Reinforcement

[SeverumGuy]

Before I ugrade tanks, I want to reinforce the floor. Can someone help me out on the best way to do that? I'm wanting to get a 125g tank and it'll be in a pretty old house that's been completely renovated. It's going to have real hard wood floors and not the kind you snap together. My thoughts are that since it's an older house the wood is made better and stronger than todays newer houses. It'll probably be fine, but I want to take some extra precautions.

 

[ccCapt]

My tank is against an outside wall, but the joists run the length of the tank. I got a house jack and put a support beam (about 4' long) in the basement near the center of the tank upstairs.

 

[BigJim]

+1 A beam and jacks would be your best bet. Depending on how old the house is, it may actually be built out of lumber that really measures up to its name. (2x4s that actually measure 2"x4" instead of 1.5"x3.5". This will help, but I'd still lean towards putting in more support.

 

[bengoshi2000]

Check your local codes on jacks... In my area they cannot be in direct ground contact. They must be on a concrete pad.

You might be able to look at deck designs that incorporate a hot tub for ideas on reinforcement.

 

[jsoong]

It depends on where your tank is vs the joists. You should be OK if you place the tank directly over a load bearing wall. Otherwise, I would play it safe & either add jack(s) & beams; or if you are going to partition the area underneath, build a load bearing wall under the tank. <That is assuming there is a concrete pad underneath ... as others have said, you can't build a load bearing wall or jacks on top of ground without pouring a foundation.>

 

[SeverumGuy]

Well, the house is I believe from the 40's. After looking in the walls while all the wiring was being redone, the boards they used are actual 2"x4" and very sturdy wood. It real hard and not easy to press your fingernail into like todays wood. Unfortunately I won't be able to go with a 6' tank. I put up a post about it last night.

 

[jsoong]

That is "real" 2x4's they used in those days .... I have some of that in my house as load bearing walls ... they are = to 2x6's of today.

However, that simply tells you the wall construction. Unless your tank is directly over such a wall & be safe, you really need to look at the joist & beam system under the tank to figure out what is happening.