2700 or 4000 will my basement floor support this?

[wednesday13]

starting me next build...my metal frame/ polypropelene/pond liner 650gal has been running succesfully for 2 years so its time to put it on a bigger scale... My ? is how much weight can a normal basement floor support? Id much rather have the 4k, i have plenty of space but am worried about my foundation sinking. Id appreciate any knowledge of this subject. Currently have around 3,000 gal down there and a 1700 intex pool

 

[Ray5]

You will be fine with the 4000 keep to one side of the.house right.up to the wall don't have it in the middle.of the.room your foundation will not sink 100% your fine.

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[wednesday13]

You will be fine with the 4000 keep to one side of the.house right.up to the wall don't have it in the middle.of the.room your foundation will not sink 100% your fine.

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My fav part has to be when you said 100% hah nice... thanks for the comments i appreciate it. My plan is on the front wall of the house so this should work out i suppose.

 

[nolapete]

When you calculate the pounds per square foot, you'll find that the 4000 is not much more than the 2700. That's what was the deciding factor for me when I upped the tank from 3600 to 4300. My best advice to you is to plan for accessibility above and around the tank then decide. Design your filtration, then design your tank based on what you can fit and still have room to work. An 8' wide tank will have less impact than a 4' wide tank due to the distribution of weight over a larger area.

With the 3000 plus 1700 intex you're already over the weight of the 4000, if I'm reading what you wrote correctly?

 

[skjl47]

starting me next build...my metal frame/ polypropelene/pond liner 650gal has been running succesfully for 2 years so its time to put it on a bigger scale... My ? is how much weight can a normal basement floor support? Id much rather have the 4k, i have plenty of space but am worried about my foundation sinking. Id appreciate any knowledge of this subject. Currently have around 3,000 gal down there and a 1700 intex pool

Hello; The question may be more along the line of what can be considered normal with regard to a floor. You did not say, but many basement floors are cement slabs. My guess is that many basement slabs are around 4 inches thick and this is usually enough for parking cars. For heavier vehicles it has been suggested to me that I consider a thicker slab for a planned garage floor. If you can find a place where the thickness of the floor can be determined, this will go a long way to answering the question.
To be more certain a core can be drilled and that core tested to destruction to find the strength of the actual cement. While there are often minimum codes for these things, the actual strength will vary depending on how the slab was mixed and applied. On several episodes of the home repair shows feartuing Mike Holmes the strength of cement in floors and walls was found to be inferior. Some were very old homes but one was just a few years old. I have found a good deal of variation in the strength of cement myself.
There can be voids under a floor from erosion or poor quality fill. I passed up buying a place due to a large section of a cement floor having sunk from being undermined by water.
As near as I can tell, the only way to know for sure is to have someone who knows to actually have a look at the floor in question. I understand that the average person is about 5' 10", but I know many people who are not.

 

[nolapete]

The problem with that theory is that what they are talking about in point of contact pressure that cracks a slab. The weight of a large aquarium is evenly distributed across the structure that contacts the slab.

 

[wednesday13]

When you calculate the pounds per square foot, you'll find that the 4000 is not much more than the 2700. That's what was the deciding factor for me when I upped the tank from 3600 to 4300. My best advice to you is to plan for accessibility above and around the tank then decide. Design your filtration, then design your tank based on what you can fit and still have room to work. An 8' wide tank will have less impact than a 4' wide tank due to the distribution of weight over a larger area.

With the 3000 plus 1700 intex you're already over the weight of the 4000, if I'm reading what you wrote correctly?

Thanks for the comments Pete, Def. makes sense to me. The tank will only be 4' tall, i want my acrylic windows to sit right on the floor so the extra gallons would only b spread over a larger footprint by upping the gallons . I run alot of overhead filtration on my tanks 10'x14' instead of 8'x12' is only more room for media on top of the tank. Unfourtunaetly My ceiling is only 7' at the floorbeams so thats what determined the tank height. (i need to be able to get in easily hah) thanks again for your advice

 

[Mike Henthorn]

I use to pour basement floors for a living. Yes basement floors are 4 inches thick, BUT!!! When the gravel is put down and spread out there will be areas less than 4 inches, on the other hand there will be areas more than 4 inches. So as the one guy said Have a core drill sample taken. I am not sure how much it cost for that but well worth the investment when you are talking about your home. I love the fish hobby and plan on building a huge tank in the near future. But when it comes down to it, my house is more important that a bigger tank.

 

[wednesday13]

I use to pour basement floors for a living. Yes basement floors are 4 inches thick, BUT!!! When the gravel is put down and spread out there will be areas less than 4 inches, on the other hand there will be areas more than 4 inches. So as the one guy said Have a core drill sample taken. I am not sure how much it cost for that but well worth the investment when you are talking about your home. I love the fish hobby and plan on building a huge tank in the near future. But when it comes down to it, my house is more important that a bigger tank.

Thanks for the comments ill look into having a sample taken...

 

[nolapete]

If you're really paranoid about it. Have someone come in and drill in 6" holes i your slab, then dig them out a foot or so and pour in concrete pilings. I don't think you need it though. I added about 4-5" to my garage slab to raise the floor to the same as the rest of the house. I did that before I planned my tank when the room was going to be a workout room before it became my fish room. I regret not putting a floor drain in. Doh! It wasn't supposed to be a fish room when I did that.