What kind of effect would a wavebox have on tank weight distribution?

[kevensquint]

There is a chance that I will put a wavebox on my new 125, only it is on one of those flimsy pine stands and the tank is perfecto. I guess 2 strikes right off the bat. Also the tank is upstairs and I estimate the weight of my set-up is prolly near the max. that my floor can handle. Would the water movement put even more stress on the floor than I already have?

 

[rvitko]

I wouldn't be too concerned with that. I would worry most about the tank and stand. I know for Austin the building codes for second floor load- IIRC were 180psi light residential duty, 250 psi commercial. I was told by a contractor the only usual cause of failure believe it or not is paper. People stack up huge amounts of paper without regard for how much an 8ft stack of paper weighs. I seem to recall we calculated it out one time that 180 gallons was absolutely safe in light duty. I heard a story about a guy who had a party though and with the vibrations of the music and dancing his 180 crashed through the floor, he told me the apartment complex and it was a dump so I would suspect it was under code, or had existing insect or water damage but resonance frequency has been known to destroy bridges and balconies the same way so it isn't impossible.

 

[kevensquint]

I wouldn't be too concerned with that. I would worry most about the tank and stand. AND resonance frequency has been known to destroy bridges and balconies the same way so it isn't impossible.

1. I can improve the strength of the stand, but are perfecto tanks really that lousey? they are guarenteed 20 years after all.
2. I did'nt follow the last comment. Did you understand my concern with living upstairs and the wavebox as in "the wavebox uses resonance frequency and I think this may weaken the floor"?
What I actually was concerned with is the water in the tank constantly shifting a few hundred pounds from side to side for years..non stop, and possibly weakening the floor.

 

[rvitko]

You are not resonating the floor though. You are probably shifting more like 20lbs, not hundreds. Perfecto used to be a bottom teir brand, since they were bought out I have no experience, warranty like 20 years is a bit of a trick. When you try to claim in 15 years and the store you purchased it from and the wholesaler he purchased from is out of business and you lost the receipt anyway, they will find a way out of it. Never dealt with a Perfecto warranty before but that is generally how those aquarium warranties play out.

 

[kevensquint]

good point.

 

[arking_mark]

Most houses are build with a minimum of 40 psf for first floor and 30 psf for upstairs. The limit of these pounds per square foot applies to evenly distributed weight. That is the floor is built to hold a total of 40 x square footage. So a 10x10 room can hold 40 X 10 X 10 = 4000lbs.
A 180 gal tank weighs 2400lbs (including stand, sand and rock...). This is 200 psf! However, if the tank is placed perpendicular to joists, then there is 6 feet of tank over joists and that stip of joist can carrry 6 x 10 x 40 = 2400lbs. Normally, this might be of concern. The tank certainly won't fall through, but there will be floor sag. However, 40 is a minimum and there is usually a 1.5 to 2 safety factor. So you would need a minimum of 3600 to 4800 pounds to have safety issues. Anyway, most 1st floors would normally be ~50psf. Now if you were parralel with the joists, you would only be spanning 2 feet of joists...2 x 10 x 40 = 800lbs! The tank is 3 x this weight so even with 50 psf and 2 safety factor this would be unsafe!