# 150g floor supporting project- FINISHED



## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Ive left my 150g at my old house (been renting it out for about a year) and now i have a way bigger and nicer house- Its time to bring my showtank home.....


*But......*

Im worried about the weight and placement of the tank.

I know for big tanks you should place them on an exterier wall of the house and a wall where the floor beams face perpendicular to the tank so that the foundation supports the load....

*But......*

There is a perfect spot in my living room where there is a little cove that the tank would fit perfectlly in....
the problem is its towards the middle of the house and 
that the floor beams run the same way as the tank would so It would only be sitting on 2 floor joists.

Would this worry anyone- or would it be okay? Should I put floor jacks under the floor joists in the basement???

Dont know if im just being paranoid but id hate to do structure or floor damage to a home i just got a big loan for...

Need opinions fast- i want to get my tank this weekend

Thanks all


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## scotty (Oct 3, 2007)

do you know anything about carpentry?? reply soon!


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

a little


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## scotty (Oct 3, 2007)

you can always beef up your floor joists as did i my house was bilt in 38 i got 2*8 floor joists! do yu need help ?


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

my floor joists are 1 5/8" thick and 7 1/2" wide - spaced every 17 inches center to center, Im a welder and fabricator- should i just support the two joists that would hold the load? I could put a metal plate under the joists that would span and support the 2 joists and then put a floor jack under it- do you think its neccessary? how many spots under the tank should i put a floor jack? (6 foot tank) thanks 4 the help bro


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

tell me more about your basment? is it just a crawlspace with dirt floor or finished with carpet? personally i would get some 2x6, some 4x4 treated posts, and basically build a stand under your floor... jack the whole floor up 1/8 as you put in each post so it compensates for any settling and you will be more than good...


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

its finished with carpet- It wont be too bad- the part that needs supported is right next to the basement steps so i can hide them with a bookshelf or something, would 2 braces be enough? What if i picked an exterier wall where the floor joists ran the right way? would I still need to brace the floor underneath? I hate having to worry about this crap


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## JmanoftheSouth (May 14, 2004)

water wieghs about 8.8 lbs a gallon.


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

You could always triple the two joists it's sitting on, that would probably be enough. How long is the span of the joists? That matter's too.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Ok heres the little spot where i would Idealy like to put the tank (sorry about the mess it was my kids birthday)
View attachment 160116

And here is the 2 or 3 joists dirrectly underneath that would support the tank...
View attachment 160117

And heres my dungeon office on the other side of the basement....
View attachment 160118

anyway would 2 floor braces (or floor jacks) be enough???

the floor joists only span a couple feet past each side of where the tank would sit.--On one side after a couple feet it hits foundation, and on the other side it after a couple feet it hits a central countersupport beam- so it may be ok- but i would be scared without bracing-


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

i would get 4 6' 2x6, and double them up on each side of the tank(either side of a floor joist, use some screws to hold them together (for ease of fitting) and about 5' apart use some 4x4 posts like i said above.... make sure you use "hurricane" clips to attach the posts to the 2x6 so nobody can kick them out, and some sort of bracket on the concrete.... if you can weld you can definately do this so i will draw up a quickie in paint and PM you!! i wouldnt trust 1000lbs of water on 2 joists so... this will over do it if anything


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

To all of you with 125+g tanks, do you worry about bracing or just set it up how and where you want???? I dont know if floor bracing is neccessary or if im just being paranoid, Right now the tank is at my rental house which is a little sugar shack and its sitting on the floor with no support- that house has a 6" crawlspace-LOL, and when i bought that house I had to fix the floors in the bedroom because they where sinking into the ground- I was scared as hell to set it up there but it did fine the past couple years-

I have a decent house now that i dont want to screw up though


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

Take 2 lengths of triple 2x8's, and support them with jacks or more 2x8's so they are perpendicular across the two or three joists that will be supporting the tank. Place them 6' apart (where each end of the tank will be on the floor above) and you should be good (actually that's probably overkill but you can never be to careful).











deezdrama said:


> To all of you with 125+g tanks, do you worry about bracing or just set it up how and where you want???? I dont know if floor bracing is neccessary or if im just being paranoid, Right now the tank is at my rental house which is a little sugar shack and its sitting on the floor with no support- that house has a 6" crawlspace-LOL, and when i bought that house I had to fix the floors in the bedroom because they where sinking into the ground- I was scared as hell to set it up there but it did fine the past couple years-
> 
> I have a decent house now that i dont want to screw up though


If you were putting it perpindicular to the floor joists against an exterior or otherwise load bearing wall, bracing wouldn't be necessary, but if you really want it in that spot, I would definitely brace it.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Something like this right....


