Need help with 8ft tank

[Saj]

Hi ladies and gentlemen I have just inherited a 8ft by 2ft by 2ft tall 10mm thick glass aquarium and I wanted to know if I could house it in my bedroom which is the attic!! Am not sure but I think the floor can handle it if I put a sheet of birch ply down to spread the weight ?? And build a solid timber frame for it out of 3b2 so as you can see my dilemma a little help would not go a miss!!

 

[Convict2161]

Hi ladies and gentlemen I have just inherited a 8ft by 2ft by 2ft tall 10mm thick glass aquarium and I wanted to know if I could house it in my bedroom which is the attic!! Am not sure but I think the floor can handle it if I put a sheet of birch ply down to spread the weight ?? And build a solid timber frame for it out of 3b2 so as you can see my dilemma a little help would not go a miss!!

Attics are usually built differently then the rest of the house and with that is be weary of such a large tank. I'd put it on a load bearing side and make sure the floors joists are up to par.

I've always been weary of attics even on the fire fighting side, they never seem to built to hold the same weight as say the first or second floors.

What you can do is... Find out when the house was built and go to your local town hall to obtain a copy of the blue prints to your house. That will show you exactly what it's made out of and what it can withstand.

Just some thoughts from my end.

 

[Saj]

Thanks my house is a old Victorian house and its a bit difficult here in uk getting detailed information from back then how houses where built !!

 

[baron1282]

Contact an engineer that does homes, and ask them to look into it for you. Don't know the cost but that will be the only way for SURE to know if it can support the weight.

That big of a tank I am assuming is around 256 gallons, so that's more than 2000 pounds. Plus the weight of the tank. That is a massive amount of weight to be putting somewhere your not sure about. If it were me, I would spend the money to have someone inspect it and see if the area I want to put the tank in can support the weight.