floor support?

[thewaterboy]

Hi all, I would like to upgrade from my 75G to a 180G this summer. However, i know that some people reinforce their floors if they have 200G, 250s, etc. So what is the smallest tank I can get and not need to support the floor? I live in a old wooden house with hard-wood floors that creek A LOT! I can always hear the tenant above me when he walks because the floors creek so much. I would like to think it is just because the floor boards are on the loose side and not the actual support of the floor that is making all the noise...but Im no carpenter and I don't know much about home improvement. thanks.

PS: the floor has held the 75 for 7 months and I've had no problems.

 

[kaivalagi]

Hard to say what it can handle, I think the maximum expected for a good wooden floor to handle is around 125USG.

Here's a good article on the subject: http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm

 

[dawnmarie]

You could ask your landlord.

 

[thewaterboy]

the landlord is my mother. I could support the floor but I would rather not because I would need to go into the other tenants storage space in the basement to do so.

 

[thewaterboy]

thanks kaiva, i'll take a look at that article. anyone else have any thoughts?? thank you.

 

[dawnmarie]

the landlord is my mother. I could support the floor but I would rather not because I would need to go into the other tenants storage space in the basement to do so.

Ahh... The good old days.
What does mom think of the idea ?
Dude, you could be fine, but , how bad do you want to take a chance on screwing up mom's rental property ?

 

[thewaterboy]

yeah, def don't want a huge tank crashing through the floor but Im just curious as to how all the people on MFK do it....do they all reinforce the floor??

 

[12 Volt Man]

in reading countless threads, I would say that pretty much most MFKer's with tanks 150g and up reinforce the floors unless they are concrete.

the thing with 150 + gallon tanks is that once you get to this capacity and larger, you are dealing with tanks that are usually either:

30" tall

or

24" wide

or both.

what this means is that the total weight of the setup is very concentrated relative to tanks that are say, 18" wide or 24 tall.

not to mention the empty tank weight goes up considerably. a 125g weighs 177 pounds (from aqueon's website). a 220 weighs double this.

with small tanks, the weight of the tank is neglible with all the weight of the water/gravel etc.

with the big tanks, with 1/2" glass, it adds a few hundred pounds to the total weight of the setup.

big tanks can weigh as much as small cars. it can be quite a lot of long term stress for normal wooden floors to handle, especially considering that the tank is in one spot for a period of years and years. floor sagging is a concern. once the floor starts to sag, that can put stress on the tank/stand (esp. if the sagging were to cause a twist force) and cause catastrophic failure. ie a big flood.

if you can, definately beef up the flooring before going huge.

 

[dirtbikerider]

in reading countless threads, I would say that pretty much most MFKer's with tanks 150g and up reinforce the floors unless they are concrete.

the thing with 150 + gallon tanks is that once you get to this capacity and larger, you are dealing with tanks that are usually either:

30" tall

or

24" wide

or both.

what this means is that the total weight of the setup is very concentrated relative to tanks that are say, 18" wide or 24 tall.

not to mention the empty tank weight goes up considerably. a 125g weighs 177 pounds (from aqueon's website). a 220 weighs double this.

with small tanks, the weight of the tank is neglible with all the weight of the water/gravel etc.

with the big tanks, with 1/2" glass, it adds a few hundred pounds to the total weight of the setup.

big tanks can weigh as much as small cars. it can be quite a lot of long term stress for normal wooden floors to handle, especially considering that the tank is in one spot for a period of years and years. floor sagging is a concern. once the floor starts to sag, that can put stress on the tank/stand (esp. if the sagging were to cause a twist force) and cause catastrophic failure. ie a big flood.

if you can, definately beef up the flooring before going huge.

Very good and thorough explanation, may sound silly but this is one of those cases where its better safe than sorry. The floor could be plenty strong but who knows for sure without visually inspecting at the least and besides what is the worst thing a little extra bracing will do for the floor?

 

[alexmuw]

I would reinforce. All my big tanks (100 gal, 200 gal) are on concrete slab.

Yes, I;ve heard of people doing this without problems. HOWEVER, my brothers friend had a 150 gal on the 3rd floor of his parents house. The floor is sagging and his parents are mad

Older houses have THICKER beams which can be very strong. I'm also assuming no wood dmg [no ants, termites, dry-rot].

You can try it, but I would make sure you have the money to pay for any dmg that arises (at least a $5,000 security deposit).

Don't expect to get advice to give you confidence to go ahead with your plan. When all hell breaks out, telling your mom that your "buddies" on MFK said it was OK, isn't going to fly!!!