How do i tell what my floor is made of?

[djryan2000]

I'm considering putting a 75 gal with a 30 sump in my upstairs bedroom. The sump is usually half full according to the seller of the tank stand and sump. My house was built in 1991.

I've read on RC and other forums to put a tank like that upstairs to check how the floor is reinforced (concrete is preferable), to put the tank against a load-bearing wall, and perpendicular to joists.

For the joists, I checked the way I saw wooden beams going in my basement and assumed that's how they run. As for the load-bearing wall I was planning on putting the tank between two exterior walls - or as close to them as possible considering one of them is a cape. Assuming these two methodologies are correct, how can I tell if my floor is reinforced with concrete or is just wood?

Is there anything I can look out for indicating that damage is in the future if I keep the tank running? ie a precursor to the floor sagging and harming the house's value.
Is there any way I can increase the footprint of the stand?

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[Dmorty217]

You will be fine with a 75g and 30g sump on the second floor of the house. Its best to put on a outside wall if you can but not necessary. The joist won't sag from the weight of the tank. One potential downfall is if the sump overflows there is a good chance of ceiling damage on the ceiling right below where the tank is

 

[Oldreeferman]

Altho im a contractor i have no idea where you live or your codes, however it is VERY rare in any instance for a typical residential house to have a concrete upper floor period. Only case would be a special mansion for some additional purpose of God knows what for people with more money then they know what to do with.\
Typical construction is beams with joists & 3/4" plywood then whatever the finished floor is over that carpet or wood or whatever. In the old days the 3/4" used to also have a 1/2" ply over it after the interior walls were built for even more rigidity but they got lax & decided that was over kill so now homes are constructed with cheap crappy chip board in 1 layer usually. Even roofs get crappy chip board & sometimes on 24" centers almost a crime. You may even have metal joists ive seen that also so whatever the basement has that is what is used upstairs. Around 100gal or so including the aquarium itself is a pretty good load footprint around 800lbs or more on a small spot. Did they use joist hangers or toenail the joists to the beams? That is probably what id investigate also was the floor decking glued & nailed or just air nailed down? Trust me most contractors are cheap arses & try to go the cheap rout so good luck. Last thing is better check to be sure the homeowners Ins covers an aquarium disaster because that isnt a normal plumbing issue if it fails & they can squirm out of it so better call them & make sure may have to even be added to the policy if not word for the wise. Also very easy to tell if concrete anyway just take a 8 penny finish nail & nail it thru the floor near a wall by the base you can fill the hole afterwards, if it nails thu then its obviously just ply if you hit a solid surface its concrete since metal joists hangers are open at the top. I doub't you will ever see a LFS with aquariums setup upstairs they are in the basement or on the concrete main floor there is a reason for this, good luck.

 

[mcgyvr]

Not an issue at all.. A 75G/sump is too small to even worry about issues like that...

200+G sure.. under that.. nah..

 

[Sk8r]

If you ever suspect issues, a simple carpenters bubble level before you start and as you set up can show you something. We're just householders, but we've found owning a 3' long professional bubble level has helped us in all sorts of jobs, but you can somewhat create that by putting a cheap little level on a board laid on the surface you're trying to prove.

 

[Crooked Reef]

If you have a wooden first floor as evidenced from the basement description, you likely have a wooden second floor. Maybe not a hardwood floor, but you would have wooden joists with a wooden subfloor under whatever floor covering there is.

 

[hkgar]

Beams are not rafters. Beams generally go down the middle of the house length wise and rafter are perpendicular and connect to the beams. You would want your tank set across the rafters.