NEED HELP ASAP! Setting tank up tomorrow! Weight & Distribution

[daveman12345]

Hey guys, this is urgent because I'm going to set up my new tank in about 12 hours. I have a couple of Arowanas in a 60 gallon tank. They're growing, so I bought them a 112 gallon tank. The issue is, I live in an upstairs apartment, so the fish tank is quite heavy. Instead of using a stand, I decided to just put the fish tank on the floor. It's acrylic, so it's a bit lighter.

Anyhow, I'm trying to understand exactly how weight distribution works. I cannot use a stand for risk of the tank falling over or some other disaster. So, it's on the ground. Now, the next issue is the weight. Here in California, we're prone to earthquakes, so I'm trying to dodge any possibly disaster.

I plan to fill my tank up to about 70-80 gallons so that the aquarium isn't too heavy for an upstairs apartment. This is temporary until I find a new place that is downstairs.

Anyhow, my question is this: is it wiser to put my fish tank flatly on the ground? Or, should I put two pieces of plywood running underneath it to "distribute the weight"? I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I've read people giving that advice without giving an explanation.

In case my question isn't clear, is it wise to:
a) have the fish tank sitting on the floor alongside a wall with nothing underneath it? or
b) have the fish tank sitting on the floor alongside a wall with TWO PIECES OF WOOD running underneath it to somehow ease the weight on the floor?

 

[daveman12345]

I did some googling and found the bottom text that makes me believe that it's better to leave the tank completely on the ground so it's weight is distributed 100%. Is this correct? Or does placing wood pieces under it somehow distribute the weight better?

Even though your stand is spreading the weight out, plywood will increase the distribution of that force exerted on the floor even more. A stand spreads the weight out over four points, plywood would distribute that over the entire surface area of the wood. I put 1.5 inches of plywood on my 180, and I just have my stand only on the 100, just over different areas in the house. You can further increase your chances by placing the tank location along a load bearing wall, which is any wall which is connected to the outside of the house, or connected to a stair well.

 

[Toby_H]

I have never lived in an earthquake prone area so I have no experience with that concern…

Having worked in the geotechnical Engineering field for years I have learned a lot about weight distribution… having been on fish forums for a number of years I have read a lot of misinformation and misconceptions regarding weight distribution…

Your acrylic tank probably has a flat bottom that will be in contact with the floor (as opposed to the bottom being slightly raised and only a rim touching the floor)… Therefore the weight will be distributed across the entire bottom of the tank…

Putting plywood between the tank and the floor will not increase your contact area and therefore will in no way increase your weight distribution. The benefit it will offer is if the flood has a bump in it, the wood will spread out the pressure that bump puts on your aquarium. Styrofoam will assist in this same situation but allowing the bump to press into the foam as opposed to pressing onto the aquarium.

The wise suggestion I often read in these forums about your situation is it is best to have your aquarium sit along side a ‘load bearing’ wall, meaning a wall that extends to the foundation of the building… and to cross as many floor joists as possible. Knowing something about building design will allow you to make an educated guess as to which way the joists run… ‘stud finders’ won’t help you find them as floors are much thicker than walls and are made of a denser material.

But honestly, unless the building is very old and/or dilapidated, placing it along side a load bearing wall should be plenty of precaution for a 112 gal tank… if you have the plywood there is no reason not to use it but I would not suggest going out and buying it… foam is often a good idea but with flat bottomed acrylic tanks it is far less likely you will “need” it…

 

[johns]

Less then a thousand pounds, Your plywood would not help unless it was bigger then the tank, floor is reasonable level, and the plywood was thick enough to support the weight without bending to much. I lived about 18 miles from the center of the notrhridge quake. We had around 700 gallons of tanks in the house 4 tanks upstairs, and didn't loose one. quite a bit of water on the floor, a 29 gallon tank nearly fell over but that was it. In fact I had a water bed upstairs.
If you want to try it buy a sheet of 3/4 plywood rip it in half length wise and stack them on each other. the floor Joice's are typically 24 inches on center You would want to spread the weight across as many as possible. If you can put the tank along an outside wall. The out side walls are supporting the floor, which would support the weight on the end of a Joice rather then in the middle of a span. Hope I explained that right. Id put it on a stand and attach the top of the stand ridgedly to the wall if I was You.

 

[Toby_H]

I lived about 18 miles from the center of the notrhridge quake. We had around 700 gallons of tanks in the house 4 tanks upstairs, and didn't loose one... Id put it on a stand and attach the top of the stand ridgedly to the wall if I was You.

I also felt that putting the tank on the floor as opposed to a stand was exaggerating a precaution, but hesitated to mention it as I do not have personal experience or specific education on the matter (earthquakes)...

A 112 gal tank weighs around 1,000 lbs and has (I'm guessing as tank dimensions were not listed) an 18" wide base. That makes for a pretty stable platform to have to tip over.

 

[swede]

having the tank sit alongside a wall really only helps if the floor joists are running perpendicular to the wall. if the floor joists are running parallel to the wall, most likely just one floor joist is supporting the weight of the tank.

 

[johns]

having the tank sit alongside a wall really only helps if the floor joists are running perpendicular to the wall. if the floor joists are running parallel to the wall, most likely just one floor joist is supporting the weight of the tank.

This is true. didn't think that that through. You should be near a joist. two 2'x 8' sheets of 3/4" ply and You should be good to go. Just don't use any kind of particle board