Does a 750G require reinforced flooring?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
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fattiger

Candiru
MFK Member
Jul 9, 2012
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Where the Amazon meets the Mekong
I may be getting a 750G set up with a 10'x4' footprint. Does anyone know if this tank will require reinforced flooring? I live in a house and may put the set up in the family room over hardwood floor near a wall. The other side of the wall is the garage. I like to know if I will have problems with my flooring before I get the tank.

Thanks!
 
I have the same size tank you're talking about and I had he floor reinforced for peace of mind.
 
Is it on a cement slab or on normal wood joists?

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I would be safe and contact a professional rather than guessing or taking antidotal advice either for or against reinforcment.

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I agree that contacting a professional is the best bet, but if you do want input from MFKers then I would suggest including some information such as age of home, type of support (joists vs. cement), etc.
 
Including the weight of the stand and equipment you are looking at around 4 tons. If your house is on a concrete slab, you should be fine, but if you have a pier and beam foundation, odds are you would need to reinforce your floors.

It's definitely best to run the specs by a professional though (civil/structural engineer). If it's on wood, you would need to provide the size of your joists, their distance from one another, the run between supports and the type of lumber used.

It's a cool tank...I've been eyeballin it on CL too. =)
 
aldiaz33 said:
Including the weight of the stand and equipment you are looking at around 4 tons. If your house is on a concrete slab, you should be fine, but if you have a pier and beam foundation, odds are you would need to reinforce your floors.

It's definitely best to run the specs by a professional though (civil/structural engineer). If it's on wood, you would need to provide the size of your joists, their distance from one another, the run between supports and the type of lumber used.

It's a cool tank...I've been eyeballin it on CL too. =)
Click to expand...

Yeah the tank just looks sweet doesn't it?

My home is built in 1971, but I have no idea about the foundation and houses in general as I just became a home owner last year. I owned an apartment before.

If I should get a professional to look at it, what kind of contractor should I be looking for? Foundation?
 
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 7500 to 9000 pounds.

As far as a contractor goes, that can also vary. A licensed engineer would likely be the best choice if you can swing the fee. Next would be an experienced general contractor with good references and perhaps one who is also bonded? Just picking a contractor at random is also a risk. (watch the Mike Holmes shows as his crew often comes behind bad contractors.)

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.

A common event when this question is asked on the forum is that several will likely encourage the OP to go ahead without having actually seen the structure of the house. How can the strength of a structure be known sight unseen? In my current house some of the floor joists had been compromised with large cuts. I had to sister additional joists in place. If you watch Mike Holmes TV shows you may have seen episodes about even new construction with serious structural issues.

The only way I know of to have some assurance of a sound structure is to have someone who knows about structure have an actual look at the structure.
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
 
fattiger said:
Yeah the tank just looks sweet doesn't it?

My home is built in 1971, but I have no idea about the foundation and houses in general as I just became a home owner last year. I owned an apartment before.

If I should get a professional to look at it, what kind of contractor should I be looking for? Foundation?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a beauty. It's been on CL for a while now. If you end up getting it, depending on where you are located I can maybe lend a hand in moving it. I know how hard it can be to get a group of guys together to move a big tank, so I'm always open to helping a fellow MFKer out whenever possible. I think it'll weigh 600+lbs, so I think a bare minimum of 6 guys is a good idea.

Is there a crawl space or basement below where you plan to put the tank? If you walk around your house, if there is a crawl space there should be an opening/access door. Sometimes the access is located inside the house on the floor of a closet. If your foundation is anything other than concrete slab, I would almost guarantee you would have to reinforce the floor and finding a good foundation contractor would be a great place to start.
 
First of all, awesome tank I'm sure.
Second ( IMO) your crazy.
I'm sure it can be done, but that's a lot of weight for any wood floor.
Maybe think about a basement or garage.

Good luck

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