How big tank you can put safely in the living room?

[gu2high]

I know that 50 gallons water is about 500 pounds. I wonder the house structure may not be so solid to support the heavy weight. How big is the tank you can have to be sure that the house floor (i.e., living room) can support it? Else, how to place it?

The weight to consider might be:

total weight = tank and stand weight + water + gravel + people around it

I am not talking about to put it in the basement, where you can put as many as you can.

 

[Zagz]

I have 125 gal tank in my family room and in one bedroom I have a 75 gal, a 33 gal, 3-20 gals, and a 15 gal.

For the large tank I made sure it was placed across the support beams in the basement and not parallel to it. I figured I used to keep a water bed on it and that weighs quite a bit, my tank would be fine. If you are not positive, see if you can locate the house's builder and see what specs you can find out about it. My personal opinion is that most houses can handle most tanks that are kept in them with proper floor joists. You could also build a box with a telepost in the basement designed to offer extra support if you have reason to believe your home would not be build as solid.

3 full grown men on a couch would weigh probably 450 lbs alone, for example, house floors can easily withstand that much weight. While I am not an engineer nor can I specifically comment on your house, unless you are planning on over 250 gals, I can't see how it would be much of a problem as long as the floor joists run perpendicular, not parallel to the tank.

 

[rich311k]

A 50 will be no problem. As Anne say go across beams and along a bearing wall. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have a 55 gal tank on the second floor of a 106 year old apt building made with soft pine floors. I wouldn't chance the 150 gal though, that went in my office that has a nice concrete slab under it.

 

[niks93gt]

As an ex-framer... go across the floor joists so you are utilizing several of them. Most of the time, they are 16" apart... that means that a 48" tank (around 55 gallons) is spread over 3 floor joists. Given that a 55 gallon tank is about 600-700 with stand, thats less than 300 pounds per floor joist. Each joist should easily support 500 lbs as I've seen multiple grown men standing on a single joist with no problems. Given that you go perpendicular to the floor joists, I'd say just about any size tank (litterally up to 250-300 gallons) is fine as long as your joists are in normal condition.

Nik

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Now for being in an older house, near 100 years old, I have a 75G, a 29G, a 26G, and 4 10G tanks basically on the same floor, just different parts of the same room. No problems at all. Like mentioned above, the weight is evenly distributed over the length of the tank, and if it's over 3 joists, the weight is evenly distributed across them. I would say you are good up to 75G for sure, and if you start going larger, check on the conditions of the sub-flooring to make sure all is well. And if all is well, I also agree with the above that 250G to 300G is no problem.

 

[QTOFFER]

I wouldn't think twice about anything 75 gal and under.
500 pounds sounds like alot of weight, but it's really about the same as a family of three, a fully stocked 17 cu ft refrigerator, or a 35 inch home theater system in an entertainment center stuffed with CDs, DVDs, and photo albums.

Place and spread the weight as the previous posters suggested and you will be fine.

I would be cautious about anything 90 gallons or bigger and would have a structural engineer OK the placement of a 125 gal.

Here's more information than you probably really want.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

P.S. If you rent, you should check your lease for aquarium restrictions and make sure you have renters insurance.

 

[7Enigma]

My buddy from work whom has a 125gallon in his living room of an old apartment didn't take chances. In the basement he has several wood 2X4's under the tank. I asked him why, he said why not?

 

[niks93gt]

My buddy from work whom has a 125gallon in his living room of an old apartment didn't take chances. In the basement he has several wood 2X4's under the tank. I asked him why, he said why not?

Better safe than sorry.

Nik

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Better safe than sorry.

Nik

Exactly. Depending on how old the home is in addition to what kind of wood the flooring is made of, the wood could bow over time.

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

Better safe than sorry.

Nik

Exactly. Depending on how old the home is in addition to what kind of wood the flooring is made of, the wood could bow over time.

exactly.

3 250lb men wont be sitting on your couch 24/7.

 

[Tomiam]

Agreed on the safety aspect. Ive recently bought a 4 bed house and one of the things I specified to the estate agent was that any house they want to sell me MUST have a concrete floor to take the weight of my 150 gal tank.
What surprised me was that the estate agent agreed that the location of my tank was an important consideration in the purchase of a house. It wasnt until a week or so later I found out he is also a fish fanatic

So in answer.. I personally wouldnt put a 150 gal tank onto wooden floorboards.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

A 150G isn't too bad. I have a friend that has a 265G in the living room, no problems. But he also knows a bit about house building, and had checked the subflooring before getting it. Like mentioned above, as long as the tank is spread over floor joists evenly, it shouldn't be any problems.

 

[gu2high]

Question:

I want to make tank go perpendicular to the floor joists. But I can't see the floor joists, neither can I see it from basement. I can only see the floor plates (the long plates) I am standing on on the first floor. Is the floor plates parallel to the floor joist?

My understanding is that there is normally a subfloor between the floor and floor joist and the subfloor is perpendicular to both the floor and the floor joist. Hence, I guess the floor is parallel to the floor joist. Anyone can confirm it?

Or, the subfloor runs parallel to the floor joists, so that the top floor is perpendicular to the floor joists?

 

[Dominick]

in the construction i used to do in NJ we had to run the 8 foot length opposite the way the joists run and the joists usually are 16 on center about 6 under one pice of plywood "not all houses have that thin flooring ontop of the thick plywood

 

[pauliedanger]

I'm used to planning weight per square foot for transport. So I can offer little advice. (Especially since I'm necro-posting.)

But the two suggestions I would make are:
Spread your load. Make sure your stand has a solid base. When I say solid, I'm saying flat on the ground so that the weight distribution goes across the entire profile of the tank. That way your LB's per sq. ft is decreased.

Two, lay across support beams and near a load-bearing wall. Floor support is stronger there.

 

[cbrkid11]

my buddy has a 75 gallon tank in his apartment. his apartment is like a 75 year old house and his apartment is on the 3rd floor..

no problems at all.. and its in his livingroom with the tv, couch and alot of other weight.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

my buddy has a 75 gallon tank in his apartment. his apartment is like a 75 year old house and his apartment is on the 3rd floor..

no problems at all.. and its in his livingroom with the tv, couch and alot of other weight.

I have brought this up several times, and I don't mind talking about it again. I am an Architect, and I do have some problems with some of what is being said here.

Some of you have advocated that it is fairly safe to put a 300 gallon tank in a framed room. A tank of this size weighs over 3000 pounds, heavier than most mid-sized cars. This is of huge concern. Depending on the overall structure of the building, this could be safe, on the other hand, it could be disasterous if placed wrong. Homes are not designed to take that significant of a point load for that duration of time.

Time is a factor as deflection and overall failure can be a slow process. I.E. you could not notice any problems the first month, or first year or more the tank is in that position, but over time the wood in the joists deflects to carry that load.

I have yet to advocate any concern of tanks 75 gallons and under, but some of the larger ones should really have significant consideration in their placement.

The comparison of a tank, and a water bed or jaquzzi are not really valid. The foot print of these objects is much larger than that of an aquarium. Not to mention, if some of these items were placed in the structure when built, it was probably reinforced for the additional load.

I would be more than glad to talk to anybody further about their concerns, and take a look at some photo graphs of their home and desired placement if you wish. I can't guarantee anything with out doing calculations, but I will be able to raise red flags if anyone is interested.