# 240 gallon tank up stairs...



## DEALS2926 (Aug 26, 2006)

this is somewhat of a stupid question but... i am getting a 240 gallon tank upstairs in my house.. there is no way that it will put stress on the floor after a long time will it? i just figured after i tryed to pick up my 10 gallon tank and realized the weight that 240 will be pretty insane...


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

it is possible but you would need to reinfoce your floor (not really worth it in my opinion,unless you really want it upstairs)


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## tryhard (Jun 13, 2006)

1920 pounds i think the weight of the water will be. and i would say that that would put sress on the floor, but maybe just reinforce your floor


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

a fully setup tank is about 10lbs per gallon so 240x10=2400lbs....i would risk it


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

_*Topic Moved to Tank and Equipment Forum*_


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## soon2breed (Aug 30, 2006)

if i were you i would reinforce the floors, thats a lot of weight


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

all you need to do is place it near an exterior wall, or abve a load bearing wall in the basement (or main floor) and you should be fine... if your house isnt built in the last 10 years you might want to find out what kind of floor joists you have, and simply look at specs for the joists on the iternet... "I" joists (bosie cascade lumber made the ones in the last house i built) are way stronger over a span than the older 2x6, 2x10 or whatever lumber they used to use.... so find an access in the ceiling of your basement (or main floor if you are talking about 2nd story upstairs) measure the distance between them (typically center to center) and give a description of what they looklike, any markings or writing you can find on the side, and let me know... i would be more than willing to help
also keep in mind that a house is made to support TONS of load and disperce it evenly to the foundation (one year we had 3' of snow covering the roof, and i guarentee thats heavier than a tank)


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

your probably good but if you live in the west coast where earthquakes is
an everyday thing. i wouldnt. cause the slightest earthquake can weaken your walls.
a little crack will slowly bring your 240 down to the ground.


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## Badrad1532 (Apr 15, 2006)

7.83 Pounds per gallon of water + Say 240 lbs of gravel+ Decor 50 lbs+ Tank Wieght 130lbs(maybe) + accessories Wieght 30 lbs(I dont know) about 2,200lbs about roughly. Put it on the first floor


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## the_skdster (Aug 15, 2006)

misterjose said:


> your probably good but if you live in the west coast where earthquakes is
> an everyday thing. i wouldnt. cause the slightest earthquake can weaken your walls.
> a little crack will slowly bring your 240 down to the ground.


and then even slowerly<--







through the floor and onto your main floor.


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## Leasure1 (Jul 24, 2006)

Would not attempt it.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

look at lots of the stands people have tanks on... i would trust a house (of any age) over a stand that even LOOKS weak
does anybody else who builds houses (construction? inspector? anything?) 
have a guess how many nails, screws and lumber go into a house?

it really depends on the house, and the placement on the floorplan... but if you dont trust it or have a whim of doubt why risk it? i personally will be putting my tanks in the basement when i move them but in the next house i build my parents want a LARGE 500 gal+ saltwater tank on the ground floor... im lookin forward to it


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

it would be best if you really wanted a tank that big or bigger when you get another house you could always make one specificly to hold large amounts of weight in different areas (for multiple 
tanks)

it would really have to be reinfored like sayed eirlyer5 any earthquake or anything that could weeken the floorcould break through and youll have 240 gallons of water to clean up


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

when I set up my 125 tank, I did it on the first floor, but went underneath in the basement and put those floor jacks, They are meant to support floors u r building, they are fairly cheap, lol I put 4 in, and reinforced the joists with extra 2x4's and I put the jacks in and only lightly had them resting there, no stress, filled the tank and those frickin jacks were unmoveable..... so yeah reinforce reinforce reinforce~!~


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## DEALS2926 (Aug 26, 2006)

damn sounds like im in the construction forum lol well im glad i didnt go for it without asking because where i was going to put it has a slim amount of support now that i checked it out







but o well.. ill have to re-think it.. im thinking maybe (2) 125 gal tanks instead so there isnt so much pressure on one spot...

but for everyone talking about earthquakes in the west... f*ck that i live in orlando florida and we had the first noticable earthquake less than a month ago.. i thought like the space shuttle was comin in haha or some lightning or somethin and i looked on the news and it was the first earthquake in the gulf of mexico and you could supposbly feel it all over florida... finally dodge the hurrican season and now a damn earthquake haha

damn i wanted this tank for a while too.. if im right over a major beam should i be okay? like stated... near the edge of the house?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

yeah, take a cam and go snap pics of whats under where you wanna put your tank... are we talking you want to put it on the ground floor with a basement underneath, or you want to put it on the second story, with the main floor underneath (and maybe a basement below that?)


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

I say as low as possible, meaning on concrete or something reinforced.. water is heavy, and so is everything that fits in it!


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## sicklid-holic (Mar 25, 2005)

The biggest I would go for a tank in a 2nd floor house is a 125gallon thats it! Maybe a 135gallon if its acrylic.
I have a 125gallon in 2nd floor, a 75gallon in 2nd floor bedroom, a 20gallon in the same bedroom, and couple of tens in the other rooms.


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## Daunbelievabull (Jun 7, 2006)

Well I got a 100 gallon on the second floor, but when I remember how much trouble I went thru when I was gettin it upstairs







I don't know how you would do that with a 240..







The weight wouldn't be a problem for me, but that's cuz I live in a brick house...


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## alan (Mar 11, 2004)

Trigga said:


> a fully setup tank is about 10lbs per gallon so 240x10=2400lbs....i would risk it


water is 10lb per gallon on its own

good luckgetting that up the stairs


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

dont do it. the floor sagging over time will only be accellerated due to the shear constant weight that the floor will bear. in addition to whatever furniture and other crap that set of beams would have to support. 
"Reinforcing the floor" isn't really always a realistic option. Nor worth the effort. 
Best to keep tanks that big on the first floor where they have a solid foundation. Unless you live in a heavy duty building where the whole place is made from concrete. thats a different story. But if your house is good ole wood and mortar, it's best to stay on the safe side.


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