How do I tell if my floors can support this tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
one thing I think we need to keep in mind when discussing stuff like this is that there is a big distinction between catostrophic floor failure (aquarium literally falls through the floor, killing whatever might be below it) - this is highly unlikely of course - and long term structural damage from the long term stress of the static weight - which weakens the floor but does not necessarily cause it to fail.

these are two different things.
 
Well I had a guy who is refinishing my floors look at it, and he said that the floor joists run parallel to the hardwood floor boards. I'm going under the house to double check that. If he is correct then his assurances that as long as the tank was perpendicular (like some of you have said) it will be fine, will be met with less skepticism. :)
 
what are the dimesions of the 150?

because there are typically two configurations:

48x24x30 or 72x18x28

the 48" variety is a lot more concentrated in terms of weight, since the full weight would be on less floor joists than the 6 foot model..

eg. if your floor joists are a foot a part, you have 1500 pounds on 4 joists, vs. 1500 pounds on 6 joists with the other model..
 
Huh, now I feel stupid. You mentioned those two tank sizes, and I looked at it (sitting empty in my den) and thought neither of those looked right. Sure enough after measuring the tank is 60lx24hx18d. Ran that through an online gallon calculator and it gave me something like 112 gallons. Honestly I'm not mad about it, it's a nice tank, and I bought it used off a guy for $300 w/stand.
 
Trust me I want to, but I have to wait until the floors are done. The fellow said at the earliest it would be Saturday, and I'm taking the CHP class all day, so it'd have to be Sunday or some time next week. I will however post pictures.
 
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