General Care Discussion :: apartment and Tank

[raptr20]

I just got a apartment. i am wondering if haveing a 100 gallon tank on the 2nd floor is too risky. does anybody currently have a living arragement like this? I know that tank filled with water weight about 800lbs just trying to decided if the turels can come live with me or if they need to stay at my parents house. thanks for any/all help

[megcornell]

It really depends on the apartment.
I live in a three story walk-up building on the third floor. I have two tanks, one 55 gallon and one thirty gallon. It's important to assess how sturdy the building is and where the load-bearing walls are as those are the ones to place the tank by. Also, make sure you have a good stand. With a hundred gallon tank you want to distribute the weight as much as possible, so avoid stands with four little prong legs.

[raptr20]

I have a wooden stand. I donno how to descrbe it but ts lke the ones in petco/petsmart. i am not sure where to load bearing walls are but i can ask the land lord. Do you think a piece of wood under the tank will help distribute the weight?

i am assumng i should shorten the intake valve on my filter so (G-D forbit) if a hose breaks or comes loose my whole tank wont drain all over the floor.

[cdonnelly1978]

i have a tank the size of yours. i fill it about 2/3 full on a long wooden stand that has a wood rack on the bottom of it for holding stuff. i have a wood board on top of the stand to help distribute the weight on the sides of it as the tank was a notch longer than the table. it's been fine. i have it against the main wall of my door. and i live on the 2nd floor. my tank leaked a few years ago which was a mess (i caught it at about half drained) and it did not leak into the downstairs apt. plus i have carpet which helped. the tank i have now is the same as the other one, just new (i got a free replacement tank for the leaked one, good thing for lifetime warranties!).

[VanishingReality]

All of the apartments in our apartment complex are on the first floor.

[robind]

Do I detect a language issue? Around here no one says 'ground' floor, it's the 'first' floor. So when you say 'first' floor, raptr20, are you referring to the 'ground level' floor, or the first floor off the ground?

[raptr20]

1st floor i was referring to the 1st floor of the ground

[RESnTX]

I live on the second floor and have a 75 gallon tank. It's against an outside wall and near a corner. The only time I ever got scared was the night my filter leaked several gallons of water onto the floor. Luckily the downstairs neighbors didn't get any water through their ceiling.

[jawsspeedymrt]

My room is on the 2nd floor of our house and my dad will only let me keep up to a 30 gallon up here. My 55 Gallon tank and 100 gallon pond stay on the back porch.

[geekyturtle]

Talk to you landlord or building manager. A lot of places might not allow such a big tank, and while not telling them might seem like a good idea, if it breaks or causes damage, or they find it when they go into your apartment for some other reason, you might be in worse trouble than telling them up front.

Also, get renters insurance! Renters insurance is usually pretty cheap, and you should be able to include something in the insurance to cover if the tank breaks and floods the apartment building. If it does break, it will go through the floor/ceiling and cause damage.

[raptr20]

good idea i will look into rentals insurence