Concerned about weight of 125 gallon tank...should I be?

[bs6749]

Hey guys and gals. I am getting ready to put my newly aquired 125 gallon tank in my apartment this week or weekend but I am conecerned. The total weight of the tank will most likely be in the neighborhood of 1400 lbs and I am on the 3rd floor (top floor) of my apartment building. I was initially concerned with the weight but then told myself that it would be fine. I had no worries until my brother mentioned something to me yesterday about the total weight and I hadn't even mentioned anything to him about me worrying and all. NOW I am worried AGAIN. I'd absolutely HATE to come home and find a hole in the floor but I'd be more worried about what could happen to the people below me (if the unit is occupied).

I plan on setting the tank up in this little "hutch" area (seems like it was meant to be for a tank this size as it will fit perfectly LOL) and this aread is on a wall that divides my unit from the neighbor's. This should be a "load-bearing wall" correct and would be the strongest point to place such a heavy object? I don't have any clue about the building code here in Michigan but maybe I should look into it to see if I can figure something out. I did some digging around yesterday and I found something saying that basically a 125 was as big as someone could/should go before having to add supports to the floor. I kinda lucked out in this respect but I'm not sure I even trust that. What do all of you think? Maybe I should look for a unit on the 1st floor to be safe LOL.

 

[zao]

Well when I was getting my 120Gal aquarium. I read alot of articles and I hate to tell you this but every article that I read, stating that the floors need renforced and the best spot is in the basement. So I did not want to renforced the floors and it went in the basement. But I also got luckly and I am in the basement every night cause my life also revloves around computers and that is where my setup is at. But what you might think about trying to do is talking to your landlord and see if that area will support that much weight.

 

[Zagz]

Being that you are in an apartment, I would check with the landlord. My 125 sits on a floor with the joists going the opposite way as the tank so I have no worries there, but my 135 sits on a floor with the joists going the same way so I reinforced the floor joists to be safe. Honestly I don't know that I would feel safe on the third floor of an apartment with a 125.

 

[SparKy697]

Is your floor made of wood or is it concrete? Depending on where you live some apartment floors are concrete, not just the ground floor. Concrete (or flexi-core) would make me feel safer.

 

[bs6749]

Is your floor made of wood or is it concrete? Depending on where you live some apartment floors are concrete, not just the ground floor. Concrete (or flexi-core) would make me feel safer.

You know, I was actually wondering the same thing last night as the floor didn't have the same "feel" to it as "normal" floors do. It feels more "solid". I was actually thinking that my floor may actually be concrete and that would mean steel supports correct? : )

I did some digging around yesterday and found a similar question posted a few years ago on another forum (I did a google search) and one person said that they had kept a 180g on the second floor for a few years with no issue and another member said that he/she had TWO 180g tanks on the 10th floor of their apartment for over 10 years with no issue. I'm guessing that person has the concrete floors LOL. I also did a little number crunching. I figure 1400 lbs of weight (220 for the glass, another 50 for the stand as it's not that heavy, and if it were filled with JUST water it would be an additional 1000 lbs). At that weight and with a stand that has dimensions of roughly (and underestimating too) 1.5 feet X 7 feet that would give me an area of 10.5 sq. feet. 1400/10.5 gives 133 lbs/square foot and I heard that most buildings (residential) need to be able to support 200-300lbs/sq. foot. Assuming the MINIMUM is 200lbs/sq. foot I could have a weight of over 2000 lbs. I am checking with my cousin just in case as he is going to look up the building codes for me. I will probably also call the apartment's office to make sure but I feel MUCH better now.

 

[src]

You can't trust other people's experiences, because they weren't in your building, and you have no idea how their apartments were built. With a 125, if you can't guarantee that you are perpendicular to the joists against a load bearing wall, then you shouldn't set it up. The exception would be for a building with concrete floors - if you jump up and down, do you get a "boom", or is it just a dull thud? Do your downstairs neighbors hear you walking/jumping?

Also, if your landlord will even permit the tank (unlikely), you need to buy a hefty renter's insurance policy that will cover your liability should there be any water damage. They usually require this for waterbeds, so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Remember - as a renter you have far fewer rights than a homeowner. Be sure you understand your lease. Chances are this situation is mentioned in there somewhere.

 

[Zagz]

I agree the very least you need to do is contact your landlord. If something were to happen and you didn't have the landlord's permission you could be liable for all damages regardless of insurance coverage. If the floors are concrete the landlord will be more likely to allow the tank, either way if you haven't got permission, you could also be evicted.

 

[bs6749]

The lease says the only pets allowed are fish and birds but it says absolutely nothing about size of the aquarium. I am guessing that I don't have concrete floors because there would be a "boom" if I jumped on the floor.

