55 Upstairs?
- Thread starter PzIkHo
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
nope. two 55 gallon tanks are nothing to worry about. i once had a 200 gallon tank in a 2nd floor apartment for a few years. no problemo.
Tropical boy
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have to disagree with mr x. A 55 gal may be ok however it all depends on your property, is the floor wooden or concrete and if it is wooden how far apart are the joists under your floorboards. A tank of that size weighs 625 lb and if the floor can manage it and you do get to tanks, I strongly advise you keep the tanks far enough apart ( in different rooms) to spread the load. I don't mean to sound like a know it all but I am studying as a structural engineer
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
600 pounds? invite a few friends over and there will be 1000 pounds in your living room.
a water bed weighs 5 times that. take a look at your stand that's holding up your fish tank. if your floor is constructed of stronger materials than that, it will hold your tank.
a water bed weighs 5 times that. take a look at your stand that's holding up your fish tank. if your floor is constructed of stronger materials than that, it will hold your tank.
MandolinSuperstar
Aquarium Advice Newbie
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- Jan 13, 2011
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when i set my 75g tank, i investigated in detail. there is a difference between 5 friends spread out in a room and the static weight of a heavy tank over a relatively small footprint. i believe (my recollection) residential code (with 10" joists) can support 45 pounds per sq ft. while that does seem low from a common sense perspective, i decided not to test it and since i wanted the tank in the middle of a long joist span, i ended up putting in a new beam with a couple of attic jacks under the tank (along with blocking between the existing joists). ill try to find a helpful link and post later. the general rule is the closer you are to a beam or an external wall, the safer you are.....
im sure plenty of folks have 55g tanks or bigger setting with no problems, but i did want to add the perspective of someone who took the time to do the math.
im sure plenty of folks have 55g tanks or bigger setting with no problems, but i did want to add the perspective of someone who took the time to do the math.
zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
i have a 65 gal upstaris no where near the supporting walls of the house, i have had about 12 people in the room, plus the furnature and nothing has gone wrong, im sure a 55 or 2 would be just fine on a second floor.
Tropical boy
Aquarium Advice Activist
Sorry mr x but do you understand spread of load. A tank stand is made to hold that specific tank size. Floors are made to withstand an average weight, as soon as you add excess weight to 1 specific region of that floor, it is then your duty to reinforce that floor. By all means mr x balance your tank on a match stick but don't advise others to do so. Read the rest of the comments Pzikho I am not saying that this tank cannot go upstairs I am just recommending you check your floor structure.
MandolinSuperstar
Aquarium Advice Newbie
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a queen size water bed is 80 x 60 inches and 187 gallons, which
means each sq ft of floor is supporting 5.61 gallons or 47 pounds (basically right at residential building code). a 55g aquarium is about 48 in by 13 inches, which means each sq ft of its footprint supports 12.87 gallons of water or 107.5 pounds which is 2.4x more that residential building codes. keep in mind that floors are designed to be good at supporting high impact weights (lots of people dancing at house party) but poor at supporting static weights (500 pounds of water balance over 1 floor joist for 5 years). again, you'd probably be ok (by their nature building codes are conservative) but at least be aware of the facts. i apologize in advance if i am wrong, but i dont think the posters saying its "no problem" are structural engineers or are currently paying your mortgage
means each sq ft of floor is supporting 5.61 gallons or 47 pounds (basically right at residential building code). a 55g aquarium is about 48 in by 13 inches, which means each sq ft of its footprint supports 12.87 gallons of water or 107.5 pounds which is 2.4x more that residential building codes. keep in mind that floors are designed to be good at supporting high impact weights (lots of people dancing at house party) but poor at supporting static weights (500 pounds of water balance over 1 floor joist for 5 years). again, you'd probably be ok (by their nature building codes are conservative) but at least be aware of the facts. i apologize in advance if i am wrong, but i dont think the posters saying its "no problem" are structural engineers or are currently paying your mortgage
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
so a king size bed is overloading the house?
it's no problem. really. i've done it many times, for long periods( 3 years), and i also know many folks that have done the same with tanks much larger than 55 gallons, or 110 gallons even.
if you are concerned, run the tanks across the beams rather than with them.
i don't know about 45 pounds a foot, but i can tell you that you can put a tremendous amount of weight across the beams where they meet the wall. surely all of the engineers here will agree that this will hold many times the weight.
or...you can knock yourself out and install a bunch of extra beams and columns, for your 55 gallon tank so you can sleep at night.
it's no problem. really. i've done it many times, for long periods( 3 years), and i also know many folks that have done the same with tanks much larger than 55 gallons, or 110 gallons even.
if you are concerned, run the tanks across the beams rather than with them.
i don't know about 45 pounds a foot, but i can tell you that you can put a tremendous amount of weight across the beams where they meet the wall. surely all of the engineers here will agree that this will hold many times the weight.
or...you can knock yourself out and install a bunch of extra beams and columns, for your 55 gallon tank so you can sleep at night.
