Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I'm going to be moving within the next few months, and all the nicer appartments seem to be on the second floor (we can't find a townhome that we really like either). Anyways, I was wondering if it was possible to keep my 150 gallon on the second floor or if it was too heavy. Would it help if I built a "platform" out of 2x4's that went across the studs in the floor to disperse the weight better? Any advise would be much appreciated. I really don't want to have to get rid of my tank. Thanks guys.
150 Gal on 2nd floor? Moving soon
- Thread starter KRSwop1
- Start date
if its a newer house id say no. they arent built as well. but if you decide to make sure its its on the studs
I have a 220 on a second floor. MAKE SURE it is set up going across the joists and not with them. You want to spread out the weight on as many joists as possible. With my tank, I built a platform out of 4x4's to spread out the weight. It is 10 feet long and 4 feet wide. This puts the weight on 2 extra joists. I think 2x4's will have too much flex, and they are more capable of kicking out and falling over if you bump the tank. A 4x4 is stable and wont roll as easy.
Like Alice said, back in the day, a 2x6 was actually a 2x6. Now a days, a 2x6 is actually 1.5x 5.5. The older houses were stronger, but i think if you take the propper precautions, you will be ok.
Like Alice said, back in the day, a 2x6 was actually a 2x6. Now a days, a 2x6 is actually 1.5x 5.5. The older houses were stronger, but i think if you take the propper precautions, you will be ok.
AliceInChains;993120; said:
That's a load of bull, most newer homes floors are built from TJI engineered floor joist. They are far superior in strenght and are true.
Hard to say what the construction method is on the apartment you are moving to. As others have said make syre you are running perpindicular to the floor joist. By doing this the weight is spread over 6-7 joists instead of just 2-3, this is assuming you have a 6 foot tank.
the only reason alot of new homes are built with tgi joists is because they are cheaper than real wood, and in my opinion not any stronger than a wood joist. i work in the construction biz and a new home is far superior in floor strength than most(not all) old homes. there are many building codes these days stating 16"o.c. joist placement rather than many older homes 24-30" joist placement. many older apartments are built rather crappy though so i would take as many cautios measures as possible to avoid any probs. 2nd floor might be nicer, but a busted tank or floor could ruin the whole building and everyones stuff below you, 1st floor on the other hand is usually concrete floors and no worries about previously stated probs. most apartment complexes wont even let you have a tank that big, and if they do its usually on the first floor only.
I would use caution putting a 150g on a second floor. I would have an engineer give you his opinion personally.
Ok, I don't want to sound ignorant, but how do I find out what direction the floor joists go in? Do I use a stud finder, like for walls?
Do you have hardwood floors or carpet? Do you have an attic or basement? A studfinder may work, but you will have an easier time if you use it on the celing. Carpet and hardwood will weaken the magnetic field from the finder (it finds the nails). The joists in the celing should run the same way as the floor. If you have access to a basement or attic, you can look at the joists and see which way they run. If you have hardwood, it will usually run opposite of the joists. However, if the building is very old, there may be a sub floor that is made of wood strips(like hardwood). If it does, IT will run opposite the joists. The hardwood will then be on top of that, running opposite of the sub floor. This means, in this case, the hardwood could be parellel to the joists. In most cases, though, the hardwood is opposite of the joists.
A good stud finder is not magnetic. They work like sonar sending out pulses and measuring the density. They will also find pipes and other things in the wall or floor.