 

[NJGourami]

Think about how much a queen sized water bed must weigh

 

[jsoong]

But the water bed has a bigger footprint, so lb/sq ft wise, it is less than a big tank ..... even then, some building codes require reinforcement of floors with water bed <Heck, I have to reinforce my floor with a jacuzzi tub ... and that is NOT 125 gal.>

Personally, I will not put that big a tank in an apartment unless you have concrete floors with steel gliders. You would more likely see that in tall high rises than in 2-3 stories walkups. Therefore, the posts on big tanks on 10th floor, tec don't really apply.

In any case, I would suggest you check with your landlord first.

 

[NJGourami]

Just do it!! Be like nike.

 

[src]

Just do it!! Be like nike.

Worst advice ever.

If you "just do it", then you are exposing yourself to HUGE liability claims. Eviction would be the least of your worries. Structural damage, damage to the units below you, damage to the possessions in the units below you, charges due to the "loss of use" to the damaged units - the list goes on and on.

Remember, most of the time the failure will not be the floor collapsing - it will be the tank breaking. This can be caused by excess deflection of the floor (i.e. it slopes and the load on the tank's seals becomes excessive), or by simple accident ("Hey, toss me a beer!"). Or sometimes a tank just breaks.

The real issue is exactly how much setting up this tank is worth to you. If you can reach an agreement with the landlord (again, unlikely) and buy a ton of renter's insurance (I remember having to get $300K of damage liability for a waterbed), then great. Otherwise, do without. No sense being a putz about it.

I work in the apartment industry (do a stock symbol search on UDR) - I'm pretty sure I know whereof I speak.

 

[mom2reds]

I would listen to src,If I was you. I don't think you would like it if someone had something like that above you and didn't make sure it was safe first and your stuff got ruined. " Its better to be safe than sorry"

 

[physicsdude]

all interesting but nothing substantial. this article is a must read for the one who began this thread.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html

 

[Bubble_B0y]

If i were you, I would definitely NOT risk it.

here is an idea.
Instead of getting a 125 gallon tank.
why don't u get TWO 60 gallon tanks? and put them in different places around your home.

 

[saltybob]

I Bring this one back up because I do know About this one.

You will Be fine as long as your not in a little shack. I have a 125 first what year is the place built? brick? or all wood?

These are things that will help me tell you if your ok. my house was built in 1903 and it didnt even creek when i filled my tank. Put it againts a wall and not above any windows! none whatsoever. but im still guessing youll be fine

they dont make houses like they did back then!

 

[Zagz]

I Bring this one back up because I do know About this one.

You will Be fine as long as your not in a little shack. I have a 125 first what year is the place built? brick? or all wood?

These are things that will help me tell you if your ok. my house was built in 1903 and it didnt even creek when i filled my tank. Put it againts a wall and not above any windows! none whatsoever. but im still guessing youll be fine

they dont make houses like they did back then!

He's on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, not a house. I still highly recomend checking with the landlord before trying it.

 

[QTOFFER]

Anything below 75 gal, I wouldn't worry at all...but IMO, anything above 90 gal is heavy enough and big enough a potential puddle to warrant concern.

First check your lease. Large standing bodies of water like aquariums and waterbeds make some landlords nervous. Some leases forbid aquariums above a certain size. (My lease is silent on aquariums, but forbids waterbeds.)

Then ask your building manager or landlord about the building's construction. Find out what the floor is made of, the direction and placement of the floor joists, and the location of any interior supporting walls.

If disaster struck, it would not strike as you might think (ie a hole in the floor). If you overloaded your floor, it would probably not fail and collapse. Instead, it would most likely deflect, or sag. The sagging would cause undue stress on your tank's seams, possibly causing one of them to leak or even fail outright.

 

[bs6749]

Thank you all for the responses.

My lease says nothing about certain sizes of aquariums. I was told that dogs and cats aren't allowed but aquariums and birds are. There is nothing that limits what size the aquarium can be. Many people have brought up the point about a waterbed and it doesn't state that anywhere in my lease. I WAS worried about it going through the floor to be honest but the weight is spread over 10 PLUS square feet. I am not worried about the floor sagging because the aquarium will most likely be there for 10 months tops and then I will be moving. I doubt that the floor will settle in that amount of time. The apartment floors are supported by wood joists by the way and I am guessing the building is no more than 25 years old. The wall I will have it on will be a load bearing one so I'm not as worried as I was before. Now all I am really concerned about is the seams on the tank because the guy I got it from had it crated up and hadn't had water in it for about 5 years. I hope the seals/silicone isn't all dried up but I will have to check once I uncrate the behemoth.

 

[saltybob]

Goodluck!