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

deezdrama said:


> Something like this right....


Exactly! Only I'd substitute 3 2 x 8's nailed together to form a beam instead of that 1 piece of wood you have laying flat between the jack and the joists (again, probably overkill but better safe then sorry).


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Actually I was thinking of using a piece of 1/2" steel plate that i could cut out at work- or would wood be better?? I may try to use 4x4's instead of floor jacks ---cheaper


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

deezdrama said:


> Actually I was thinking of using a piece of 1/2" steel plate that i could cut out at work- or would wood be better?? I may try to use 4x4's instead of floor jacks ---cheaper


Yea, 4x4's would definitely be a cheaper alternative then floorjacks. Just find some way to anchor them to the floor and the plate so that they don't get kicked or knocked out. Suddenly removing the supports would essientially be like dropping the tank on your floor, and that would _definitely_ be bad.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

or you need a cement drill and 12" piece of rebar to anchor them to the floor easiest..... drill the hole where the center of the post goes, and drill a hole in the center of the post... or you can use a bracket and ram-set them to the cement, and screw the bracket (blue) to the post.... i would just use 2x6s doubled up (green) flat against the floor as cloce as you can get them to the edge of the load , 4x6 posts... 4 total, spaced about 4' apart if your tank is 6' (black) and screw them to the existing joists (red) and use a standard bottle jack and another post to lightly lift the floor and pre load everything as you install it, cut everything atleast 1/16 strong... you could probibally park your car on it if you wanted









sorry for the 2 second drawing... wish i had auto cad


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Thanks for all the help guys- Ill let you know what i end up doing- should be starting the project tomorrow


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Well I bought a couple 4x4's and some 2x8's and got ready to brace my flooring- But now i got another problem-
The area right underneath the tank will only have 1 floor joist going directly below it... like this...
View attachment 160313

I cant run more joists inbetween because there is heating ducts and electrical conduit running inbetween the joists in various spots.
The only thing i could really do is take some pieces of 2x8 and stack them till they hit the subfloor, then span piece of 4x4 between the joists, and run a 4x4 to the concrete floor, i could only do this on the ends though , Its hard to explain what im talking about - hope this pic helps
View attachment 160314

Im pretty worried and paranoid about how to proceed- maybee i should just stick with an outer loadbearing wall with perpendicular joists. I really wanted the tank in this spot though- just dont know if it will be safe and i have 4 kids.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

hey man, thats not a problem... use your 2x8 as the green and double them up to run the legnth of the tank, and unse the 4x as posts, attach them with 3.5" screws where the red ares are and it will be sollid as a rock! like i said if you can use a jack and jack the joists a little before you screw them itwil help to preload the floor... you wil need 4 posts, and your front view is dead on, just modify lit to be like my view on the other end.... 4 of those posts at 6 or 8 feed will hold a bus if everything is snug before you add water....









or


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

thanks for the fast reply- i can pickup some more 4x4's tomorrow - the only problem is ,, inbetween the joists there are heating ducts so i cant add any wood the whole length of the tank- i couldnt run it stacked like you suggest - or run it vertical (like adding another joist) when my old lady gets done uploading videos off of our digital camera i will take a pic of what im talking about-- Thanks for all the help man!!!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

not a problem, really either way it wil be overly strong, so hit me up and ill help as much as i can! if you could tripple up each joist verticaly, with a 2x s on each side and support that with a post directly under that would work also... and if you have access to a bottle jack and an extra post to jack it up about an 1/8 as you set the posts, and then lower it on this will be easy


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

deezdrama said:


> Well I bought a couple 4x4's and some 2x8's and got ready to brace my flooring- But now i got another problem-
> The area right underneath the tank will only have 1 floor joist going directly below it... like this...
> View attachment 160313
> 
> ...


