13360538#post13360538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by forddna
I was also told that a standard refrigerator was more weight per square inch than a typical fish tank.

? How much beer is in that refrigerator?

 

[RokleM]

Less than an hour to install, including picking them up. As mentioned, no reason not to if you can. Honestly, I even did one small one under my 58 as it ran parallel to the joists on a long span.