Tank weight

[sharonm]

I haven't set up my 75 yet. I am nervous about the weight as it runs parallel to the joist, however, over a short span as the joist are supported by the outside and inner walls. I am thinking of putting a floor jack under the joist the tank will be on. Has anyone else ever done this? The LFS owner said people put 75's in their trailers without a prob but I am having second thoughts without support.

[labnjab]

I've got a 75 gallon and a 10 gallon on the same stand in an old apartment and it supports the weight just fine. I think you will be good, and in most cases, most floors can support up to 100 gallons without issues or having to reinforce

[Mith]

for what it's worth, I used to live in a single wide, 1962 trailer! I had a 120 gal tank that was just fine. I did, however, try and place the tank over the underneith supports....so my guess is that with the 75 gal you'll be fine!!!

[Lady Hobbs]

LOL Somehow, this thread got me to thinking of the mobile I was renting 4 years ago. I was sitting in the "garden tub" sinking lower and lower and wondering ........what in heck. The stupid tub was sinking into the floor.

Now, wouldn't I have just felt so stupid had my bare self fallen thru the floor and I had to crawl out from under the trailor.

The floor under that tub had totally rotted away.

[fishlover49]

LOL Somehow, this thread got me to thinking of the mobile I was renting 4 years ago. I was sitting in the "garden tub" sinking lower and lower and wondering ........what in heck. The stupid tub was sinking into the floor.

Now, wouldn't I have just felt so stupid had my bare self fallen thru the floor and I had to crawl out from under the trailor.

The floor under that tub had totally rotted away.


:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

[PostalPenguin]

75 gallons will be about ~750lbs. How many joists will it span? It may be a good idea to do it anyways. If the floor sags or is otherwise damaged it will be a lot more expensive to fix than the cost of a jack. And with the jack you can safely start thinking about even bigger tanks!:hmm3grin2orange:

[Jaster]

My house is pretty old and I have an 80gallon set up in my living room. I wouldn't worry too much. But if it eases your mind do the support. At least then you'll sleep at night. For the first week I had my tank up every noise woke me up as I though "OH S&%*, was that the tank falling through my floor?!?!"

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Now, wouldn't I have just felt so stupid had my bare self fallen thru the floor and I had to crawl out from under the trailor.

Now there would be a candidate for life's most embarrassing moment. LOL

I have my reef tank running parallel to the joist so I did put a floor jack under that joist. Something to thing about is the type of force being exerted on the floor. Your tank is going to be sitting there long term. That much weight sitting there over a long period of time could potentially cause a problem. Personally, I'd set it up and see how much deflection you get in the floor close to that tank. If you get a lot of deflection, I'd put a support under it. It's not the short term to be concerned about, it's the long term.

[AABatteries]

If you're putting it along an outside wall you should be fine.

[Shadowisper]

ok,I don't want to have to pull the pro card here, but I build houses for a living and am very aware of the engineering of a floor joist. Q#1: 2x10 or I-joist? 2x10 no way, I-joist will probablly hold however overtime it WILL start to bend and twist over time causing undesirable effects to your home (break drywall (underneath), pull apart hardwood/laminate/tile flooring and cause your floor to forever squeak on that and the joists around that area). Everntually it will bend to a point where the tank might just go down! Do yourself a favour and either find a point on the house where the tank will span multiple joists, or your need to get some jacks. Its just not worth the damage.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

If you're putting it along an outside wall you should be fine.

If the tank were running perpendicular to the floor joists this would be fine but the poster already stated that it is running parallel to the joist. The proximity to the outside wall will only help if the tank is running perpendicular to the outside wall.

[kevvy2k]

I have a 165g running parallel to the joists and on exterior wall.I used rv support jacks and 3inch pipe with a square tube tee I snugged them up with no water in the tank then added water now I do not worry about it tipping or falling.I dont think insurance would help if precautions were not taken.

[AABatteries]

If the tank were running perpendicular to the floor joists this would be fine but the poster already stated that it is running parallel to the joist. The proximity to the outside wall will only help if the tank is running perpendicular to the outside wall.

Oh yeah, didn't even think about it. Now that you've mentioned it, it makes sense.

[sharonm]

I appreciate the comments and ideas. I wish I could run the tank perpendicular to the joist but I have a small house and the tank needs to be in the living room so I can at least see it and enjoy it. I went to the hardware store today and think I have found a good idea. I am going to measure the exact spot and under the tank use a floor jack to support it, however, will also run some 2 x 4's under the jack to span a greater area with another jack. I am worried about long term effects to the floor. Boy, I could have bought a 125 gallon tank with stand for 500.00!!!! Yikes.

[*Sarah*]

We have our 100 gal tank along a load bearing wall along the joists...can never be too safe. Our house is 104 years old, and the last thing I want is to have to clean up 100 gal of water...eeks what a mess it would be.

[MCHRKiller]

The house I live in now is well over 100 years old, its definatly been remodeled extinsively since then and is really well built. But anyway I have my 150, 100, 55, and 15G all in the same room in the second story. The 150G sits dead in the middle of the 2nd story. Im not worried about it as you have to look at the weight pressure per square inch. A 75G tank will weigh in around 750lbs, if you have a good cabinet with a flat bottom the weight is to be spread over the tanks entire surface area of 864 square inches...thats .87lbs per square inch. Far less pressure than you or I put on the floor standing on it. Granted our weight isnt static, but still any decently constructed home wouldnt have an issue with that amount of weight. Your only concern IMO comes into play with abnormally shaped tanks or tanks over 180G in average homes.

[Northernguy]

For what its worth and damage it can save put in a post under the tank in the basement.I screwed 2 2x4s together standing on edge so they would reach the span of three joists and placed ot on top of the post jack and tightened it up until my tanks sat level again.
I had to do it with my two 35s.As I filled the tank you could see the floor start to bow enough to move the bubble on my level.My house is only 30 yrs old!
As you fill your tank use a level and if you see a change stop and do what needs to be done.

[sharonm]

So you ran the 2 x 4's across the joist then the jack to support the 2 x 4's? Did you center the floor jack on one of the joist under the 2 x 4's? Just trying to figure out if I really need 2 jacks or just one with 2 x 4 support. I have noticed my laminate flooring straining at one spot on the floor. Since it is a floating floor with a pad underneath, I kind of expected it to happen with the tank weight. The stand I ordered is from Petsmart, top fin with 2 doors. It will have 4 legs, not just a flat bottom. I am going to line both tanks up for the switch over, should be interesting!!!!!!

[Shadowisper]

two jacks!!! 2x4 isn't a bad idea, but its threshold is rather limited. For placement I'd have each jack placed so that no more than 1/4 of the two by four is hanging over each end thumbs2: good to go!