General Care Discussion :: floor not strong?

[retard]

i plan on putting a 55 gallon fish tank for my turtles on the 2nd floor of my house. Will the floor hold this? thanks

[Kallistos]

I doubt it. The second floor of a home is supported by wooden beams and usually there's one steel beam that runs right down the middle. (this is how houses in Wisconsin are built) If the tank is on the center-line, then maybe. It's really hard to find out how the second floor is supported, due to the fact that under it is the 1st floor. For the 1st floor you can look in your basement for the placement of the steel beams.

I recently had this problem also, but the tank was on the 1st floor so we just used a couple 10 ton floor jacks which can be purchased for $20.

[Hoooneylynn]

Really? a 55 gallon cannot be kept upstairs? That seems kinda wrong, I had a waterbed on the second floor of my house, and it weight A LOT! Not just the water, but it was a king size, real wood... i could only imagine what it weighed.

[Kallistos]

That's exactly what I said! Then my dad being the paranoid mechanical engineer he is went down to the foreman and they discussed it, they concluded that over-time the floor would start to sag. I'm not saying that it's just going to fall through the floor, it'll sag over time.

The reason I said "I doubt it" was because my dad inquired about our 110 gallon tank. Come to think about it 55 gallon is half the size....so there's a chance it'd have no ill effects. Also, remember, our house is supported with just wood beams and ONE steel beam. Pulte house, not sure how others are built. If it was my 55 gallon I wouldn't be putting it on my 2nd floor.

Apartments on the other hand are fully supported with steel beams and close intervals. Go into your basement and look where the steel beams are. I'm very uneducated on this topic, I'm just taking my situation and kind of mirroring onto you...

[DaddySkittles]

I am going to buy a 108 gal tank and am planning to put it on the floor above my basement until I can find a stand, what do you guys think I should do?

[Kallistos]

Well 108 gallons! That's just like me basically. Like I said before, I bought a couple of floor jacks ($20 each) and put them under the tank in the basement. Our tank was on the edge of the house so it was suppoted with the basement wall and the floor jacks so we only needed two of the jacks. Depending on placement of your tank DaddySkittle your might need 2 or 4.

[Hoooneylynn]

Yeah, I agree with RESowner, it all depends on your buildings structure.. apartment, house, etc...

[Pizza]

Check where the joints are, the shorter, more joints there are in your desired location, the stronger.

Though not a proven fact, older homes have been known to be stronger than newer homes. If you really persist on placing your tank on the 2nd floor, consult a structural engineer.

I also had the same question with 90-320 Gallon tanks about 3 months ago, do a forum search, there was a link with some good information in it.

[Muirner]

If your house is newer you shouldnt have a problem. But always remember that water weighs 8.3 (i think) lbs per gal. SO if you have a 55 gal tank that's 440lbs of just water

I house my 55 gal on the 2nd floor of the house.

[retard]

well we have a 75 gallon on the 2nd floor but i wanna put a 55 gallon on the 3rd floor. Ill ask a friend who is a builder about it this week.

[DaddySkittles]

Well 108 gallons! That's just like me basically. Like I said before, I bought a couple of floor jacks ($20 each) and put them under the tank in the basement. Our tank was on the edge of the house so it was suppoted with the basement wall and the floor jacks so we only needed two of the jacks. Depending on placement of your tank DaddySkittle your might need 2 or 4.

Awesome thanks for the reply so what your saying is I should use floor jacks as a stand for the aquarium?

[retard]

No you put the jacks under the floor in the basement, floor jacks are made to rasie the floor in your house

[DaddySkittles]

Oh ok thanks that makes alot more sense sorry im not the woodworking/building type kinda guy

[steve]

Here's a good page to read about the weight:

http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm

EDIT: this was the post where the link popped up!

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=50972

[Hoooneylynn]

Muriner, according to that thread steve posted.... its opposite of what you thought... it explains it more.


"So an older home will very often be considerably stronger than a brand new home."