How big a tank would you say is too big for an apartment?

[Sati]

I have a 38 and a 10 gallon tank but I need another. I want to go a lot bigger but structurally I'm not sure how big I can go. What do you all think? :]

[karlseith]

When I told my friends I got a 75g the first thing out of there mouth was "I hope you live on the 1st floor!" I know that doesn't help, but I would be very careful, 1g of water weighs approximately 8 pounds. Factor that in with the empty weight of the tank, gravel and decorations, and you could be in real trouble if it's an old building. I would talk to you landlord to get an idea. [acronym:b12cf44e8e="Hope this helps (or) Happy to help"]HTH[/acronym:b12cf44e8e].

[Sati]

I want to avoid talking to my landlord about tanks because I'm afraid they may try to tell me I need to pay pet fees because of the potential damage if water leaks, etc. I have a dog, and I will have 1-3 of my cats so being hush-hush about pets is necessary for money reasons, heh.

[fishfreek]

Depending on the quality of construction with your appartment even a 75 [acronym:63f6c8d4be="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:63f6c8d4be] tank is not much weight per square foot as compaired to say a large bed or a fully loaded refrigerator, etc.

When placing the tank its important if possible to put it on an outside wall. This is because outside walls would be load bearing walls where as an inside wall might not be load bering. While a 75 [acronym:63f6c8d4be="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:63f6c8d4be] tank could approach 1000lbs the acutall weight per square foot is no more than 200-250lbs. So it would be like having 4-5 guys all standing along a wall.

[webmoose]

I like that answer! The other thing to consider is when you have to move.. Unless you own the apartment or have a good lease...

[Sati]

Originally Posted by fishfreek

So it would be like having 4-5 guys all standing along a wall.

I like that answer too!

I am getting ready to move in a month and a half so I'm not going to be setting anything up until after that for sure :] Lately I am moving once a year. It's not great, but it's doable.

Recently a cheap 125 gallon tank came across Ebay in my area and I thought about it for about 30 seconds before I decided that is probably insane.... So I'm trying to come up with a decent size that will work even though I don't own my own home.

[rabbit]

Just be careful when dealing with too large an aquarium in an apt. An accidental spill from a 20 [acronym:38c5318070="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:38c5318070] tank is a lot easier to appologize/explain than say a 125 [acronym:38c5318070="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:38c5318070] tank. Your downstairs neighbour will undoubtedly have a thing or three to say (via a lawyer) if 125 gallon tank had a "boo boo" above them. (I spilled the equivelent of 2 gallons from a pail that tipped over and my downstairs neighbour got nasty water stains on their roof. They were NOT happy. Fortunately I got of with a warning only).

[madasafish]

I've got a 55 Gallon, and it's a great-sized tank for small-medium fish. It's long and relatively thin, so it looks good for display. You don't need to get a 125 to turn heads and accomodate most smaller fish, so think about a 55 or a 70/90 gallon. Good luck choosing!

[shawmutt]

The single best advice I can give...no matter what the size of the tank, make sure you have renters insurance. It's pretty cheap, I pay $90 a year for $25,000 coverage. You want to check the fine print, and make sure it has water damage protection.

The second best advice I can give is...check it out with your landlord. I know you said you didn't want to, but any landlord may have a problem with a huge fishtank.

That being said...I say a 55 gallon is probably the best of both worlds. Small and light enough for the average apartment, but big enough for the wow factor.

[sweetsuvvyb]

Yea...I'd 2nd checking with your landlord. I'm lucky in that mine is also a fish-keeper...but nomatter how understanding, there are issues such as liability in the event of an accident that they have to address. You might want to take a look at your rental agreement as well...if it explicitly states no aquariums, you could even get evicted for having one in there (not very likely, but still worth considering).

I'm hoping get a 30 gallon set up sometime in the future...my landlord wants me to put down a deposit when I get it running, even though I didn't need one for my little 10 gallon...just because the risk of water damage is increased.