# Question about tank weight.



## Guest (Jan 12, 2009)

Hey all,

Picked up a 65g tank today. I wanted to put it on the main floor of the townhouse, but I am worried about the strength of the floor. It seems like the whole ouse was put together poorly!

I have the tank up against a wall, perpendicular to the floor beams (I can see them in the basement).

Will this be okay? The beams are quite close to one another. Should the tank be parrelell?

I can add pictures if needed.


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

You'll be fine..
Think about 3 fat guys standing there, set it up and don't worry about it unless there seems to be a structural problem in that area from water damage or insects.


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

It sounds like you picked the best configuration to arrange your tank with respect to the load bearing strength of the beams. Divided by the most amount of beams and as close to the wall as possible. The worst way to set your tank up would be parallel to as few beams as possible and in the middle of the room/beam.


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## Parsa (Nov 12, 2008)

lol my dad doesnt let me put any tanks over 10 gallons out of the basement, hes a wise man and hes also a mathematition. altho i know alot of people with hundreds of gallons upstairs. he says the large amount of weight staying in one place for months is risky, makes sense to me =D. yes like wink said immagine a few fat guys standing there buy do they all stand on four points close to each other for months? LOL


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## jmax611 (Aug 6, 2006)

i had over 500 gallons on the second floor of the last house i rented. never had a problem


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

Sounds like a similar situation I had with a 65gal... figure that to be 750 with the water, tank, stand and associated equipment. The floor should be okay as long as you put it as close as possible to support structures (walls, beams) as you can tell from the basement. You may want to reinforce the floor from below for peace of mind.

A simple 4x4 beam under the tank from the floor to the ceiling would work if space permits. Be sure to use a soft wood like Douglas Fir or yellow pine. Use a flat board at the ceiling to displace the forces (under the floor where the tank is). Measure the distance from the ceiling to the floor and substract the thickness of that flat board. Cut the beam 1/2 short of the height and then place two one inch wedges under the foot of the beam. You can tighten the beam using the wedges by applying equal forces at the same time (use two mauls or hammers). Again, you should be fine, but if you're like me, you want peace of mind when you see people trounce past and the fish tank jumps up and down (evident by the water swaying in the tank). It's unnerving as h*ll.


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

You should be ok, but better safe then sorry. What you want to do is get a floor jack and a piece of 4x4 post from your local hardware store of choice. Saw off a small chunk of the 4x4 to place under the floor jack, and use the rest to brace the floor joists. I can post a pic if you need more info.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

I got a 500 gal
125 gal
90 gal
40 gal brdr
33 gal

all holding water and on the second floor of my building.......No worries either...


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

is this a tree house we are talking about??? geez its only 650lbs. Do you ever get nervous that your floor will fall in when you have people over???


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

SeedlessOne said:


> is this a tree house we are talking about??? geez its only 650lbs. Do you ever get nervous that your floor will fall in when you have people over???


First of all, it's 650 lbs in water weight alone, so let's say it's 750 lbs for tank, stand and equipment, or a little more than 4 adults (4 x 180lbs) standing in one place...

People are not a constant/static force on the floor and are not concentrated in one locale... and then when people ARE over, the additional movements on the floor could cause the tank to develop an up and down momentum, thus amplifying the down forces intermittently... and subsequently causing the structure to give. I mean, have you ever heard of earthquakes and how they make seemingly stable structures collapse? (that's rhetorical). There is a reason they restrict waterbeds on elevated floor levels - purely due to the weight of the water and not the perceived risk of failure.

The bottom line here would be the structural rigidity and strength of your house. Is it old? new? Quality build materials or McMansion style put together with prefabricated crap? Living in Apt buildings is different, because they're made to withstand substantial weight variances. So, anybody chiming in about living on such-and-such floor of a building does not necessarily relate.

You can make the decision on your own, but do follow the basic precautions of placing the tank as close as possible to the structural support systems of the floor. I'd say it's worth another $20 in materials to secure the floor from beneath, but that's just me thinking ahead - as a home owner who values maintaining a structurally sound home.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

^^^I do understand your point. But there is no way someone should worry about the weight of a 65g tank. Its just not enough weight to compromise structural support.


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## ryanimpreza (Jul 19, 2006)

yup^^


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## MrMatthews (Jan 7, 2009)

Just found this forum recently; great site.

