best way to check for floor joist

[gsusfreak]

hey guys....well i got my new tank up....but im scared that it might fall through my floor....(yes i researched everything about tank weights after i filled it up with water)....everything seems to be pretty leveled and pretty sturdy (it does ripple a little when i jump, but thats if im right beside the tank and i think that it might be because of the thickness of the carpet).....but how do i check for the floor joist in a room thats above a garage?....rip out the carpet?....go in the garage and check the ceiling with a stud finder?....do they run parallel to the rafters(there's a storage room that lets me see the rafters)......the wall seems like a load bearing wall...but i just dont know...since it isnt an outside wall...but wall is in the same place as the room its in and one of the sides of the garage?........im sooooo confused....any help is appreciated

 

[NeveSSL]

John... I just have to ask... if you're worried about something falling through the floor, why would you jump up and down right next to it?



Brandon

 

[gsusfreak]

uhhhh...euh....mmm.........GRRRRRR!!!

 

[NeveSSL]

Was that you falling through the floor???? Instead of grrr... shouldn't it be "ahhhhh!"?



Brandon

 

[hesstondc]

If you checked the celing of the garage with a stud finder you would find the direction the joist are running in your house....My tank was running along the joist...So I only had two on a 125 gallon tank, non load bering wall......So this is what I did....
Put jack stands under the house on top of cement blocks. Then screwed the tank stand into the floor using L brackets. Then tied the tank to the back wall using air craft cable and a few lag bolts....Needless to say my tank will not fall over unless there is a serious earthquake....

If it is on carpet screw it to the floor using L brackets and you will take alot of the shake out of it.....How heavy is the tank...I wouldn't worry unless its over 125 gallons....
clay

 

[gsusfreak]

hey clay...thanks for all that info....the tank is a 90 gallon...with probably 15-20 gals in the sump below....so around 110 gallons...im gonna buy a stud finder today and check the joists

any other suggestions out there?

 

[nighttimenick]

Check the main point in the roof. Your joists should run in the direction from the point to the gutters.