tank in an apartment

[kidkaos520]

I was thinking of upgrading my 24 gallon nano cube to a 50 or 60 gallon tank...the thing is I dont know if the floor is strong enough to hold the tank and sump. Does anyone know if the floor will support that kind of weight?

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I don't see a problem. I know a feew poeple with tanks as big as 120 in their appt. But one thing to look at (if you don't already have) is renters insurance. It will save your rear in case of an overflow situation into the downstairs appt. If you already have it be on the safe side, call and see what your policy covers

 

[kidkaos520]

I see never really thought about it over flowing. I just hope the little ones downstairs know how to swim.

 

[joem1cha3l]

im in the same situation. I wanted to upgrade my 29g to a 55 gallon but im unsure of the floor also. I haev renters insurance but im still weary.

 

[kidkaos520]

correct me if i am wrong but if i get 4 or 5 people to stand in one spot without them falling through it should be be ok for a tnk right?

 

[chem-e]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14347733#post14347733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kidkaos520
correct me if i am wrong but if i get 4 or 5 people to stand in one spot without them falling through it should be be ok for a tnk right?

You can't really think of it this way since the tank stays put the whole time and it's a constant load on the floor. However, I've had a 100 gal tank on the 4th floor of our apt complex. It was a newer complex with concrete floors and steel i-beams, so I wasn't too worried, however if it was an older house, I'd be comfortable with something up to 75 gals. Just keep it on the edges of the apt and not in the center, where there could be some sagging.

 

[kidkaos520]

so up agaist a wall should be fine then

 

[josh0013]

Make sure the base is flat so that you have the weight spread equally instead of having four pressure points (i.e. 4 legs)

 

[roneil]

make sure you put the aquarium across the flooring joist (perpendicular to the joist) and not along the joist (not parallel to the joist)

 

[Ranchhand02]

If you put it next to the wall and perpendicular to the flooring joists you should be fine. You might also contact the landlord and ask about the apartment construction.

 

[Misled]

Have this in mine!!!!

 

[xJake]

Hmmm... lets see...

50-60 gallon aquarium.... Water weighs 8.7lbs./gal, but let's just round that up to 10lbs./gal to account for the extra weight of the glass.

So, by this approximation, a 55-gallon aquarium would weigh about 550lbs. You're going to add about 50-60lbs of live rock, so let's just throw that on top of our first calculation for a total of around 610lbs.

The standard bottom dimensions for a 55-gallon aquarium are 48"x13" or 624 sq. in. Most standard aquarium stands generally spread the weight pretty evenly across the bottom of the floor, but let's cut this area in half just for good measure. So, you have 610lbs. on 312 sq. in. or about 2lbs./sq.in. of net force on your floor joists.

I weigh about 210lbs., and the dimensions of both my feet combined are about 8"x12", or about 104 sq. in. So I would put about the same 2lbs./sq.in. of net force on the floor.

If an apartment can hold me standing on my feet, then it shouldn't have a problem with an aquarium of that size. Unless of course you try to balance you aquarium on a 1" pole... then you might run into some issues... lol.

 

[noboddi]

Do you know how your building is constructed? The last apartment I was in had poured concrete floors on the second and third floors to meet fire code. They can be built more solid than you think.

 

[Mopar Reefer]

I currently live in a apt on the 3rd floor and have a 100 gal with 80lbs of sand and over 100lbs of live rock in it and have yet to have it fall through. Measure from the wall and every 16" there will be a stud. Use that as a refrence point to move your tank on the studs, ie side to side. The more studs your tank fits on the more the weight is distributed evenly across. Therefore reducing the amount of stress on just 1 or 2 studs.

 

[nikon187]

as mentioned above most newer appartments have concrete floors which would mean you would be fine with a 200g upstaris. Check with your landlord when the building was built. I just finished installing a 230g with 90g sump on the third floor of some guys house and he isn't too concerned. ( Its on a load barring wall)

 

[No Worries1979]

Just because a level is built of concrete doesn't mean it can withstand everything. Keep in mind it is how the concrete is reinforced. It may only have metal decking with 6x6" wire reinforcement. Many floors have horizontal rebar spaced every 48" O.C. in addition to the wire. In apartments, many load factors are calculated like the live (or moble) load, dead load ( such as appliances, furniture, etc.). As far as the wood joists, alot of multi-story dwellings will have engineered joists and trusses which will hold more weight. It's definitely a good thing to be discussing, try to look into the construction plans if you can get access, if not, try looking in your attic space or any access to the wood construction. That being said, you should be fine with a 50, 60 gallon as long as your building wasn't constructed before the 1960's. Just my 2 cents.