Hey, i was wondering how much my floor can support so my tank doesn't bust through the floor, i haven't really found anthing that is very helpful. If the tank is maybe to big how doyou support the floor from beneth?
How big of a tank can my floor suport?
- Thread starter ynottony1090
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How big of a tank can my floor suport? The answer varies on a case by case basis what my floor will support can be different than yours even your neighbors can be different than yours the only sure way to find out is to hire a structural engineer to do a survey.
how big a tank is the question?
how big a tank is the question?
also what kind of stand. if it's a 200 gallon with 6 legs it'll be quite heavy per leg. but if it's a 50 gallon with 4 legs, that's about 125 pounds per leg, which isn't that much.
There is so much advice on these things that it is hard to tell. Anything over 75 gallons needs to be on a supporting wall, and then the cut off from max size tank, well it is up for debate.
Anyways if i recall the average floor design is set to hold 40 lbs/sqft on a floor. (That is of course an average over time). Now what that tells you, not much.
I found this have fun reading: http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm
Anyways if i recall the average floor design is set to hold 40 lbs/sqft on a floor. (That is of course an average over time). Now what that tells you, not much.
I found this have fun reading: http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm
Actually, a floor is designed to hold 275 pounds per square foot per US building code. I do not know when that was put in place so the age of the building is important. As Anne stated, consulting a pro to see what you actually have is important. In addition to hiring an engineer, you can also get a home inspector to evaluate your floor. To support the tank from underneith, you would use floor jacks in your basement. The jacks must be on a concrete slab or on a footer if your basement has a dirt floor.
Great question. My buddies and I were just talking about this yesterday after I got my 300 home finally. My tank will be going upstairs in an old house (1890's framing) that I am remodeling. The wall the tank will sit against is an outer wall which is good. In the basement I will come out from the foundation and have a beam supported by two floor jacks just underneath the front of the tank. I will also double up the 2x12s with carriage bolts that span the foundation and my new beam.
I'll have pictures in the future.
I'll have pictures in the future.
CHOMPERS;583938; said:
that is incorrect
First there is no such thing as a US building code. There is UBC and IBC; Universal Building Code and International Building Code. The Live Load for residential is usually 40 psf.
Live Loads are short duration forces which change in location and magnitude, this includes people and furniture and is based upon intended use of building and tabulated in UBC Table 16-A:
floor uniform loads are a function of use/occupancy for example:
residential = 40 psf
offices = 50 psf
light storage = 125 psf
Gravity loads consist of dead load (self weight of the system) and live load. Load factors are used for design, 1.2xDL and 1.6xLL.
UBC and IBC set the minimum required strengths and are not necessarily capacity of the floor system. for design capacity>strength. If you want to know the actual strength of your floor system get a drawing of floor system (aka blueprint) and take it to a SE. You could also show it to me, however I am just an undergrad and will not guantee that I am correct
very good topic as i am concerned about the same thing. on floor i have a 220 but put 2 floor jacks beneath it in the basement and then i have a 125 gallon upstairs as well as a 75across from it. the 125 is atop a hallway wall running across the joices and so far so good but i do not know about over time cause i wanted to add another 75 or 125 on the same wall as the 125.
CHOMPERS;583938; said:
even if this were true it wouldnt help him out if his house is in Alberta..........