# Big Tank



## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i didnt wanna put this out but i guess i have to cuz i dont wanna eff up my house... i am planning on having a 480 in june and i want to put it in my house.. Its a one story house . hard wood floors. i was wondering would the floor hold or would i have to freaking go into the crawl space and put supports and shiiet down tehre:?


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

youll be best off going into the crawlspace and adding extra support in there


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

better safe than sorry.


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## NegativeCamber (Nov 29, 2004)

ya, if your house does not have a slab foundation... you better add some sort of supports..!!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

aawwww i gotta get dirty then


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

whats the biggest tank ppl have here without supports??


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2005)

Add some concrete! Its super cheap and easy apparently.

480g or 480l?

--Dan


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

DannyBoy17 said:


> Add some concrete! Its super cheap and easy apparently.
> 
> 480g or 480l?
> 
> ...


gallons. I told him put supports in too.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

no one wants to hear from u martha


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

33truballa33 said:


> no one wants to hear from u martha
> [snapback]928298[/snapback]​


























Dont make me come over there and make your house look like sh*t...I do horrible interior decorating.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

haha just hook me up with some good stock returns.. ahhaahaa... anyways n e more ideas.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2005)

Lol, you're crazy. At 10 pounds per gallon, that tank will weigh 4800lbs! Concrete the floor beneath!

--Dan


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i dont own the house im renting..... it


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## Dragonrider (Jan 13, 2005)

Much would depend on if tank is sitting parallel or perpendicular to your floor joists. In the end the expense to do it is minimal.

I supported my 240. There are some really cheap jacks(Used for mobile home trailers) out there. I bought three that covered 12"-18" and were only about $12 bucks a shot. So bought a 10ft long 4x4 shims and a couple of blocks for a base.

It was pain but glad I did it. Good luck


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## shoe997bed263 (Oct 15, 2004)

33truballa33 said:


> aawwww i gotta get dirty then
> 
> 
> 
> ...


i would rather get dirty than have 480g of water and expensive fish all over the place.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

yeah i was jus playin with that comment


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## jamesdelanoche (Dec 15, 2004)

not to mention losing your deposit, lol


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## masterofdragons (Feb 1, 2005)

I would suggest setting up a full area under the tank of cinder block. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that thing will stay where its supposed to if you don't do some type of bracing.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

what do u mena by full area of cinder block???


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## masterofdragons (Feb 1, 2005)

Full area as in, put them under the joists and under the rest of the floor that the tank will be going over. Lets putit this way, if you wouldn't park a small car there, you can't put that tank there.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2005)

Ya, how often is it that you have an elephant walking across your floor?

Sweet tank though!

--Dan


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## frogguy1 (Jun 9, 2004)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

this should help. It has illustrations on what you can do


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## sasquach (Dec 6, 2004)

wouldnt a wider base on the stand help?


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

480 gallons is way too much for your floor. without supports, the most that should be placed over the central load bearing beam of the house is a 125 gallon tank. at MOST. the live load of a 4500lb + object is not healthy for your floor. home depot sells floor jacks but you'd need a LOT of them to keep that floor up. honestly, its way too much weight. if the jacks aren't level to 90 degrees, then it wont be a straight force down to the ground. meaning, that if there's too much tilt(even a half in off is way too much) then it could rip the joists from the base. meaning that your whole floor slides over several feet and your tank goes kaboom. honesly, unless your floor is a slab, i wouldnt put anything over a 250 with supports. thats way too much weight. thats how much a full sized truck weighs. and im guaranteeing that a full sized truck displaces its weight over a much larger area. figure it out though. most houses are made with a 40psf safety factor. stretching it to its limits it MIGHT reach 60 psf. so how many square feet does the tank take up? then add the numbers up. its totally not safe. however, if you ARE going to attempt this, add way more joists next to the existing ones, and get all the jacks set up before you add any tank. 480 gallons is quite large...how are you getting this IN?


