For those of you worried about the weight of your tank on the floor.....

[xroads]

Dont.

I had 60 sheets of sheetrock delivered to the house on Tuesday. I went inside & all 60 sheets were stacked together in the middle of the floor with no problem at all. That was over 2 tons of weight in a 4x8 area. A 200 gallon tank fully stocked & equipment would weigh less then 2000 pounds.

Craig

 

[wenszoo]

true no problem now but have it sit there for 1-5 years then major problems

 

[got2lb]

I bet Craig hopes that sheetrock doesn't sit there for 1-5 years to find out!

Hows the new house coming Craig? Any new pics? Did you get your other house sold yet?

 

[matttaylor]

I don't want to start a fight and i'm not saying you're wrong, but with what i know about home design, building codes, and the way homes have been built in the past and present i'd like to add some important information in case a "newbie" reads this and decides to place a 200 gallon or larger tank in his 50 year old home. Tank design and the actual contact patch of the stand could change the weight distribution drastically as can tank location. A tank in the middle of a room usually will have more support and solid runs of wood, whereas a tank near a wall typically will have joints and braces (prone to wear, fatigue, and stress). In addition, not all homes (especially with raised foundations) can take a full ton of weight on such a small area (though most slab foundation homes can on the bottom floor). Older houses are definitely most prone to problems as the building codes 20 years ago were not as strict as today, and time and environment will take it's toll on the wood used to build the home. Again I'm not saying you're wrong, i am a real estate appraiser and a construction inspector, so i have a lot of insight into this matter. When in doubt, overbuild to protect your home, and your tank.

 

[xroads]

It is coming along well. The ceiling should be all rocked by the end of the weekend. I will have the wife take some pics. We are there at least 6 days a week if not 7. I am looking forward to being done so I can start contruction of the tank room & the new tank. House hasnt sold. I am thinking about hiring a realtor next month. I was just trying to save that 7%!

 

[xroads]

You are right matt, I would definetly worry about an older house. Newer houses with I joist floors are incredibly strong. Although I remember a Frat party we had in our 80 year old house when I was in college. We had a room about the size of a large dining room packed with about 45 people jumping in unison to that song "Jump around" I will say the people below in the basement cleared out when they could see the floor moving up and down over 2 inches with each jump.

 

[matttaylor]

No doubt. Now imagine being in the basement and seeing the floor start bowing from a tank! RUNNNNN! And i take it you're building a house? Congrats, i can't wait to be in your shoes. Cookie cutter houses have no personality! My in laws built theirs and had everything they've always wanted. You must be in hog heaven right about now.

 

[xroads]

I dont know about hog heaven as my body allways aches anymore. But it will be all worth it when we are done. My wife is amazing, she is doing almost all the wiring & has put in twice as many hours there as I do. I designed the house myself with one of those programs you can buy. The basement floor is 7" thick concrete with 5000 pound mix. That is to hold the 2500 gallon L shaped tank we are going to build.

 

[got2lb]

I hear you not wanting to have to pay the realtor 7%. That adds up to a lot of $$$ real quick! I might have to get a copy of that program from you. We're planning on doing the same thing but not for prob. another 5 years. We might buy some land in the next year or 2 and get that paid off first.