Tropical boy
Aquarium Advice Activist
To agree with mandolin superstar who has given some helpful stats to go on. I'm afraid ( certain people) are giving advice on their own property which could have been built later then yours. Building regulations get harsher as time goes by. It is safe to say that to be aware of your own property is advisable and as MS stated people saying it is no problem are not just giving you blind advice, but they won't be paying for the damage or mopping up the water for you
MandolinSuperstar
Aquarium Advice Newbie
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apartment buildings are constructed very differently than homes and can bear heavier load. in addition to holding more water, king water beds have a larger footprint than a queen water bed and both have exactly the same weight per sq.
look, all i am saying is the answer to "can a XXXg tank go upstairs" isnt "sure its fine". joist size, subfloor, placement relative to external wall or beam, etc, etc all should be considered. in my situation, i didnt provide additional support for a 55g tank, but i did for a 75g.
look, all i am saying is the answer to "can a XXXg tank go upstairs" isnt "sure its fine". joist size, subfloor, placement relative to external wall or beam, etc, etc all should be considered. in my situation, i didnt provide additional support for a 55g tank, but i did for a 75g.
Tim Wheatley
Aquarium Advice Addict
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I think the only safe answer is probably to say nobody knows, because we don't know any details about your flooring.
I rent, and I paid to have concrete reinforcement installed. I was pretty sure my floor could take the tank, but I had no real guarantee that my floor could take the tank + 2-3 overweight friends excited about something...
I don't really understand how throwing 'what about this' or 'what about that' is any help whatsoever. My floor was probably entirely different to the next one which was built at the same time by the same people, you just don't know... And if you don't know, you don't assume. If your lease or homeowners insurance has an option on fish tanks, you need to add it, it is simply not worth getting turned down on a claim.
I have long term plans (when we have our own place) to install a huge tank and consolidate my tanks into it. You can be **** sure I'm not going to assume anything, no matter how many calculations I do it cannot compare to someone who has studied my structure and can properly advise me. I suggest you find someone to do the same for you.
I rent, and I paid to have concrete reinforcement installed. I was pretty sure my floor could take the tank, but I had no real guarantee that my floor could take the tank + 2-3 overweight friends excited about something...
I don't really understand how throwing 'what about this' or 'what about that' is any help whatsoever. My floor was probably entirely different to the next one which was built at the same time by the same people, you just don't know... And if you don't know, you don't assume. If your lease or homeowners insurance has an option on fish tanks, you need to add it, it is simply not worth getting turned down on a claim.
I have long term plans (when we have our own place) to install a huge tank and consolidate my tanks into it. You can be **** sure I'm not going to assume anything, no matter how many calculations I do it cannot compare to someone who has studied my structure and can properly advise me. I suggest you find someone to do the same for you.
Well thank you all for the insightful discussion!!
Turns out the floor/ceiling is from the '50s or '60s...
I decided to put them both upstairs, but they're in different rooms, and they're both flush with an external wall. The only problem is I hve my little 20 gallon in the corner next to one 55, and I was planning on moving it, but when I started removing all the gravel, I noticed a giant cloud of little baby guppies. Kinda funny considering the pregnant guppy is also that "male" guppy I bought from my LFS. Gonna have to go talk to those guys I guess.
So now I just have to find a way to get that 20 gallon tank moved without having to net a hundred tiny little specks...hmmm
Turns out the floor/ceiling is from the '50s or '60s...
I decided to put them both upstairs, but they're in different rooms, and they're both flush with an external wall. The only problem is I hve my little 20 gallon in the corner next to one 55, and I was planning on moving it, but when I started removing all the gravel, I noticed a giant cloud of little baby guppies. Kinda funny considering the pregnant guppy is also that "male" guppy I bought from my LFS. Gonna have to go talk to those guys I guess.
So now I just have to find a way to get that 20 gallon tank moved without having to net a hundred tiny little specks...hmmm
Tim Wheatley
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2011
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Siphon them into a bucket. Try not to swallow any. 
Good luck!
Good luck!