I was thinking of adding a 125 gallon, but after considering the support issue, I am concerned. The placement would be against a wall, perpendicular to the floor joists. The other side of the wall is the staircase that leads to the basement. My concern is that about half of the tank would be directly over joists that are resting on 2x4 studs, but the rest of the wall space is supported only by the joists that are on joist hangars. I'm leary of how strong the floor is when only supported by joist hangars and not a supporting "wall". I don't have the option of beefing up the support because my basement is finished. Does anyone have any opinions? Like others have said, I could probably post some pictures if that would help!


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

MrMatthews said:


> Just found this forum recently; great site.
> 
> I was thinking of adding a 125 gallon, but after considering the support issue, I am concerned. The placement would be against a wall, perpendicular to the floor joists. The other side of the wall is the staircase that leads to the basement. My concern is that about half of the tank would be directly over joists that are resting on 2x4 studs, but the rest of the wall space is supported only by the joists that are on joist hangars. I'm leary of how strong the floor is when only supported by joist hangars and not a supporting "wall". I don't have the option of beefing up the support because my basement is finished. Does anyone have any opinions? Like others have said, I could probably post some pictures if that would help!


What I stated above was for the guy and the 65 gallon tank - basically making sure he made some serious considerations and didn't just "do it". I'd say either build a support and build around it to give it a finished look, or just put it IN that finished basement.









I personally have a 125 gallon and 54 gallon tank in a sitting room on my second floor. My basement isn't finished, but that particular area of my house is reinforced to support a grand piano in that location... it's loaded with 2x8 struts placed in 12 inches (1 foot) increments and relies directly on the foundation and I-beam to support it. I have no worries, but that's because of the consideration already given to it.

To me, the bottom line on putting a tank on an elevated floor is this: If it makes you leary or afraid, don't do it. Always go with your first instincts, so if your instincts are scaring you, BE SCARED. lol... or reinforce it.


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## novajaymes (May 30, 2008)

I've got two 210 gallons in my house and they seem to be fine they are close to 2100lbs each with every thing


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## MrMatthews (Jan 7, 2009)

Rough996 said:


> What I stated above was for the guy and the 65 gallon tank - basically making sure he made some serious considerations and didn't just "do it". I'd say either build a support and build around it to give it a finished look, or just put it IN that finished basement.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Gotcha...if I hadn't already finished the basement, it would be easy enough to beef it up, but impossible now. As much as I hate to not have this grand tank in the living room, I think I will sleep easier knowing all that weight is resting on a concrete slab downstairs. Maybe that will give me more reasons to spend more time downstairs and watch the big screen...along with the big tank.

Thanks, Guys!


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Here's some good reading.

Residential Wood Framed Floors


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## TobiasRieper (Mar 14, 2008)

I wasnt sure my floor was strong enough for my tank so I made another post downstairs under the beams to support them







Just a few pieces of wood and some nails and your set.


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## MrMatthews (Jan 7, 2009)

Winkyee said:


> Here's some good reading.
> 
> Residential Wood Framed Floors


There's a lot of good info there.

My situation sucks because it would have been so easy to beef up the support before I finished my basement...I could have built in support for tons of weight if I had been thinking; but I wasn't thinking about fish tanks at the time. After reading posts on here and the info on the cichlid-forum article, I just don't think it is worth the risk of ruining my floor or risking a flood from a collapse. I'm not much of a gambler and it seems too much like a gamble to me.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2009)

I f*cking got some water damage there now because the filter leaked. I'm a bit nervous, but the tank seems fine. Less than 5 gallons of water reached the floor, most of it is in the carpet, so I am drenching it up.


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

DannyBoy17 said:


> I f*cking got some water damage there now because the filter leaked. I'm a bit nervous, but the tank seems fine. Less than 5 gallons of water reached the floor, most of it is in the carpet, so I am drenching it up.


SEE! Sometimes, it's not JUST about the floor support, but whether or not the area could sustain the inevitible water damage. There are just too many things like what happened to you, that can go wrong... don't f*ck up and forget to put a check valve on your air tubing - lose power to that pump and all of a sudden, there's a siphon to your floor from the tank.









NOW, how worried are you about the floor? Probably a little more worried than before, because your floor has water damage under it now. Trust me when I tell you it's worth a couple of dollars to brace the floor better - for peace of mind, if nothing else.


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