240 gallon on the 2nd floor
- Thread starter Big Business
- Start date
danny boy said:
How can we judge if this house will take the weight? 240 Gallons of water + an all glass tank is a bit more than one ton. We have never seen this house. We don't know what structural condition it is in, i'm saying he is best getting a professional oppinion. Just to be sure. And by the way, 5 people + a sofa = about 1/2 a ton, unless you've got some big friends!
just my 2 cents guys but i've seen fridges cause sags on the second floor of older homes now the chances of a tank going through the floor is almost impossible but the problems lies within the stress placed on the tank from uneven surfaces and i can say this if a corners stressed on a large tank it could and most likley over time wind up splitting turning into one big wet mess and that much water would cause cost a lot of $$$ in damages even with the concrete floor he says he has get some xtra insurance to cover water damages
danny boy said:
I agree. I am a Civil Engineer, and I know that a regular well built and basic floor section WILL hold over a ton. Don't forget that the weight is spread out on multiple beams, which can each support that weight! For peace of mind, I always put my tanks near a support (beam, foundation etc...) and make sure it's perpendicular to the beams (so it covers the most beams) but that's it. If there are legs under a tank support then I take them out and put it flat on the floor.
Like Danny Boy said, and I am a big guy and do have pretty large friends
, a couch full of us during super bowl never ended in us watching TV in the basement 
Now if you are thinking of a 500g tank, that is another story and I would not take chances...
just for anybody that doesnt know, 1/4 thick glass weighs about 3.5lbs per sq foot. im sure your tank is at least 1/2 or 5/8 so do the math to find out its exact weight. water weighs in at a little over 8 lbs per sq foot. definatly woods suction cups would be a great way to move a tank if you have a set. even the cheap plastic ones are about $60 each.
TurdBuglar said:i want to get a 240 gallon but i seem to have 2 major problems.
my first problem is i'm on the 2nd floor of a condo, so how can i tell if the floor will hold up? if there is no way to tell then what is a safe size to get? i don't want over a ton of water and glass coming down on my neighbors
the second is getting it up the stairs. most of the tanks i've been looking at are glass. i guess this is a stupid question but, is there an easier to grip the tank? i was thinking about building some kind of a frame around it, to protect it and make it easier to grip.
Id appreciate any help, thanks!
I had a 210 in the second floor of a condo. You might want to pull up the carpet and take out the padding because it will never recover... I learned that the hard way.
My girl friend and I managed to get it up the stairs and on the stand by ourselves. Don't ask how, it was probably just meant to be that we have the tank... But it held and nothing ever colapsed.
Just one question... How would you feel if someone had a big screen TV and huge entertainment system and a full bookshelf one floor above you? SAME THING!!!
My dad told me years ago that I couldn't have a 125 gallon tank in my house because it would go through the floor. (he's a contractor and knows his stuff). He knew it wouldnt be a problem and that the floor would be more than enough to hold the weight, but he just wanted to mess with me, and I'm still emotionally scarred. Then he did it again 4 months ago. I moved into my apartment, and my dad said that there's no way the tank would be supported. This time the joke lasted only a few minutes but we did set up the tank parallel to the joists (it's ok the floor has extra support and it right above granite so it's no issue). For the record, it is very important to set up a heavy tank next to the load bearing wall or across the floor joists. I'm sure you'll be fine. If it's too heavy, or your friends are small and/or lazy... my friends are huge and lazy and drank while i moved my tank inch by inch... more emotional scars... get a dolly and go about it that way. Just pad the tank up. If that doesnt work, use the force. size matters not, brotha