This will work fine--you don't even need that stack of 2x8's you drew in there. the weight of the tank will transfer to the joists, which will transfer the weight to the horizontal 4x4's, which will transfer the weight down the vertical 4x4's down to the concrete.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

"Quote">>>>
This will work fine--you don't even need that stack of 2x8's you drew in there. the weight of the tank will transfer to the joists, which will transfer the weight to the horizontal 4x4's, which will transfer the weight down the vertical 4x4's down to the concrete.

All the weight will be just on one joist and i have to worry about the subfloor sheering near the back joist...
View attachment 160318


Skunkbud--- heres pics of the problem im talking about- notice the duct in the way- would be hard to run a 2x8 next to the joist or lay some flat against subfloor- maybee i should bring home some thich steel flatbar tomorrow???








View attachment 160319

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View attachment 160321


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

need to figure out how to get a joist or support along this red line- this will be where the back of the tank sits and on the joist to the left will hold the front of the tank ( I think i can double this beam without too much problems)


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

deezdrama said:


> All the weight will be just on one joist and i have to worry about the subfloor sheering near the back joist...


Oops, didn't catch that. In that case, put the stacked 2x8's there.


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## scotty (Oct 3, 2007)

this might or might not make sense to you but what you could do is cut some 2x8 bridging (blocking),put it in between the existing floor joists wherever you can get it (preferably every 16 on center)and use joist hangers to fasten it to the existing floor joists. then you can support just the two existing joists and the 2x8 hangers will carry the load of the perpendicular blocking. this will give you the support you need IMHO. But if you go this way be SURE to use the proper nails for the hangers. they look like this-
that is a number ten on the head
View attachment 160368

View attachment 160369

the x thing is old style bridging used to keep the floor joists from deflecting. that can come out as long as the new bridging is put in. the new bridging will look nothing like the old stuff.this is what im talking about-
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0S020uir4tHUoYB...080553-mini.jpg
and this is a post base that you would use to fasten the post to the floor
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/imag...6e&ei=UTF-8


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

i would pull that ducting down, and the X brace thing, and move the wires to where you can do this right, and reinstall around your newly supported floor... in comparison to your tank upstairs where does this duct come out? and is it the only source of heat in the room above?










i have no idea what that block is at the bottom, but something tells me is not important? sorry i forgot to erase it


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

deezdrama said:


> thanks for the fast reply- i can pickup some more 4x4's tomorrow - the only problem is ,, inbetween the joists there are heating ducts so i cant add any wood the whole length of the tank- i couldnt run it stacked like you suggest - or run it vertical (like adding another joist) when my old lady gets done uploading videos off of our digital camera i will take a pic of what im talking about-- Thanks for all the help man!!!


Are the ducts running into the room opposite the tank?
If so why not move it? Have it run UP from the floor or another wall. Its not hard and you could most likely reuse the pieces that you have with a few cuts and a few sheet metal screws.....just patch the other hole and paint it.

******EDIT******

I didnt notice the comment above


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Heres the problem- the heat ducting runs all the way to the top floor ( it runs inside of the wall shown in the pic thats behind the tank) so i cant reroute it-
View attachment 160381

but what i can do is rotate the "round to square" adaptor so that i have more room to work with inbetween the joists. I could just center the tank above the middle joist in the picture- then double that joist- then add a joist on either side (green in pic) then i can run columns- would a 4x4 on each end be enough or should i use 2 on each end???
View attachment 160382

would this appear to work???

thanks again for all the help!


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## scotty (Oct 3, 2007)

are there any other tradesmen looking at this or am i the only one?



deezdrama said:


> Heres the problem- the heat ducting runs all the way to the top floor ( it runs inside of the wall shown in the pic thats behind the tank) so i cant reroute it-
> View attachment 160381
> 
> but what i can do is rotate the "round to square" adaptor so that i have more room to work with inbetween the joists. I could just center the tank above the middle joist in the picture- then double that joist- then add a joist on either side (green in pic) then i can run columns- would a 4x4 on each end be enough or should i use 2 on each end???
> ...


that would proly work but it looks like too much work to me


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

deezdrama said:


> but what i can do is rotate the "round to square" adaptor so that i have more room to work with inbetween the joists. I could just center the tank above the middle joist in the picture- then double that joist- then add a joist on either side (green in pic) then i can run columns- would a 4x4 on each end be enough or should i use 2 on each end???
> View attachment 160382
> 
> would this appear to work???
> ...


