Reenforcing floor for 3000lbs of Aquarium wieght

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
i have the good ole style floor joists and have had my water bed on them..more than 3000 lbs with no noticable issue.( house built in 1945) i also have my 180 gallon tank running length wise to them with no trouble... im currently building an inwall 300 gallon tank whihc i placed over my 6 x 6 load bearing beams in the basement..lol..cant take a chance on that!!!
 
Thanks for all the input guys, I talked to an engineer and although not his area of expertise he was able to give me some basic info. Residental floors are designed for loads of 10 lbs. per sq ft for dead load and 40 lbs. psf for live loads. Dead loads are that which are built into the structure live loads are that which is added.

So my 6 foot wide aquarium is perpindicular to the floor joist which span 10'6". So the weight that part of my floor was designed to carry is 6' x 10.5' x 40psf = 2520lbs not including dead loads.

In regards to me adding joists, he recommended doubling the joists by ataching a 2" x 10" to the 4 floor joist plus the next one one each side. I mentioned adding 1 to each space to make 12" on center, his concern was with being able to secure the new joists(which I am not pulling up carpet to do.

So it looks as if I will add 6 2" x 10"s to reenforce my floor. The engineer remarked that this is overkill though.:grinno:
 
Bderick67;850095; said:
Thanks for all the input guys, I talked to an engineer and although not his area of expertise he was able to give me some basic info. Residental floors are designed for loads of 10 lbs. per sq in. for dead load and 40 lbs. psi for live loads. Dead loads are that which are built into the structure live loads are that which is added.

So my 6 foot wide aquarium is perpindicular to the floor joist which span 10'6". So the weight that part of my floor was designed to carry is 6' x 10.5' x 40psi = 2520lbs not including dead loads.

In regards to me adding joists, he recommended doubling the joists by ataching a 2" x 10" to the 4 floor joist plus the next one one each side. I mentioned adding 1 to each space to make 12" on center, his concern was with being able to secure the new joists(which I am not pulling up carpet to do.

is it 40 psi or 40 pounds per square foot ????
math: 6 feet x12 inch per footx 10.5feet x 12 inch per footx40 pounds per square inch = 362880 pounds

must be 40 pounds per sq foot 6x10.5x40=2520 pounds so its 40psf not 40 psi...............???????????


overkill or not..... sound like the right approach:) :) :)
Click to expand...
 
good catch johnptc, I wish it was psi, but no it is in fact psf.

luckly I was still able to edit so now I don't look like such a dork:ROFL:
 
Bderick67;850095; said:
Thanks for all the input guys, I talked to an engineer and although not his area of expertise he was able to give me some basic info. Residental floors are designed for loads of 10 lbs. per sq in. for dead load and 40 lbs. psi for live loads. Dead loads are that which are built into the structure live loads are that which is added.

So my 6 foot wide aquarium is perpindicular to the floor joist which span 10'6". So the weight that part of my floor was designed to carry is 6' x 10.5' x 40psi = 2520lbs not including dead loads.

In regards to me adding joists, he recommended doubling the joists by ataching a 2" x 10" to the 4 floor joist plus the next one one each side. I mentioned adding 1 to each space to make 12" on center, his concern was with being able to secure the new joists(which I am not pulling up carpet to do.

So it looks as if I will add 6 2" x 10"s to reenforce my floor. The engineer remarked that this is overkill though.:grinno:
Click to expand...

I did all this research when I was finding out about putting a 220 in my 2nd floor apt. I think you are slightly confused about the difference between a live load and a dead load. A live load is weight that comes and goes. A dead load is weight on the floor that is there for ever. A water bed or fish tank is considered a dead load because it is constant pressure on the floor. People, regular furniture, and things like a bath tub or hot tub (because they are filled and drained, then left empty) are considered a live load.

I think your floor will be fine with that tank, but a little reinforcement will never hurt. For my 220, I built a base that is 10 feet long and 3 feet wide out of 4x4's. This spreads the weight out over 2 extra joists. I did this because there is no way for me to get any support from underneath, because my downstairs neighbors don't want a stripper pole in their living room. I have had the tank set up for about 6 months now with no sign of a problem. I guess, though, you plan to live in your house for a long time, and I will be out of the apartment in a couple years. It is smart of you to plan for the long run. After a few years with that weight on the floor, if you dont support it, there could be some deflection. A few support beams will ensure that everything stays level forever.:)
 
Here is what I ended up doing for added support. Four 2" x 10"s added. I was going to "sister" the 2 x 10 onto the existing floor joist, but there was not a good way to secure to the tji joist because of the void. I estimate the total weight of the aquarium to be 2900 LBs


tank @ 350LBs
water 175g x 8.4LBs = 1470
cinder blocks 24 full blocks @ 32LBs each & 8 half blocks @ 16LBs each = 896LBs
gravel, driftwood, lighting, glass tops, fitlers, etc. @ 200LBs

P1050684.JPG

P1050683.JPG
 
dodgefreak8;846590; said:
this is what I did.

brace1.jpg
Click to expand...

I did this as well. It's easy, and very effective.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom