Calling on 180 owners who keep their tank upstairs

[tank41]

Hello. I currently have a135 that resides in my basement. I just purchased a 180 and really would like this to go in our upstairs living room. We just don't spend much time in our family room that is in the basement as we do upstairs. The tank would be positioned on a exterior wall. The floor joists would run horizontal with the length of the tank. It's a standard 6x2x2 tank. The house was built in the mid 60's. and has natural white oak flooring. Not sure of the thickness of the floor or the subfloor underneath. I am getting alot of mixed reviews on whether this is recomended or not. I have seen alot of 180 builds that look to be on the upper floor. Now these may or may not be reinforced i dont know. Just need some guidance on this one. The last thing i want is any floor buckling or wall cracking but if it could be done i would sure like to do it.
Thanks guys and any advice appreciated.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Oh yes, the floor would have to be reinforced! Weight of tank, plus rock, plus water, equals small car!

 

[NeilFox]

Spread out over 12 sq ft it weighs about 160 lbs per sq ft. You will catch the joists also. Should be no problem.

 

[scrambler1880]

Very likely that you would need to reinforce the floors. I have a 120 on my second floor and am in the process of upgrading to a 180... Got a little nervous about the weight so hired a structural engineer ($300) to check my floors and advise on any needed reinforcements here is a direct quote from his findings:

"We observed the existing conditions of the framing below your existing fish tank, and also evaluated the framing for the proposed new fish tank approximately 2'-6" wide by 6' long, weighing approximately 2000lbs in operation.

The existing floor framing over the crawl space consists of 2x10 Douglas Fir-Larch #2 joists @ 16" on center, spanning 14ft. These joists are adequate only for self weight dead load and code required live load of 40psf, and are inadequate for additional loading including the current fish tank. Tanks or loading not exceeding the live load of 40psf may be installed without floor strengthening, any heavier objects will overstress the existing floor joists.

I recommend strengthening all existing floor joists beneath and within 12" of new fishtank..."

Not what I wanted to hear but glad I got a professional opinion

 

[Railgrinder]

I run a 180 on my main floor with no problems. Its center house and has the floor joists running vertical to it so it has several joists underneath it and is also maybe 8 inches off of the main steel support beam. I too thought about putting it in the basement but hardly ever go down there and thought it would be a waste. Have had it upstairs for about two years now with zero problems. Was worried about the weight at first but after several searches on the net never read of a floor failure just a bunch of people who heard of a guy there cousins neighbors met at a bar once who knew of a guy that once talked to a guy that heard someone had a problem. lol I say go for it

 

[caraj]

Read post#4
Def depends on your floor joists and the spacing , spans, age, type, bearings etc.
That $300 spent on the structural engineer is money well spent.
Especially when a family member is standing next to or underneath the tank when the floor that is structurally designed to support 40psf now has triple that load that it was not designed to support.

 

[albano]

proposed new fish tank approximately 2'-6" wide by 6' long, weighing approximately 2000lbs in operation.

IMO, 2000 lbs is too low! Adding in the weight of 30g+ (?) sump /lights/hood/etc/etc...and 2 or 3 people standing there looking at the tank, you could easily have 3000+ lbs in that area.

For the record, I have had structural engineers check 2 of my builds... A 300g (was advised to double up/sister the joists) and a 450g (told to add add'l beam and columns in basement)

 

[jt48]

If in doubt dont take the chance of floor sagging over time. For $100 you can do something like this, well worth the peace of mind.

 

[scrambler1880]

IMO, 2000 lbs is too low! Adding in the weight of 30g+ (?) sump /lights/hood/etc/etc...and 2 or 3 people standing there looking at the tank, you could easily have 3000+ lbs in that area.

For the record, I have had structural engineers check 2 of my builds... A 300g (was advised to double up/sister the joists) and a 450g (told to add add'l beam and columns in basement)

You may be right ... Though here is how we figured it 1500 or so for the water 150 for the LR and another 400 or so for the stand+ tank itself. Sump is in the basement nothing has been finalized yet so numbers are a bit rough my original point definitely stands though worth getting professional help no need to jeopardize the safety/integrity of our home.

Just got a bid from the contractor thinks he should be able to sister the joists as described in the engineers letter for about $500 should only take a day or two!

 

[FuzzyZipperbaum]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

Great read on the subject....

 

[rickcasa]

I was in this same boat 4 months ago and it wasn't the fear of the tank dropping that made up my mind to set up the 180 in basement, but the fear of a tank burst from the deflection off the floor from the kids jumping, dancing to Xbox games right next to it. The constant pounding the tank would be subjected to would take a toll, wouldn't it?

I have a 90g corner tank setup in the living room beside the staircase and everytime my 3 year old decides to jump off the second last step, there's a noticeable bounce that causes ripples on the water surface. It's a good thing the tank is bowed, 1/2 inch thick and on the manufacturer's stand. The joists are well structured and I added cross beams.

 

[ashish]

I was in this same boat 4 months ago and it wasn't the fear of the tank dropping that made up my mind to set up the 180 in basement, but the fear of a tank burst from the deflection off the floor from the kids jumping, dancing to Xbox games right next to it. The constant pounding the tank would be subjected to would take a toll, wouldn't it?

I have a 90g corner tank setup in the living room beside the staircase and everytime my 3 year old decides to jump off the second last step, there's a noticeable bounce that causes ripples on the water surface. It's a good thing the tank is bowed, 1/2 inch thick and on the manufacturer's stand. The joists are well structured and I added cross beams.

I don't think kids would stand a chance. But the best way to kiddy proof is build the stand 46+" and have a 8'' lip going around the tank. No playing around the fish room otherwise kids get a:deadhorse1:
Remeber corals are first and children come second:fun4: