I want to remove a sofa table and place a large Oscar tank behind a love seat in my living room. The space is 54"X30" long and I am thinking of a 120 gallon (4X2X2), with a wood stand and canopy. I'm considering using both a large canister mechanical filter and an oversized wet/dry filter and sump in the stand below, with another ~20 gallons of water down below. There is a brass floor receptacle in the floor already for a lamp, although it's connected to a wall switch (I can deal with that).
I figure the tank, stand, canopy, rock, and water is going to total around 1500-1700 pounds. My house is 24 years old and has a construction I am not familiar with, presumably for earthquakes. There is a perimeter concrete foundation capped by a 4"X12" timber all around, bolted to the concrete. The living room floor joists are 2"X10" spanning about 16 feet, and are attached to the foundation timber via steel brackets at each end - but they are on 4 foot centers, spanned by 1 and 1/8-inch tongue-and-groove plywood subflooring, padding, and carpet. Underneath the room in a tight crawlspace, there is a concrete pier block under each joist every 4 feet, resting on a small amount of concrete in the dirt.
You can FEEL the plywood deflect as you walk on it, although the floor joists do not move, the plywood sags between them with your weight.
The tank would be positioned with one side squarely atop one joist, in the center of the 16 foot length. The love seat would be more or less centered above the next joist.
Anybody got any advice here? I think this construction can support the weight of the tank, but I am worried that it may shake as people walk around it. But hiring a structural engineer is not in my budget, and the wife might nix the whole tank idea.
I figure the tank, stand, canopy, rock, and water is going to total around 1500-1700 pounds. My house is 24 years old and has a construction I am not familiar with, presumably for earthquakes. There is a perimeter concrete foundation capped by a 4"X12" timber all around, bolted to the concrete. The living room floor joists are 2"X10" spanning about 16 feet, and are attached to the foundation timber via steel brackets at each end - but they are on 4 foot centers, spanned by 1 and 1/8-inch tongue-and-groove plywood subflooring, padding, and carpet. Underneath the room in a tight crawlspace, there is a concrete pier block under each joist every 4 feet, resting on a small amount of concrete in the dirt.
You can FEEL the plywood deflect as you walk on it, although the floor joists do not move, the plywood sags between them with your weight.
The tank would be positioned with one side squarely atop one joist, in the center of the 16 foot length. The love seat would be more or less centered above the next joist.
Anybody got any advice here? I think this construction can support the weight of the tank, but I am worried that it may shake as people walk around it. But hiring a structural engineer is not in my budget, and the wife might nix the whole tank idea.