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

well i was gonna build it or have a friend build it.. i just looked at the crawl space and u guys are rite. this is an old house that looks like it is really lacking the necessary support , i already have a 125 and its doing fine.. its in my kitchen area... man this sucks.. i think i may go with a 210 or 240 and add supports


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2005)

Where do you live? I'll buy that 480 off ya lol.

I would stick with the 480, and just fill under the supports with concrete. It wouldnt cost much, would be easy, and no one would ever see it.

C'mon, its 480g! Dont downsize

--Dan


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

haha i have a homie that builds tanks and he was gonna make me a sweet ass set up.. well after reading ur words danny imma talk to a carpenter in my unit next month and see if he can hook me up with concrete and do this for me so i can get this tank... i already have 10 pygos was planning on getting 5-8 more to stock it.. we'll see


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2005)

That tank would be Godly.

You can do the concrete! Unless you're a jack of no trades like me. I'd end up with a foot stuck.

All you do is mix it, then pour it into a frame made wout of 4 2x4's.

--Dan


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

how do you plan on adding concrete supports??? in order to support the floor without cracking it, the concrete has to have an upward force in place BEFORE the downward force of the tank is applied. so, if you pour your concrete and you get forms that are 1" away from the joists, then the joists are ALL going to crack at the center of pressure and your whole floor will tilt inwards from each side.

you cannot make forms that will work for that. the best option would be to get jack-stands(for trucks) and pour the concrete about 6 1/2 feet high cylindrical and then place the jack-stand on top of that to jack the floor. but, that would just be stupid when you could spend 70 bucks for a floor jack at home depot that would do. and for that tank, you'd need many many floor jacks...probably about 10-15 laid out across each joist. and you'd also need to secure the joists so they dont twist under pressure. where they meet the load bearing center beam, you'd need to drive more nails in through both pieces of wood, and possible add 2 joists on either side.

better idea...put the tank in your cellar. hehehe.

for more info from an actual structural engineer check out www.cichlid-forum.com/art...weight.php


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

woops, already been posted...sorry about that....but it is an awesome resource. like...an AWESOME resource. the biggest tank i have on my floor is a 90. im getting a 300 L-shaped tank for my cellar, but thats going to sit atop 4x4's and a HEFTY support platform.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

hey r1dermon come on over and hook it up for me haha.. if i had a cellar id put it there but all i have is my room and living room and nothing can fit in the crawl space cause i mean its a crawl space


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## masterofdragons (Feb 1, 2005)

Even if you did concrete it in, it has to have awhile to settle, so you would be waiting forever on that anyways or else the concrete would crack and you would be all the more screwed.


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

nah, it may take a couple weeks for the concrete to settle. a better option would be to buy up some surplus concrete underground pipes. you can get em in various diameters. not sure how much $$, but i know when i worked construction we went to a company who made em and we bought a ton of em.

my 300 tank has to be built on-site because it wont fit through the door. its going to be made into a bar, and either a salt-water reef tank, or a freshwater amazon tank.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

thanks r1dermon. i guess ill try to get in contact with my carpenter friend and mayb he can work something out.. i really want this big tank... if not ill just settle for a 240 and get a 480 when i move out.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

ended up getting a 200 gal... 8ft x 18 tall x 26 wide... thanks guys for all the help


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

booo!


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i kno i kno.. im moving in 2 yrs so once i move ill get a bigger tank but this 200 gal will suit me nicely for now


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## Bluegill (Nov 28, 2003)

A couple of things before you fill up that new tank. Your renting, right? 
First, look over your lease and make sure that you aren't in violation of it by going big with the tanks.

Second, I assume that you have renter's insurance. Call your agent and ask for a rider with respect to the tank.

If you don't have renter's insurance get it. It's cheap $120 to 180 a year. It'll cover your sh*t if its stolen, burnt or water damaged, and it'll cover your butt, if you F'up the house that your renting, say when a 200 gallon fish tank crashes through the floor, or pops a seam and floods the house.


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