tank and floor strength
- Thread starter Sunpoe
- Start date
I also wanted to add with the bounce factor its not all about the floor holding the weight but with the water moving in the aquarium it can comprimise your aquarium itself or stand if the tank starts to sway. seals can break and at the worst the glass could crack.
just want to add something guys this a hot issue everytime i read one of these threads if you ask me check with the city and what the codes were at the time i worked in construction years ago the codes have changed since then as the codes also differ between countrys this is not a great place to decide whether or not a 30 plus yr old house that you dont know who built and havent seen the condition dry rot poor repairs ect can support a large tank or not ..
i don't have any basement. the house is built last 2001 the living room measures around 10x20 feet and i'm planning to put a 8x2 feet acrylic aquarium near my wall. with regards to the stand for the aquarium i'm having 4x4 and 2x4 the 4x4s would be 18-19inch apart so i will have around 5 poles x 2 back and front combination to support the weight. hope these info can solve my puzzle. using magnifying class on a ten gallon can scare the fish and have a heart attack! 
they'll see your big eyes popping something like this 
dodgefreak8 said:
come on tell us what you do? deliver building blocks or something? i reckon your a bull*****ter.... or maybe you have a really good lego kit.. if you've never even SEEN a 5x2 then you dont know sweet FA, the fact that you say nothing more than a 125 gal is proof alone that you know nothing and yet you try to call me out. i can tell im getting to you as your post get increasingly short tempered... feeling the pressure Billy? if you knew what you were talking about and you clearly dont then youd know that 8x2's are used for a span of over 4.5mtrs thats a very large room, you certainly wouldnt use them for a normal sized room, billy... go back to delivering pizza, your boring me with your incessant bollocks
I just wanted to say that I think it would be best to have someone look at it that knows whats going on. They might charge you but in my opinion it would be worth it. Dont take any advice on the net when it comes to your house. Its not that these guys dont know what they are talking about. Its just everyones situation might be different and needs to be physically seen. I dunno, Im just a dumb lift truck operator but thats how I would go about it.
if you must know I am a plumber which is a much better job than a door man. How come in your profile you list doorman as your primary job BILLY. love kicking kids out huh well I think we all know who thinks there a billy badass.. and sorry there are no 5x2' here.. and as i stated when I said nothing over 125 gallon I haven't seen his structure so I estimated conservativly. And for your info you can keep thinking your getting to me But I am rather enjoying you making more of an ass out of yourself.. and as stated earlier codes change for your info my house was biult in 1896 but has actual 8"x2" floor joists and my room is not even close to 4.5meters sounds like your area has very low building standards.
danny boy said:"bounce factor" you are kidding me right? what do you do for a living? i am an expert its what i do for 50 hrs a week im qulaified to build a house from start to scratch, i KNOW what im talking about. im intrested to know your credentials.
you clearly feel that you fit in this "forum guesser" criteria as you seem incredibly offended. id call that guilty. oh and that floor wont be 2x4's it'll be 5x2's but you probably already new that or at the very least you could have guessed it right?
as for the whole leaving the weight on the floor ofr a long period then i suggest you dont put a heavy bed and wardrobes in your bed room for too long apparently according to the guessers the floor will sag or something????
to the original poster i would seriously disregard any info youve had from the guessers and if you are that worried take out a survey. these guys just want to up posts counts or something. its bordering on odd.
Being a carpenter for 50 hours a week does not make anybody an expert. I can train a monkey to build a house to a set of plans. Shut your pie hole about the advice of others. Their advice is as good as someone who drives nails for a living.
As far as my creditentials, I am a professional engineer with a background in structural analysis and design. I am not making comments on floor loads and what the original author of this post should do because of liability.
The "bounce factor" is most likely deflection. Deflection in a floor is going to cause water to gather at the lowest end of the tank, which will add more wieght to an already stressed member, hence more deflection, and ultimately possible failure of said floor joist(s). That is the worst-case senario.
Timber, or wood, does weaken over time because it is an organic product. So, if the load is going to be permanent then the carrying capacity of those floor members needs to be reduced by about 10%. Also if the wood is exposed to excessive moisture you need to reduce the carrying capacity. And there are several other factors determining the actual load carrying capacity of the floor joists. So as all can see, it will take more than a discussion on this forum to determine the size of tank you can place upstairs.
i think your best bet would be to ask an american builder, not to offend danny boy but our codes and building standards are probably different from yours, and as for the bounce factor i have seen it myself, we only had a 55 in the living room against a wall and every time someone walked by it the whole thing would sway
