help beefing up support wall for 300g tank!

[chiroken]

Previous lurker, 1st time poster!

I'm picking up my dream 300 gallon tank tomorrow, upgrading from a 90. It will eventually (got to build the stand etc) go on the 1st floor above a walk out basement. Read a thread here from back in '08 about weights etc. and would like to follow up here.

The ceiling underneath is exposed as we are currently renovating. House built in the late 60's so 2x4 exterior walls sitting on the foundation (about 30 inches off the basement floor). I will be building a new 2x4 wall up tight against the foundation to increase insulation. I am curious how best to beef up the support for this tank and what would be considered overkill. Any advice would be appreciated by people with construction knowledge, or experience with this.

The tank will be up against the wall, perpedicular to the joists. The 1st floor has sagged over the years so we have already put a big beam under the floor joists to lift up the room centre. It runs about 10 feet in from the exterior wall and of course runs parallel to the exterior wall.

I can easily double up on the joists and tie them in to the end plate, they will rest on the new 2x4 wall, with the other end sitting on the beam I've mentioned.

I can also double up the studs on the 2x4 wall to increase the vertical load support.

Directly under the tank we may be putting a gas fireplace (basement). This means I can't run studs every 16", will have to put in a header. Cheapest header would be double 2x12's with several cripples on each end. I guess I could also go with a steel header and again support with several cripples on either end.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[skjl47]

Hello; You may be working with from 3000 to 3600 pounds when the stand tank and all are finished. In reading your initial post it appears that you have a good grasp of the situation and already some very decent ideas.

The doubling up (sistering) of the floor joists seems a sound idea. When doing this, I have applied construction adhesive to the mating surfaces in addition to some screws and clamped them in place for a day. I also have used metal hangers at the ends when they can be fitted in.

Doubling up the studs in the second wall seems sound as well.

The framing for the gas fireplace sounds as if it will wind up a foot or two out from the basement wall and may well almost directly under the front of the tank. This also seems a good idea. As for the type of material, either would seem fine.

The floor joists can be boxed to help spread the load. Not a big help but can sometimes be done with scrap ends for the lumber.

Good luck

 

[chiroken]

Yes, plan on using joist hangers, assuming they come for doubled-up joists. Was planning to box in the existing joists then thought it better to double them. I do plan on boxing the last doubled-up joist on either side to the next single one to help further displace load.