Fish Tank Swaying

F

fhum

New member
I'm done leak testing my plumbing and filled the tank up with water and is currently cycling. I notice that when I walk by, the water would ripple a bit. If I walk with a bit more force, the water would slosh to the point where the tank would start to sway.

Details:
New House. Hardwood floors.
Tank is 90 gal (48x18x24) w/ 33 gal sump.
Tank sits across 3-4 joist with extra support.
Tank sits 1' away from the wall (overflow takes up 6" at the back).
Tank sits on 1/2" high density foam, which sits on 1/2" plywood, which sits on a metal stand (48x18x30), which sits on a thin rug, which sits on the hardwood floors.

Does anyone have any suggestions on why this would be happening or advice on how I can stablize this?

Thanks for any input.
 
I got the same problem with my 90. If your house is like mine (fishtank over top of the basement/garage) it's your floor. They sell braces for that at home depot I believe. Look around at some of the build threads you will see folks who have braced their floors with them. It is like a really tall jackstand.

Good Luck --landlord
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12440013#post12440013 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by haitwun
I'm guessing something is wrong with your stand. Do you notice the stand swaying with it?
Click to expand...

I'm not too sure but I'll check out the stand when I get home.
Thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12440050#post12440050 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by landlord
I got the same problem with my 90. If your house is like mine (fishtank over top of the basement/garage) it's your floor. They sell braces for that at home depot I believe. Look around at some of the build threads you will see folks who have braced their floors with them. It is like a really tall jackstand.

Good Luck --landlord
Click to expand...

Yes, my 90 is over top of the basement. Do you mean telepost? Do you still notice any sway after installing them? My tank is already filled with water. Would I need to empty it before setting the braces in place?
Thanks for the help
 
I cannot brace since the teleposts would have to go through my garage doors. I got a great room ovetop a two car garage. When I built the tile floor for the tank I super re-inforced with hardy-board, plywood and ceramic tiles to finish. This took alot of the movement out. I am able to deal with what remains. I would have used the teleposts but my wife would have been tee'd off at not being able to park in the garage.

:)
 
just lose some weight.

lol, if it is the stand go to hardware store and get some shelving brackets and some screws that are shorter than the thickness of your stand, and put 4-6 in there in corners and you should be fine.
 
Why do you have the tank on 1/2" high density foam? My guess is that the foam might be amplifying any movement caused by walking on the floor.
 
LOL losing weight is part of my plan too.

The high density foam actually came with the fish tank that I got built. It's glued to the bottom. They said it should decrease the vibrations. Guess it doesn't...
 
You guys are saying lose the foam? Come on people....the foam is there to evenly distribute the weight between the tank and the stand to prevent cracking. The foam is needed and it also has absolutely nothing to do with this problem.

However you do it, you need to reinforce that floor. It sounds like it may be a pretty large deflection in teh beams to cause sloshing. You may have to go so far as to open the ceiling in the garage and physically add additional beams to support the weight. The last thing you want is the tank crashing through the floor.

Take the time and reinforce that floor.
 
my guess is the wall you are near is not a load bearing wall and your tank is actually out in the middle of a span.

I would not expect a 90g to bounce much in a new construction home otherwise.

Either that, or like others have suggested, your stand is in bad shape and is racking. That would be the scarier of the two situations.
 
If you have or can borrow a 4 ft level, place it on the top of the display. see if the front edge, rear edge, front corner to rear opposite corner & reverse is level. ( X pattern )
then check the floor at different spaces to see if the floor has a slight bow to it starting from the center of the stand, moving it off slightly from side to side. you may have placed the stand in the middle of a floor joist run where it will flex the most. the only way to fix this with out the column supports under it, is to re enforce the joist with another one secured to it
( sister or double run ) use a floor jack & a 4x4 to take a small strain ( slight lift !!!) on the joist (s) below the stand & then add the additional joist to the existing one(s) full length.
remember to secure the ends with dbl. teaco / Simpson bracket, (Home /Depot ) or screw it to the plate.

The other reason would be that the stand is not wide enough for the display, & or it is not level to the floor

My display is on the second floor over the garage also. I do have insurance, but I would never hear the end of it should it crash through & land on her car !!!!

Just My Opinion.

Steve


:smokin:
 
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