Tank Weight = Pretty Heavy, No?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
R

ryanlb

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 25, 2012
8
0
1
CT
I am looking into my crystal ball over here (while being heavily influenced by all the possibilities shown on this website!) and am starting to plan my tank upgrade. Right now I have a 2" clown loach, a 3" bala shark, and a 3" poly in a 20g. At some point in the future i am gonna need an upgrade (since i cant wait for more monsters to enter the equation.

I want to make my first acrylic tank but after some basic math i am noting that water is pretty damn heavy! I had a 55g a long time ago in college and it was separating the ceiling from the wall... had to get rid of it when that happened. :cry:

Now i have my condo and i would likely want it on the first floor for viewing. I am noticing that most people seem to have graduated to a cement floor room/garage for many convenient reasons.

SO... do people have issues with their say 150g tanks or any size regarding the load carrying ability of the floor joists?

Thanks!
 
This is the type of question best left to a civil engineer. In order for an engineer to give you a legitimate answer, you would need to provide the following info:

1. Size of floor joists
2. Material of floor joists (not all woods are created equal)
3. Spacing of joists
4. Span of floor joists
5. Location of the aquarium

A 150G, will end up weighing aroung 1,500lbs+ when you factor in the stand, gravel, equipment etc.

I'm not saying a 150G on joists is a bad idea (I had a 270G on joists for 2+ years, but I got the ok from a friend's wife who's a civil engineer)...all I'm saying is that it's impossible to tell what your floors can handle without knowing the specs. That much weight can cause problems and it would be a shame to ruin the resale value of your place by not having someone crunch the numbers and determine whether or not it would be ok.
 
Wow. That was right up my alley. I wish I had a family room with a concrete floor. Worst case I have to do some extra supporting of my joists.

Cheers! :beer:

Sent from my PC36100 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
ryanlb said:
I am looking into my crystal ball over here (while being heavily influenced by all the possibilities shown on this website!) and am starting to plan my tank upgrade. Right now I have a 2" clown loach, a 3" bala shark, and a 3" poly in a 20g. At some point in the future i am gonna need an upgrade (since i cant wait for more monsters to enter the equation.

I want to make my first acrylic tank but after some basic math i am noting that water is pretty damn heavy! I had a 55g a long time ago in college and it was separating the ceiling from the wall... had to get rid of it when that happened. :cry:

Now i have my condo and i would likely want it on the first floor for viewing. I am noticing that most people seem to have graduated to a cement floor room/garage for many convenient reasons.

SO... do people have issues with their say 150g tanks or any size regarding the load carrying ability of the floor joists?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

We used blocks to shore up the joists under our 300 gallon tank. Your observation about using garages is correct....some tanks are too big to fit through doorways.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?343326-Upgrading-Monster-Style

This install thread was followed with great interest 4 years ago
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...000-Gallon-tank-install-(H20-Custom-Aquatics)


Or some people just build fish rooms for their tank like bigrich545 (same tank a few years later)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...-tank-1-000-gallon-tank-many-others-and-ponds
 
Is it a possibility to beef up the joists and what's supporting them? If so, I would say do so. In matters like this I say over do it. Make it strong enough to handle 3 tanks. Lumber is cheap. A little lumber and hardware can go a long way.
 
A decent carpenter should be able to answer your questions if you know the materials in the floor or have exposed joist. A lot will depend on what is below it. If your tank is installed over a load bearing wall below (like a bathroom) you will probably have the needed support, but you need to get an OK from someone with some construction knowledge. A civil engineer will probably be unnecessary for a 125. As I said, a good carpenter can probably help you out with a tank that size.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom