Aquarium through the floor?

12 Volt Man

Potamotrygon
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May 24, 2007
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All this talk about leveling tanks and then people here minimize the threat of warping floors...brilliant.
thats because some people make the mistake of assuming that just because your tank hasn't actually fallen through the floor that everything is fine.

it may not be.

when I was house hunting, I knew I wanted a big tank. I ended up going with a 72x18x29 165g tank (that aqueon lables a 150).

I knew that to put it on the main floor would require reinforcement, especially given that I wanted a steel tube stand that my LFS sells that has 4 legs. the amount of weight per leg is huge.

I eliminated the issues by finding a nice house that had a finished basement on ground level.

but I still maintain that if your tank is 150g + the best place is ground level.

not just because of weight.

if you ever had a flood, water and gravity work together to destroy the floors/walls below your tank if its on an upper floor.

so ground level is always better for big tanks. always.
 

leather

Feeder Fish
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Mar 8, 2010
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It does depend on the house. I live in a 1860s stone house. My floor joists are rough cut logs roughly 10x8, but they are about 30 inches apart. I put my 150 in my living room and built a 4x4 frame to the basement floor under it. Everything was tight and as solid as I could make it. Even then I filled it and could here the house creaking and settling for roughly a week after. Very creepy hearing those noises for such a long time. It probably would have been fine except it wouldn't have stayed as level as it did. Even with all that prep work I lost 1/8 inch off of level from end to end (6 foot).
 

dawnmarie

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Sep 21, 2009
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Sometimes an old thread is worth revisiting.
Given the variety of answers in the latest crop it is obvious there is still no consensus.
I think it all comes down to a simple question .

Do you own the home you are putting a large tank into ?

If you do, you can take your chances and let 'er rip.
If you don't, You should be extra cautious and clear it with the owner before installation.

Will the tank "fall through the floor" ? Probably not.
Do you risk causing significant cosmetic damage to someone else's property ? Absolutely.;)
 

Dan F

Fire Eel
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Dec 10, 2007
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It is very easy to manipulate numbers to make your point.

Don't forget that water heaters are often placed on stands (code requires it in some circumstances) with four 1" square legs. This would mean that the water heater is placing about 125 pounds per square inch of pressure, many times the amount of pressure per inch of most monster tanks.


F
 

12 Volt Man

Potamotrygon
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May 24, 2007
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which calculations do you think were "manipulated'?

seems to me the math is correct when done properly (ie weight of tank divided by surface area of stand contact area with the floor) this in turn is distributed to the floor boards and joists running perpendicular to the tank (in most cases).

keep in mind with the water heater analogy that few people have water heaters in their living rooms :) in most homes they are at ground level.

just something to keep in mind.
 

bob965

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Sep 16, 2009
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A tank can definitely fall through the floor. My friend told me his cousin was at the fish store and he overheard a guy talking about how it happened to his neighbor. Turns out he liked it better in the basement anyway so he just left it.
 

TaylorD

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Jul 12, 2010
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bob965;4311388; said:
A tank can definitely fall through the floor. My friend told me his cousin was at the fish store and he overheard a guy talking about how it happened to his neighbor. Turns out he liked it better in the basement anyway so he just left it.
....so he just left it ....?
as in it fell ever so gracefully and ... there it was, in the basement not skipping a beat ...?



...I once caught a fish thiiiiis big
 

pjsmetana

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Apr 26, 2010
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Well, to put your guys worries at ease:

My wife's a big woman, with little feet, and she has not crashed through the 2nd floor yet. But she is pregnant... so only time will tell I guess.
 

dawnmarie

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Sep 21, 2009
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:ROFL:You're a brave man.
 
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