Large Fish tank gallon weight load structural stability

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NeilFishman

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2026
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Hi Everyone,

I currently have a black knife ghost fish. He's still an adolescent(?) 6" to 7" roughly.
He's currently in a 40 gal tank alone. Seems content, displays normal behaviors and readily hand feeds.

As a beginner I will admit he was an impulse buy, but after realizing how much care he needed. I made sureto keep him in a comfortable environment.
I didn't realized 100 gal minimum would be necessary. But I love this guy and don't want to let him go.

But at 100 Gal tank, it becomes a real structural stability issue. Especially because I live in NYC. I was wondering if there were reliable stands, that are industry standard or home made? Would also be interested in knowing when exactly is optimal for me to move him to a 100 gallon tank.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you!
 
Hello; I went back to some of my comments saved from 2013. Included are a couple of links which may not still be around.
NOTE- EDIT The badmans link no longer works for me
Floor capacity summary 120813
Hello; A rough estimate for a large tank might be 10 to 12+ pounds per gallon. This can vary with the type of stand and the stuff you put in the tank. At 200 gallons you may be looking at 2000 to 2400 pounds or perhaps more

Here is the web address of an article that talks about the issue.


My take is that the question can only be answered by someone with knowledge of structure actually having a look to see what you have and what condition it is in. There have been posts (a link follows) describing damage from tanks from time to time, so it does happen.

In case some missed this thread a while back here is a link to it. A look at the pictures should give pause, they did for me.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...-out-there-Question-about-reinforcing-a-floor

Do you own the building or lease/rent?

Good luck
 
Hello; Seems I need to purge some old links. The badmans link does not open. Let me summarize what I recall.

Point #1 is do you own the structure or do you rent? If rent you need to talk to the owner/manager and get some sort of permission. Likely best in writing. Likely best to also get renters insurance and be sure there are clauses about the aquarium damage being covered. Otherwise you could be on the hook out of pocket.

#2 - If you own then you get to pay for any damage

#3 - A 100-gallon tank is heavy on its own. You add to that the weight of water at around 8 & 1/2 pounds per gallon. Then the stand and other accessories. Then gravel and decor. So, my guestimate is 10 to 12 pounds per gallon which could be low, gives up to 1200 pounds of static load. Too much in my opinion for a building with wooden floor joists on 16 inch centers.

#4 - some think an apartment with concrete floors have unlimited load capacity. Not so. May have great capacity or may be built to lesser capacity. Depends on thickness, arrangement of rebar (if such is present) and quality of materials.

#5 - I nor anyone on this site can tell from a distance. Need to consider hiring an engineer or trusted experienced contractor to have a look see. Idea is even if the structure was sound when first built things can go bad over time. Think the concrete condos in Florida which pancaked down on top of each other a few years ago.
 
skjl47 said:
Hello; Just found a link to floor structure. I only read the first so cannot say about the others. Hope this helps. Good luck

www.bing.com

floor load capacity myths - Bing

Check out what I just created on Bing Image Creator
www.bing.com www.bing.com
Click to expand...
Appreciate all your help man. & luckily im a civil egr so might actually help for once haha. But yes.. that may be an issue if I move to a wood apt floor.. I'll figure this out.. Thank you again!
 
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