Aquarium weight - how much weight can your floor stand?

[Togliat]

Bought a 155 gallon glass aquarium.
That is about 1300 lbs of water weight, I think.
The glass tank is really heavy, so much so that my friend and I were worried about dropping it just during the unloading process.
I would guess the tank weighs 200 lbs.

The stand that came with it from the LFS is your typical pressboard type fabrication.
It is maybe 75 lbs (I am guessing)

I plan on adding about 150 lbs of sand if that sounds about right.

That's about a ton of weight on my living room floor (single story).

My home is 2004 construction, with a concrete slab foundation.

The floor consists of really nice 18" tiles (it was a model home).

My question is this:

The stand has four very shallow round feet, ostensibly to adjust height, although I cant imagine doing that after the tank is in place.

Those feet...will they concentrate the weight and crack my tile? Should I use some wide coasters?
Or should I not mess with the design and leave things alone?

I'm interested in success stories and failures with respect to these weight issues.
And recommendations, if you have any.

"Tanks a lot!"

[ShooterRick]

Well coasters are cheap compaired to a damaged floor tile so I would just do it and rest at night. LOL

[Togliat]

Yeah, I agree. But I just had a thought. What if a coaster cracked? Is that likely with a 1/4 ton of weight on it?
Or am I just being silly and ignorant? I am just not sure how much weight these smallish coasters are designed to hold.

I guess if I can find a wide coaster, like the kind used to move furniture, the risk might be less...

[George9]

You could get some kind of really strong cork and use that as coasters. but the stand might sink into that.

[jcolon]

I would think a cork board type could be able to handle that weight ... those cork board coasters are surprisingly strong .. even if the cork does depress a bit.

[5x5]

I'd be a little skeptical of something like Cork board that would depress under weight. With a heavy tank that size, I don't think you would want it settling unevenly on a surface with a lot of "give", as it could lead to stress cracks of the tank itself.

I do agree with the concept of buffering the tank before it hits the tile. I don't know what material, but would recommend something harder than cork.

[Dboone]

Well to be honest with you I just set up my 140 gal tank and was worried about the same thing I had the sane type of stand with adjustable legs I took them out all the way and used a piece of 1/8 inch plywood to set mine on I used wood shims to level it while only the tank was on it set it all up and every thing all up and running now with no problems so that is what I would do

[Retired_AF]

Originally Posted by 5x5

I'd be a little skeptical of something like Cork board that would depress under weight. With a heavy tank that size, I don't think you would want it settling unevenly on a surface with a lot of "give", as it could lead to stress cracks of the tank itself.

I do agree with the concept of buffering the tank before it hits the tile. I don't know what material, but would recommend something harder than cork.

I would be a little leery of that too. I'm not sure if it would work, but you can get these sliders at places like Lowe's or Home Depot that you put under legs of sofas and things like that to keep from damaging hardwood floors. They are made of a hard plastic and have a carpet trype material bottom on them. That might help and keep from messing up the tiles.

I assume the floor is directly on the slab and not on wood beams?

Good luck!

[Tomchong22]

Your tank will not crack the tile. And if you place the tank up against a main wall you will be fine. If you are worried about the tile getting scratched or it not being level get some plastic door shims and use that to level the tank. Houses are built to withstand that kind of weight. Think of it as having a 3 person couch and 4 fat dudes sitting on the couch to watch a football game. Lol the floor will be fine.

[Togliat]

I got a good chuckle out of the vision of "three fat dudes on my couch." Thanks for the laugh!
And what you said makes sense.
I was just a little concerned with all the weight concentrated on four points and wondering if the tile would crack but what you say makes sense.
And I believe the tiles are directly on the concrete, although I am not sure. It is relatively new construction (2004-2005) and I would assume they would build it that way, for cost savings if nothing else, although I am not a contractor.

[Tomchong22]

Tile when Set properly is just like concrete. Super strong and hard to crack. It really only cracks when there is a shock factor to it. Such as dropping a bowling ball on it. If you think of it in a relative way. A bowling ball dropped from x height will disperse more psi on the tile then a tank resting on the tile due to the kinetic energy displaced. Thus the tile will be able to withstand way more weight then a tank. Also the weight is distributed to 4 points. Giving the net weigh on each leg around 325 ish lbs. Let's say The legs have an area of 5in. That's only 65lbs per square in.