sumps vs canister filter

[Jaws22]

more maths then i guess. worse case scenario ill cut the height as much as possible.

 

[duanes]

unofrtunately i am also in an apartemnt

I'm surprised an apartment allows a 300 gal.
Most apartment complexes in the US reject anything over 50 gallons (some even less), and those often require serious and costly insurance policy protection.
Without getting approval you might be liable for quite steep damage issues.
I had to wait until I bought my own place, before getting any tanks of 100 gallons or more.

 

[pacu mom]

Our old house has wood floors. We shored up the floor joists with jacks and blocks before setting up our 300 gallon tank.

That said, we have a very brave member with a 765 gallon tank on the16th floor of his building. A tank fail could be catastrophic.

My 765 gal tank...Part 1...

Hi to everyonebefore I start writing about my tank I just want to say that I dont speak or write perfect English... so I apologize if you see bad spelling. I want to start this article saying that for me was a marathon to make this tank work, it took me more than one year to finish it...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Jaws22]

as long as pressure is the determining factor of floor strength then im well below the danger zone. if its just weight i have more a couple more equations to do but it is also looking pretty good

 

[Jacob92677]

I run 3 fx filters on my 300
1)fx 5
1)fx6
1)fx4

i have fairly large fish and a good amount
My tank stays clear
My average water change is 1-3 weeks
Best done at the 2 week mark

it’s works and I feel it’s reliable
But I will say having a sump could be much faster and easier to clean that 3 separate filters I’m currently using

also considering your electricity usage
3 Fx filters is about 150-160 watts
A decent size inline pump maybe more or less
Things to consider since the pump will run 24/7 and cost you daily
So do your research

 

[Cardeater]

Is your apartment building a large steel and concrete building or a wood framed building? If it is wood framed, there is no way it is going to support the weight of a 300g tank. The number reason for tank failure is due to the tank not being level which is either caused by the not leveling the tank or the floor supporting the tank gets warped from the weight.

Even in in a steel and concrete building you can only truly check if you understand how the building was designed. I went through this when I was in a steel and concrete building and ended up with just a 75g. In my current home I have a 535g tank but its strictly because the tank is sitting on concrete slab of the home.

May I ask more about how you determined 75g was max for your building?

I'm in a similar situation to OP. Live in a condo with concrete flooring. I've had a 125g which I want to replace with an acrylic tank. New tank would go in same spot. Wall behind it separates condo from hallway.

I've researched this on forums and had difficulty figuring anything out. I remember a thread where someone suggested to person to get structural engineer but I was swayed by a response that no one is gonna sign off on situation for just a small consulting fee. You'd pay a lot if they were going to assume liability for their opinion.

I'm trying to figure out what maximum tank I could get for this space. Some speculated that concrete flooring would give you a lot of leeway but your posts makes me nervous.

 

[nzafi]

May I ask more about how you determined 75g was max for your building?

I'm in a similar situation to OP. Live in a condo with concrete flooring. I've had a 125g which I want to replace with an acrylic tank. New tank would go in same spot. Wall behind it separates condo from hallway.

I've researched this on forums and had difficulty figuring anything out. I remember a thread where someone suggested to person to get structural engineer but I was swayed by a response that no one is gonna sign off on situation for just a small consulting fee. You'd pay a lot if they were going to assume liability for their opinion.

I'm trying to figure out what maximum tank I could get for this space. Some speculated that concrete flooring would give you a lot of leeway but your posts makes me nervous.

My apartment was small so I was actually limited in my options frankly. If you’re in a steel and concrete building then you’re probably fine with a 125g. I would just try and put it next to a load bearing wall.

If you want to be safe then find a structural engineer you can consult. Building of a certain age are required to meet certain standards. For example, I know my building was built in 2004 and was 6 floors. A structural engineer should be able to tell me that in NJ a concrete building needs to support X dead weight (constant) per square foot. Then calculate how much weight per square foot your tank is.