Can my first floor support a 250 gallon tank

[trembz]

Hello

I recently purchased a 250 gallon set up from somebody, tank is 60"x36"x27".
Sump is quite small at 35 gallons and I'm not adding any sand to the DT.
I have to place it on my first floor as my basement is unfinished and used primarily for storage and old junk.
I will be placing the tank against the supporting wall held by a beam (the beam is sitting directly on concrete in the basement)
It will be supported by 4 joists at 14" apart and running perpendicular to them. The joists seem extremely thick.

What are your guys thoughts??



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[trembz]

I should also mention, I currently have a 150 gallon tank sitting in the same room this tank will be in.
This tank is on the wall to the left of where the new one is going. So it is NOT sitting on the supporting wall and it is running parallel rather than perpendicular to the joists.

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[Mek84]

I wouldn't run that tank parallel to the joist. It might hold buy it not a good idea that is a lot of weight to sit on two joist.
I put a 75 gallon with 40 gallon sump running parallel to the joist so it is sitting on two 2x12 right next to the foundation. And that is nerve racking enough to have over 800 pounds in that small area..
how old is the house also it looks like it is in decent shape but it looks like you have some water damage and those only look like 2x8 joists maybe 2x10 maybe... I wouldn't do it. Can you reinforce it somehow

 

[catchandreleas]

So the back of the tank is parallel and directly above the beam. You could frame a wall in the basement running parallel to the front of the tank. Line the studs up with the joists and make sure they're tight. Might be a good idea just to be safe. Would only cost you about $30 in studs and screws.

 

[roli112]

Extra reinforcement won't hurt

 

[ryeguyy84]

are those 2 X 10 joists? I just setup a 90 gallon parallel to the beams and once I got about halfway full I started to feel like I needed more support. I went in the basement and added 4 floor jacks with two 2x6's stacked on top. so it went two 2x6's stacked on top of each other bridging 3 joists with a jack on each side and for good measure I did the same setup 4 feet on the other side side of the tank a few feet away from the main support beam. the floor went from bouncy next to the tank to feeling like concrete

For a tank that large I would definitely beef up the floor, that's a lot of weight and I don't know if I would sleep well at night knowing it's not supported.

this is the jack I used.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Tiger-Brand-Super-S-7-ft-9-in-Jack-Post-J-S-93/100540359

for $200 and some lumber I sleep like a baby.

 

[ca1ore]

It's not just whether the floor will hold, it's also about deflection. Even a bit of deflection could pop the seams on the tank or split the bottom. If it were me I would put jack posts under all four corners of the tank. That your basement is unfinished makes this easy.

 

[steallife904]

I think you should hire or call a contractor to either add some more beams and support to cover the full length of tank or get there opinion on what they think should be done. Im sure you can get someone to come give you a free estimate, then based off of that if you want to do it yourself you can. You will feel much better if you do, if you don't it will bother you forever! And a tank that size is very heavy!
So my opinion is strengthen it, I would not do it without but that's just me. I wouldn't think adding a few more beams along the area you want the tank would cost to much???

 

[steallife904]

or the jack post like stated above, on each corner!

 

[trembz]

Instead of jacks what about placing 4 2x10's under the 4 corners of where the tank will sit?

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[ca1ore]

Trouble with 2x? is that they warp. You could do that, but I'd go with double thickness 2x6 or even triple 2x4.

 

[BlackTip]

250g is 2500lb approx. Add the weight of glass, sump, stand, and equipment, and total weight will be at least 3000 lb. Your tank footprint is 15 sqt. That makes about 200 lb per sqt. I think the residential floor are built to hold up to 40 lb sqt.

My tank weight is approximately like yours per sqf (200 per sqt). I added 2 additional joists, 3 cross beams supported by 3 steal house jacks on concrete footings.

 

[trembz]

250g is 2500lb approx. Add the weight of glass, sump, stand, and equipment, and total weight will be at least 3000 lb. Your tank footprint is 15 sqt. That makes about 200 lb per sqt. I think the residential floor are built to hold up to 40 lb sqt.

My tank weight is approximately like yours per sqf (200 per sqt). I added 2 additional joists, 3 cross beams supported by 3 steal house jacks on concrete footings.

What do you mean exactly by 3 cross beams?

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[scooters reef]

I think part of the problem is people repeating the mantra of it being perpendicular to joists, not realizing (If I'M reading it right) you WILL be perpendicular to the joists, four of them, but only parallel to the beam supporting the joists and directly behind the tank.

I also wouldn't rely on us, the peanut gallery, with decisions like that other than for ideas which you can use or pass on to a contractor. If it was ME, and an unfinished basement, I'd add another beam supported by a couple jack posts that would run parallel to the front of the tank. You'd then have the tank across 4 joists, as well as supported front and back by a beam. You could scab another 2 by, or even plywood to each side of those 4 joists to reduce any possible deflection between the short distance between the beams. With that said, I would add a couple jack posts to that existing beam as well. Not sure I'd trust it and it will soon be bearing the weight of the tank besides a load bearing wall it already supports.

 

[Pittsburgh]

I think the residential floor are built to hold up to 40 lb sqt.

Well, if this were true, wouldn't most of us be falling through the floor unless our feet were longer than a foot. :strange:

 

[BlackTip]

What do you mean exactly by 3 cross beams?

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My tank set parallel to I-Beam joists. I installed 2 more joists, so the tank sets on 3 total joist. Then, I constructed 3 cross-support beams each is made of 3 2X6 lumber. Those beams sets perpendicular to the joist and sets above the house jacks.

 

[BlackTip]

Well, if this were true, wouldn't most of us be falling through the floor unless our feet were longer than a foot. :strange:

It is residential building code. It is all about weight distribution, not just one single sqt.

 

[Pittsburgh]

It is residential building code. It is all about weight distribution, not just one single sqt.

That's my point. We shouldn't be comparing the square footage of the tank and live load per sq ft. That's apples and oranges. It's also not up to 40lbs, its the minimum of 40lbs.
The formula takes into account the length of floor joists and the width of the tank. A 6ft tank perpendicular to 12ft joists would give you 6 x 12 x 40 = 2880lbs safe load.

 

[BlackTip]

That's my point. We shouldn't be comparing the square footage of the tank and live load per sq ft. That's apples and oranges. It's also not up to 40lbs, its the minimum of 40lbs.

If it is minimum, then that what your builder going to do, and that what should be assumed. It puts things in perspective, a piece of information to consider, that is why I divided the total weight by the total footprint. Floor will hold more weight at the edges and less weight in the center. How else would anyone be able to estimate?

 

[Pittsburgh]

If it is minimum, then that what your builder going to do, and that what should be assumed. It puts things in perspective, a piece of information to consider, that is why I divided the total weight by the total footprint.

Then how is it different from taking the total weight of an adult (195lbs) standing on the floor and dividing it by the total footprint of said adult of 1 sqft?