dumb question

[bb61127]

hey yall...
stupid question: do any of you guys have a tank on the second floor?
how many gallons is your tank? how many pounds do you think could a second floor handle?

thanks.

 

[So Cal shaggy]

Sorry, I do not have a second floor but I can tell you that saltwater weighs 8.3 lbs. per gal. that should give you an idea of the tank you are planning would weigh with just the water

 

[gregm5]

both my roommate and i have 60 gallons with 30 gallon sumps in our second floor apartment and have had no problems except that my doesn't sit quite level, so i had to add a piece of wood under one side

 

[gregm5]

and there are no stupid questions! didn't your elementry school teachers ever tell you thank

 

[Sk8r]

A 52 with sump and stand on the 3rd floor. I happen to know our floor is foamed concrete, made to be strong and light, a modern apartment. Also, if you want anything to hold up, think pyramid: any corner is stronger than the middle of a wall; anywhere the run is long and flat is weaker. Think triangles, above and underfoot, and the shorter the run of the wall, the less likely to bow, just like putting books on a shelf: too few braces. A loaded 52 weighs about like a full refrigerator or a couple of real hefty friends standing and talking. Your real danger is leaks. I recommend (from experience) getting a water-alarm. It's a small electrode device (cheap) you lay on the carpet behind your tank. If water ever touches it screams bloody murder. This alerts you to sneaky leaks that can ruin your welcome in a building.

 

[jaypainter24]

Wow, I wish we knew about this water alarm a while ago. Yes, you do need to worry about any leaking. I live in a two story townhouse and we had a major flood a few weeks back. Now we find ourselves fixing our celing in our dining room. Needless to say the tank will be comming downstairs as soon as we get the time to do so.....lesson learned here. My addvice get this alarm....by the way, where do you get this water alarm?
Thanks,
Michelle

 

[DRC69]

I have two 10 gallons in an extra room. NO problems ever. They have been there for about 1 1/2 year now. Sometime this year there going to be broken-down, I have enough tanks now.
THX,
DC

 

[bb61127]

thank you all for your replies

 

[JE]

there is no dumb question........

 

[abandund]

i got a 60 gallon reef with a 20 gallon sump....on the second floor of a OLD apartment building...no problems..i figure the weight is about 664 pounds...i figure thats about the equivelent of 3 large people on one side of the room. If my floor can't that, I wouldn't want to live there! Also, if you have a good stand, the weight should be dispersed over a resonably large area.

 

[pledosophy]

I have had a 75g with a 30g refugium sitting next to steel shelves with 3 20g tanks, and a 44g tank on the otherside, all running, all was well.

I think you can hit 200g fine. Anything more I would start checking to see where the supports are. Or just invite 10 friends over have them all stand next to each other and start jumping. If they fall take them to the hospital and sue the landlord. Hey it's better then losing a tank.

 

[abandund]

hahahaha

 

[strictlySPS]

hahahaha good idea pledosophy

 

[Wilafur]

depends on the quality of construction.

i had a 100g, 45g and 50g on the top floor for 3 yrs without a problem.