Looks good to me. I'd trust it.


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

i was going to ask the age of the house, but it looks a little older than mine

i have a 125g up stairs with no issues and a 180g down stairs with no issues


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

assclown said:


> i was going to ask the age of the house, but it looks a little older than mine
> 
> i have a 125g up stairs with no issues and a 180g down stairs with no issues


Yeah its an older house thats been remodeled - except im still working on the basement, Ive read though that the older houses where built sturdier - they had an abundance of hardwoods back in the days- but I still dont trust it since i have small kids around.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Finally some progress!!!!








first i had to remove the little crossjoint braces and remove all the old nails ect.
then i fliped the vent adaptor upside down
View attachment 160415

Then I realized that i would have to drive back out to lowes and get about 3 times the material i originaly planned on- shoulda known








I doubled the center joist and added 2 more inbetween, I only have them held up by the endboards right now- the new joists I added are a bit loose and the crossbeams on the ends pivot a bit on the center joist- so i guess I will have to preload everything before I actually screw everything down?








I still have 2-3 more 2x6" to add at the ends before adding the four 4x4's but heres where im at right now....... thanks again to everyone who helped and talked me into doing this the right way- ive been up since 5am so im exhausted and going to bed- ill update when i get the rest done








View attachment 160416

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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

GOOD MAN.. keep us informed...looks like you have it on the go now...


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

Looking great, took alot of brainstorming but it looks like you've finally got a design that's going to work for you.
You know, it looks like there ended up being all kinds of great ideas for adding structural strenght to floors in this thread. Maybe it ought to be pinned?


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Yeah - i bet pinning this would help alot of others out there that are in my shoes.

I dont know if ill get to finishing this tonight- im dead tired


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

deezdrama said:


> Yeah - i bet pinning this would help alot of others out there that are in my shoes.
> 
> I dont know if ill get to finishing this tonight- im dead tired


lookn good man, i dunno if you can call it finished untill the tank in up and running tho


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Alrighty---
another quick question for you guys....

Im looking at the 2x6's at each end and they are not sitting flush against the joists. Its hard to explain so heres a pic...
View attachment 160503

Notice on one end - that the middle joist does not touch the 2x6's
and...
On the other end the center joist sticks down a bit and so the 2x6's teeter a bit on the center joist.

My question...

Should I screw down the new joists i added now before theres any load on anything- or should I use a jack and preload everything and try to make the ends fit better before screwing everything down???

If i use a jack to press everything to fit better would that make my floor upstairs unlevel?

I also just noticed my basement floor is badly unlevel so the 4x4's coming down are just touching the floor by one edge- this is turning out to be a pain in the ass


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

i think for a 150 gallon youve got some good support i say screw them down then fill the fish tank make sure to take a measurement from at least 5 diff locations were you put the supports so that as you are filling the tank you have a refrence point to match if the measurement gets smaller that stop filling the tank and add more supports i added supports from the basment to the joices holding up the first floor and a buch of x in between the joices themselves to transfer the load from each of them it just helps spread out the load deffinatly screw them in first


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## scotty (Oct 3, 2007)

the 2x's could have a crown in them,or the middle joist could have a sag in it,as for the 4x4,s go back to my post and look at the link i posted for post base and consider doing it how i explained.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

dammit- the original joists are so damn hard i cant even get a screw or a nail in it- guess ill have to predrill holes


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

deezdrama said:


> Alrighty---
> another quick question for you guys....
> Im looking at the 2x6's at each end and they are not sitting flush against the joists. Its hard to explain so heres a pic...
> Notice on one end - that the middle joist does not touch the 2x6's
> ...


You need shims.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Got it done- will post pics later of the support beams- but heres pics of the tank.





























it took everything me and my buddy had to get this tank in my truck - out of my truck- and on the stand. And we are not little guys- I hope i dont have to go through that again. Unfortunately I was doing a water change the other day and forgot i was filling the tank....untill i heard a waterfall on the floor- oh jeez- just a little wet carpet. But now my dovii is killing my midas.


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