will the floor hold the weight?

[teen]

ive got a 110 gallon tank that i want to set up on the first floor of my house, basement underneath it.

the joists are 2" x 8" on 16" centers

the beam that runs the length of the house is 7 1/2" x 5 1/2", then there are metal poles holding that up that run from the floor to the beam.

the back of the tank will run on top, parallel to the beam that goes the length of the house, and the tank will be parallel to the joists. the tank is 18" wide so it will come about 20" off of the beam under it (tank will be about 2" away from the wall to leave room for bulkheads to drain).

do you think this is safe, or will i have to re-inforce the floors?

thanks in advance.

 

[cmulawka]

tuff call?? better safe than sorry is basement isnt finished maybe another metal post i dont think they are that expensive and you can always move it.

 

[teen]

basement isnt finished so thats why i dont want it down there, plus it gets kinda drafty in the winter.

if i have to add more support, can someone reccomend how to go about doing this? i dont think more metal posts are gunna help that much unless there directly under the tank.

could i add more 2"x 8" joists, screw them in to the existing joists?

maybe add 2" x 4" 's perpendicular in between the joists?

 

[Henry Bowman]

To give you an idea of what you are dealing with, water is 8 lbs a gallon. In total with your tank, I think you'll easily top 1000 lbs. Good news is that would be spread over 5-6 feet or over 3 joists.

You should call a home inspector or builder / engineer to get a competent answer. Dont know if there are any here on RC but I'm not one, so I'll leave the information provided at what I DO know.

 

[Icefire]

Probably enought, I'm on a sec. floor app. 50yrs old+, 36" 50G/33G sump.

 

[RTKBA308]

Got any pics of the basement 2X8's, where the tank would sit above?

 

[RTKBA308]

To the 2X8's directly under the tank, I would add another 2X8 to each of them and sandwich a piece of 1/2" plywood between. Better safe, then sorry.

 

[TheGrog]

Tough call. It is preferable to have tanks sitting over several beams (perpindicular) than mostly on one, even if it is a larger beam.

First of all, whatever you do (adding beams, reinforcing, ect) do BEFORE adding the tank and filling it. Doing so afterwards will be too late as the stress will have already been applied.

What I would consider is adding two more joists, then two metal support posts, one at each end. Get a good 4x4 or 6x6 that goes across the two new beams, two existing outer beams AND the existing large beam (cut grooves if necessary). Get everything nice and tight, then put the tank in place (you can have the tank and stand in place, just not filled.....unless it weighs more than 400 lbs or so).

You can get the metal posts that are adjustable at any home improvement store. They cost around $20-$30.

I did this exact thing with my 125/40 sump in an older house and had no problems with tank settling. When we had the house inspected before selling it, the inspector commented how "upo to code" it was and that if it had not been done, it could have caused real stress on the house.

Hope this helps!

 

[N-A-S-O]

When ever this gets talked about, I get real worried. I have a 110g tank and a 29g sump all on the second floor. When I ripped up one of the floors this summer there was a news paper under there from 1925. So it's an old house either way no problems yet....Check this article out http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

 

[N-A-S-O]

One thing I can't understand is why we all so easly trust these little wooden stands our tanks are on. How come no one ever questions that?

 

[terrymr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9322713#post9322713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by N-A-S-O
One thing I can't understand is why we all so easly trust these little wooden stands our tanks are on. How come no one ever questions that?

Yeah really - I was looking at the stand that came with my 55 (the whole thing was given to me) thinking there's not even one 2x4 in the whole thing how does it hold 400+lbs?

 

[NoSchwag]

I wouldn't worry about the weight at all.. As naso said, look at these stands.

 

[RTKBA308]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9322713#post9322713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by N-A-S-O
One thing I can't understand is why we all so easly trust these little wooden stands our tanks are on. How come no one ever questions that?

Well, for me, my stand is really well built. I have concrete floors, so no worries their.

 

[teen]

ok, thanks guys.

i think im gunna reinforce the joists by adding some more 2" x 8"s on side of the existing joists, then some 2" x 4" in between the joist for some extra support.

im going to look into the metal poles, but i think they may cause some problems in the basement. its already crowded as is.

 

[RocketEngineer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9323707#post9323707 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by terrymr
Yeah really - I was looking at the stand that came with my 55 (the whole thing was given to me) thinking there's not even one 2x4 in the whole thing how does it hold 400+lbs?

The stands are just holding up the weight of the tank which really doesn't change. Wood is incredibly strong, just look at a big tree in a wind storm. However, the floors have to hold up the tank, the furniture, the people in the house, appliances... and if the house has a second story, they hold up the upper floors also.

So for all those who worry, reinforce the floors. If you don't worry, good for you. Personally, if the tank is over 100G, I would reinforce the floor. Anything less I think any decent house should hold up fine.

 

[shiftyfatdwarf]

coming from a former framer that will hold up just fine. the way the floor is built is that the beams support all the weight and any extra weight will just be transfered to them. i wouldn't worry about it it will hold that tank

 

[teen]

thanks for all the replys guys.

 

[OO7]

Based on the responses here, I'm going to assume that putting my 30 gallon cube (with a 4' x 2' stand) parallel to the joists won't be a problem . . . .

Good to hear!