240 gallon on second floor

[SandNukka15]

Not sure if this is the correct spot to post if not can mods can u move the thread to the correct place....

Anyways so I will be setting up my 240 in my living room which is on the second floor above an unfinished basment .... Must reienforce the floors ..... The tank is runing perpendicular on floor joists by a load baring wall.... The tank is 8 feet long .....20 inches wide and 25.5 inches tall..... The joists are 12 feet long and 13 inches apart.... The tank should be on 6-7 of the joists and was going to add a 4x4 under each joist while having a 8 foot 4x4 run across all 6-7 joists .....



Comments on this method?

 

[SandNukka15]

Any advice would be helpful

 

[skjl47]

Hello; you are on the right track. With that much tank weight and the other loads common in a house, it seems wise to reinforce the floor.

The question appears to be if the planned 4 x 4's (Likely to be 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches in finished lumber dimensions) are enough to carry the total static and dynamic loads. I suspect the 240 with all equipment and such may approach 3000 pounds. Likely the best suggestion is to have a structural engineer take a look at the house and make an evaluation. So much will depend on the actual condition of the floors and the support walls. An alternative might be having an experienced contractor take a look.

The house I bought a few years ago had some alterations to some of the floor joists. Notches had been cut into some to fit a garage door opener. They had help up for some time, but I wanted some insurance. I took the garage door opener's down and spent numerious days sistering in additional floor joists. It was a lot of effort. I at least had a plenty of room in an unfinished basement to work. look for holes and such where wires, pipes, heating ducts and such may have been run. Installers are known to make improper cuts or holes in support joists. There can also be damage from water, bugs and such to consider.

A couple of other things come to mind in addition to sistering the floor joists. One is to add a second set of 4 x4's near the outside wall.

Another is to "box" the existing floor joists. By "box" I am thinking of placing short lengths of lumber in between the floor joists in a perpendicular manner. I would use screws in pl;ace of nails. Such boxing ties the floor joists together and should help spread the load.

A likely issue can be the existence of wires, plumbing and such in the way of doing these modifications.

One further note. If you do not already know about "sistering" and "boxing", then refer back to suggestion number one. Get someone in that has knowledge of structure. No one sitting at a computer can give you a good answer, it will take someone to actually have a look see.

Good luck

 

[SandNukka15]

Thank you for the advice and taking the time to write that out ....

 

[Ryan_R]

Life is a lot easier if the ceiling underneath is unfinished!

-Ryan

 

[davidhusker]

I have a 250 with approx the same dimensions. It is in the basement of my house but the stand it is on is just a bunch of 2x3s. This is a stand specifically built for this tank and has been fine. I only added this to say that the way your floor is built is probably a lot stronger than the way this stand was built and you shouldnt be concerned too much. I'd probably add the 4x4s underneath on the corners of the tank (below the front corners of the tank).

You can also buy actual load baring posts that adjust and what not but it's all probably overkill.

 

[skjl47]

You can also buy actual load baring posts that adjust and what not but it's all probably overkill.

Hello; I believe these are called lolly poles. They can be found at Lowes, Home depot and such.

 

[Bderick67]

Personally I wouldn't add anything. But for your own peace of mind you may want to go with your plan. I would recommend running three 2x8 glued and screwed together instead of the 4x4. They will be stronger and not warp. Also buy two screw Jacks to hold up the 2x8 assembly, I think the two I got are rated at 30000 pounds and we're less then a $100 for the pair.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; here is the web address of an article that talks about the issue. This might be worth a read. While I knew some of the information, there is enough to make one think. I like for things to be much stronger with a good margin above a standard.
Good luck
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html

 

[SandNukka15]

Thanks guys .... The basment underneath the tank is unfinished so putting posts or whatever I need to do is not an issue

I have read that article before a few times.....