Aquarium is frightening

[bman7842]

Okay judging by the title you may think I'm completely insane but hear me out. I have a turtle and she use to live in a 30 gallon aquarium. She never belonged in this tank because she was around 6 inches long and they say for every inch is 10 gallons. Sadly I did not have the money at the time to purchase an aquarium that large so I waited until today. I managed to pick up a 55 gallon tank for a decent price and after setting it up I came across 1 problem, I'm scared half to death of it! It's huge, it's a monster, okay maybe I'm exaggerating but you still get the point. It is tall and long and compared to my 30 gallon it's scary to be honest. When I say scared I mean the potential threat of it, for example, this aquarium is on the second floor of my house, will it break through the floor? What if the tank cracked or broke. Not only would it flood the house but it would also make my parents want to kill me. I just am a little creeper out about it. I came to the forums helping I could have some experts tell me everything is fine but I still want you guys to be honest. If you are wondering about the floor collapsing thing the tank is located in my bedroom which is right above a support pole in my basement (my room is on the opposite wall of our bathroom which also manages to hold a very large bathtub filled with water).

If any suggestions or info about this big thing please tell me! It may be tiny for you but going from a 30 gallon to a 55 gallon is huge for me...

This is a picture of my new 55 gallon tank

 

[micaelaarnold]

Hello! I've got a 75 gallon turtle tank and let me tell you, it is scary once you first see it! I totally agree! Haha! Mine is also on the second floor and it's even on a table. I've had no issues with the table or floor, so I'm sure you'll be fine


•22 gal zebra danio, 75 gal red ear slider•

 

[bman7842]

Hello! I've got a 75 gallon turtle tank and let me tell you, it is scary once you first see it! I totally agree! Haha! Mine is also on the second floor and it's even on a table. I've had no issues with the table or floor, so I'm sure you'll be fine


•22 gal zebra danio, 75 gal red ear slider•

Thank you so much! It's nice to know that you understand kinda what it's like.

 

[Nils]

I only have a 16 gallon biggest tank, and even that scares me in my room lol! I'm sure if it is supported enough, you'll be fine. Wish you luck!

Nils

 

[treemanone2003]

You'll be fine weight wise with a 30g on a second floor. To give yourself more security, run the tank (if possible) perpendicular to the floor joists. It will disperse the weight better than if run with the length of the joists. I've got 5 tanks in a 3rd floor apartment. 5g, 10g, 14g, 40g, and a 55g. The biggest fear is one breaking. Water damage is a pain to deal with. I've never had one break (thankfully) but I've seen water damage from house fires.


Sent from my iPhone that doesn't like me. Or you !!

 

[emilator]

you will be fine. ive never even heard of an aquarium falling through a floor. ?


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[ImACoolguy]

I've never heard of one breaking through a floor and don't exactly know the ratio for turtle tanks but for a aquarium the base is about 10lb/per gallon of water. So if your tank was filled to the top with water 10 x 55 = more or less 550 pounds. Like tree said, try and disperse the weight.


Caleb

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[bman7842]

I've never heard of one breaking through a floor and don't exactly know the ratio for turtle tanks but for a aquarium the base is about 10lb/per gallon of water. So if your tank was filled to the top with water 10 x 55 = more or less 550 pounds. Like tree said, try and disperse the weight.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

Hey, the tank I purchased that is 55 gallons is a tetra tank. I know they are not the best but I wanted to know if you would trust them with any sort of aquatic animal inside it?

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hey, the tank I purchased that is 55 gallons is a tetra tank. I know they are not the best but I wanted to know if you would trust them with any sort of aquatic animal inside it?

See if you can find some reviews online for it. Personally if you buy it with a warranty I wouldn't worry about it. If it breaks you got a warranty to back you up


Caleb

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[bman7842]

See if you can find some reviews online for it. Personally if you buy it with a warranty I wouldn't worry about it. If it breaks you got a warranty to back you up


Caleb

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Yeah it has a warranty but I'm not worried about getting a new one, I'm worries about when it breaks and the entire room gets flooded...

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Install it on a flat and level surface. Make sure the tank is level.
55 is ok. Or it should be! (Span several joists)
Also the weight given, you need to add glass/cabinet and decor to the water weight.

I had a shock when the panels turned up for my tank, it took me a while to pluck up the courage to glue that together! In the grand scheme of things, yours and mine are both small systems.

So, Best of luck!
Lucky turtle!

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Ive had a 55 galon on the second floor for 2 and a half years with no issue so you'll be fine i think. Just make sue its running perpendicular to the joists and you won't have any issues.

 

[bakflip3]

Let's put it in perspective: if you figure the average adult man weighs somewhere in the 175-200 lb range, then a 55 gallon tank fully filled with water is about the same as 3 adult men. If you had for some strange reason those 3 men standing shoulder to shoulder on your second floor, would you be worried about it's ability to hold the weight? It's scarier when it's water, I know. But it'll be fine, even if you don't have it running perpendicular to floor joists.

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[bakflip3]

And as for breaking, tanks rarely suffer a sudden catastrophic break unless they are hit with something. Any damage is much more likely to start as a slow leak at seams that you'll have time to notice and correct. In 25 years of keeping fish on and off, I've never had even that happen. The odds are in your favor. My advice: Try to stop worrying, fill your tank slowly to check for leaks and enjoy your new tank!

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[Mebbid]

I've never heard of one breaking through a floor and don't exactly know the ratio for turtle tanks but for a aquarium the base is about 10lb/per gallon of water. So if your tank was filled to the top with water 10 x 55 = more or less 550 pounds. Like tree said, try and disperse the weight.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

Think of it this way... a 55g tank is about equivalent to 2 people sitting on a cough weight wise. If your floor can't support that then you have some SERIOUS problems.

As for complete tank failures, I've honestly never heard of it happening. The only instance I've heard of a problem with a major failure is when someone had a cheap stand that basically fell apart when it got wet. Get a decent stand made of solid wood and you will be safe from that.

 

[proff1949]

I have a 50 gal FO on the second floor. Only problem I ever had is it was a little top heavy. A couple of 6x1/4 inch lags ithrough the cabinet nto the studs behind it solved the problem. If you're still worried make sure it runs across the floor joist and not with them. If you have hardwood floors the finished floor runs across the joist and not with them. If you have carpet thats a little harder to determine. Either way you should be ok. just make sure it is level when you set it up. Hope this helps