Tank weight

Rafini

Piranha
MFK Member
Jun 28, 2012
1,930
177
81
Calgary, Canada
Out of curiosity, I am moving to a 2003 built north American suburban home. What is the largest size tank you could have without it being in the basement?
Thanks Rafini
 

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,397
3,777
179
Tennessee
Hello; A rough estimate for a large tank might be 10 to 12+ pounds per gallon. This can vary with the type of stand and the stuff you put in the tank. So you may be looking at 2200 to 2640 pounds or even more for a 220 gallon tank. A 100 gallon could be 1000 to 1200 pounds.

Here is the web address of an article that talks about the issue.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html

My take is that the question can only be answered by someone with knowledge of structure actually having a look to see what you have and what condition it is in. There have been posts (a link follows) describing damage from tanks from time to time, so it does happen.

In case some missed this thread a while back here is a link to it. A look at the pictures should give pause, they did for me.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...-out-there-Question-about-reinforcing-a-floor

Good luck
 

divemaster99

Dovii
MFK Member
Jan 10, 2014
4,795
385
107
Pittsburgh, PA
I've asked this question here varies times as well and the answer is dependent on your specific house structure, what type of floors, walls, support, etc.
 

wrslrcichlid

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2011
596
2
48
Battle Creek, MI
The reason no one will really give you an answer is that it is impossible to know. In most houses a 55g would be fine just about anywhere. In many houses, a 125g placed strategically will be fine. In some houses you can go even larger. The bottom line, if you want to know for sure get someone with knowledge to come out and take a look.
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
I live in a 4 plex apartment building. Its newer and not built the most robust from what I can tell. I talked to my landlord about where I should put my 90g w/40b sump.

We both agreed the corner near both exterior walls would be best.

It depends on the direction of floor joists, floor construction etc

Corners, especially near load bearing walls, are generally better places to put large tanks as opposed to the center of a room. But it all depends on the house and how it's built.



Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

David R

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2005
5,025
228
320
42
New Zealand
Also depends on the shape of the tank, if you're running it perpendicular to the floor joists it doesn't matter if it is 4' or 14' long, as the weight will be spread evenly over more joists. If you want a "big" tank, go for something long and wide, avoid anything too tall as it will be concentrating the weight on a smaller footprint.
 

Bderick67

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 18, 2006
16,813
70
857
Colorado
About a $100 in materials and a days work enabled me to have a 450g with a double stacked 180/125g tanks across the room. You need to do your research though.
 

pops

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Nov 24, 2013
6,247
3,304
188
WA
think you be fine with up to a 180, long as you run on a load bearing wall, and perpendicular to your floor joices. I crawled under my house to find this out, as my house was built in 2007, no basement, built on a cement footing and piers. for a 250 I would set more piers under the joices to shore them up before hand.
 

pops

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Nov 24, 2013
6,247
3,304
188
WA
150g weighs 1252. add 250 for tank tops, 1402. spread over joices not that much weight, house full of folks watching football weigh more.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store