new tank??

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petunia100

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 23, 2004
Messages
161
Location
Pennington, NJ
I am thinking about getting a new tank. When does the weight of a tank become an issue? I live in a second floor apartment and am thinking about getting a 55 gallon or larger tank. Any advice would be helpful! :lol:
 
Even if you would use 52 of your 55 gallons (other gallons being used by decorations, gravel, etc.) you're pushing 416 pounds of weight alone for the water. Not to mention the weight of the tank, stand, and the gravel (probably another 50 pounds). One thing to be careful of is check with your landlord about any restrictions. They will know what the max size should be. Some places only allow you up to a certain size tank (gallons) per floor. It also depends on where the support braces are. If you were lucky enough to have a support brace going across the room where your tank would be, you'd probably be safe. Of course then again, it wouldn't be any different than a fairly large person (300+ pounds) being in the apartment and standing in one spot. With the tank being probably 4 feet long, the weight would be dissapated. I'd say no more than 55 gallon tank, that would be the max, but its always a good idea to check in with the landlord. Also, if you aren't planning on being in that area that much longer, I wouldn't bother. Wait untill you own/buy a house where you can spend more money on something really nice and big.
Just some ideas/opinions.
HTH
-Stewie
 
i've seen 150gl reef tanks (significantly heavier than a freshwater tank) that were on3rd/4th/5th floor apts for years.

don't ask the landlord because they will lowball you bigtime. the last thing they want is a fish tank in an apt.

best thing to do is to go to the local county recorders office or town hall and find out who built the structure you live in. if its an independent contractor call him up directly and find out what he thinks is appropriate. when you call, tell him you're the current owner of the property and looking to get some information for a tenant in the building. if it was built by a larger corporation you will have a harder time getting a hold of someone who can help you.

btw, i own a 4 plex. that has two apts downstairs and 2 upstairs. one of my tenants has a 125gl fresh in the second floor apt for the last 2 years. hasn't moved even a 1/16th of an inch.
 
Check your lease - if it doesn't specifically mention aquariums, you're in the clear. Do make sure you have renters insurance, and that it would cover your liability in case the tank broke.

I live on the second floor of a pre-war apartment and I have a 58 gal above a 10 gal in an oak stand. No problems whatsoever for over a year, so I honestly think you would be perfectly OK with anything 75 gal or less. Just try to position the tank so that it is against a weight-bearing wall, and perpendicular to the floor joists.
 
If you are allowed to have a waterbed then a fish tank even up to 150Gal would be fine.

So check for a note in the lease/rental agreement that states something about waterbeds. (also make sure the stand doesn't use fine "points" for legs, some metal stands are like this, it creates pressure points, assume 3/4" square tube legs, x 4 = 2.5 sq" that's about 300PSI of weight (55 Gal), it will punch through a hardwood floor 8O )
 
One other thing that was sort of mentioned that alot of people don't really think about. Even if its a wood framed building. the joists are strong enough to hold an "old" couch/sofa. Those can be around 200lbs sometimes. They are meant to hold 3 full sized adults (if they were 6' men) we could even assume 250lb per person. That is 200+(3 x 250) = 950lbs on a 4' sofa. Again don't take anything for granted and do ask the landlord. Like was mentioned you don;t want to be lible for the "worst case". We could go a little further and say that sofa was centerd on the tv. Even a 32" flatscreen tv is around 200lbs, all lined up on the same joists.
when any building is being designed, they take into account not only total loads over the whole space but maximum point loads aswell. What about a fridge 200lbs. Piano even heavier.... the list goes on and on and remember all these things could be placed right next each other in any house.
 
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