Tank Placement - am I ok?

[pdiehm]

So the 120 is setup, not yet filled, but has been moved into the house, which caused some worry from the wife, regarding the floor.

Our floor joists, 2x10's, run parallel to the tank (60x18). Using the heat duct and register, made sure the tank is on top of 2 of them 2x10's (16" apart on center), so roughly 3/4" of the stand front and back is off.

We have 3/4" OSB on top of the floor joists, with 3/4" carpet padding, and then the carpet.

Realizing that since this is my first stand build, it's not completely level, I attached a 3/4" piece of oak ply across the entire bottom of the stand. The Tank sits on a piece of 3/4" oak plywood on top of the stand.

If my calculations are right, it's about 105 lbs per square foot, but is a 60" stand/tank, so the weight is dispersed across a greater area.

I would have loved to put this perpendicular to the floor joists, but wasn't possible given the room layout and design.

I'm pretty sure it'll be ok, just wanted to get the thoughts of anyone who may be more well versed in this stuff. I definitely am on top of 2 2x10's though.

 

[pdiehm]

Rough sketch of the room. Garage on the left, heat register under the window on the right. Left edge of tank is about 24" from garage wall. Tank is about 10" from the wall, which has the concrete foundation under it. Wanted to make sure tank is on top of 2 2x10's, which it is.

 

[LeakyZ]

whats the span of those floor joists? That's a lot of weight on 2 2x 10's. Whats underneath? basement or crawl

 

[pdiehm]

It's a basement, and the room is about 12' across. There's foundation wall on all 3 sides. About 24-30" from the garage foundation wall. There *MAY* be an I-Beam that they sit on as well. I know there's an I-Beam under the kitchen which is through the opening at the bottom...I whacked my head on it as I was tapping into the cold water supply to the HW heater for RODI. I'm not sure if it goes under the family room though. If it does, it'll be just about directly under where the tank is. I'll have to see where the I-Beam stops when I get home from work.

 

[LeakyZ]

The beam would be a great thing. The load in the middle of those two joists will most likely sag over time. You could add an adjustable column and beam in basement if needed.

 

[pdiehm]

Not sure I could place a beam discretely though, our exercise room is drectly under the family room.

I'll know more tonight, and emailed the builder of the home to see if I can get an idea. This sucks. Can't believe that the one spot my wife wants this tank, may not work. Everything that could go wrong with this build has gone wrong, and the way my luck has run with this damned house, I won't be able to put it there, and will **** off my wife even more if it has to go in the basement.

 

[pdiehm]

First structural engineer responded. Recommends reinforcing. Said if there's an I-Beam put the tank so it's mostly on the i-beam and there's no problem. If there's no i-beam would move to perpendicular area, but if not possible, then either reinforce, or move to the basement for concrete base.

 

[asdfghp]

Install a temporary brace under the 2x10s.

 

[pdiehm]

Maybe. not sure it can be done based on the location. Have someone coming to look, would say a 70% chance I have to move this to the basement.

 

[LeakyZ]

Depending on what is in between the 2 joists, plumbing or hvac etc. you may be able to just double up the 2x10's or add a micro lam. Is the ceiling in the basement exposed? Or sheet rocked?

 

[pdiehm]

it's a drop ceiling. Really not a lot of room to install any kind of support post. I do know the 2x10's (maybe 2x8) are supported by the concrete foundation.

The other side of the run is supported by the concrete foundation as well. I want to say it's 12-14', but there's various cross brackets in there.

I have pics. Will post them.

 

[pdiehm]

This brace is about 6-7' from the wall closest to the tank. It is supported by the foundation wall (you can see), and connects to the first 2x10/2x8, where the back of the stand/tank would sit on.

This brace, albeit, I'm not sure how much support this would give, if any, is about 60" from the wall where the tank will be connecting the 2 joists that the tank would sit on.

This is the joist support on a 2x4, ontop of concrete foundation. This joist is where the front part of the tank would rest. There's about 10" between the start of the joist to the inside wall of the room.

This is the back joist where the back of the stand/tank would fall on. You can see the concrete foundation that is supporting the joist.

Another shot of the brace from the foundation back to the first joist, about 6-7' from the wall inside. You can see the concrete support.

This is a shot from the sump area of the room. The joist is running on top of a structure of what appears to be aluminum studs and lots of ductwork, and such in this particular area. Don't think this adds much, if any support to the joist. About 4' away the joist is supported by the concrete foundation.

 

[Willistein]

So, from your pictures, I think I understand the layout. I'm not a structural engineer, but I am a mechanical engineer and have built houses before. I have almost the same situation as you - joists running parallel, and the tank sitting on two of them. I couldn't double them up with taking a major amount of stuff out (wiring, gas lines ductwork, etc). While setting up, I filled the tank and compared the sag before an afterward and it was a pretty good amount. Also, the tank would rock when I jumped near it - not good! So I added a short beam under the joists, and supported with a column.

Couple notes from your pictures:
1. The short piece of 2x10 between the first two joists is just bridging to keep the joist straight up and down and does not add any additional stiffness to the floor - it just keeps that first joist in line.
2. As you suspected, the steel studded wall adds nothing structurally.

So, I would recommend one of the following:
1. Add a beam under the first few joists. Ideally it would actually be tied to the wall and catch the two joists under the tank and at least one additional one. Support the beam with one column (steel or 3 built up 2x6s).
2. Put the tank somewhere else.

I'm assuming that trying to shoehorn a micro-lam in there would not be feasible.

Hope this helps!

 

[RocketEngineer]

I would say you are out of luck :sad2:. Unless you removed the steel stud wall and replaced it with a support, I would look at other placements.

 

[LeakyZ]

wilistein sees what I was thinking with the microlam. I was thinking you cut it to "sister" up against that floor joist then put an adjustable 3"column under the lam and the joist. It looks like you would be behind the finished wall in the basement. From the looks of it, shouldn't the tank be right ontop of that one floor joist? How far is the tank from the wall?

 

[pdiehm]

Tank needs to be 8" away from the wall to allow for the beananimal drains. Regardless....we've decided to move it to the basement where we have a lounge area. Both of us feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

I have since started looking for all in one tanks like the Biocube 29 for our family room. Those sum*****es are expensive.

 

[LeakyZ]

Definitely the safest choice. Good luck with it.

 

[Willistein]

LeakyZ, that's not a bad idea - even supporting the one joist could be good enough.
I'll also mention it's better to put a tank in an area where it will get the most attention. It's easier to neglect otherwise and you won't enjoy it as much.

Or maybe you'll exercise more with the tank down there - could be a good thing!

 

[pdiehm]

we have a lounge down there, and a playroom. So we go down there a lot. My mancave is down there.

Ordered a Biocube 29 for the family room. Gonna stock it with 25lbs of marco rock, reef flakes, a koralia powerhead, 2 clowns, midas blenny, firefish, maybe a goby, and some snails.

Eventually some easy corals like torches, mushrooms, hammers (I think) - not sure of the names, but I have a picture in my head.