Recent Excitement, and Advice?

[MCHRKiller]

As some know I have recently accepted an offer on my current house which was an inheritance and simply just far too much home for my needs. It kind of makes me queasy to think about the money and time I have poured into keeping the place up. I have remedied this buy dropping an offer on a much smaller house right in the middle of town...instead of 50 acres I have 1/2 an acre and instead of 4000sq ft I now have 1250sq ft. If everything goes as expected we will be closing on November 28th.

The new house is a cottage style home built in 1985...it has been recently renovated. It is going to very easy to transform the new home into a minimalistic modern area...unlike my present stuffy contemporary home. Which brings the real intent of this post into question. I am also going to be replacing all of my existing aquariums which are old and scratched with brand new shiny ones. I would never consider putting my O into less than a 6ft tank permanently and have found a great resource for a 125G standard tank. The tank would be placed in a bedroom which would be used as a home office and be placed along an exterior wall and running perpendicular to the floor joists. The inspection resulted that the home itself appears to be well built and the floors are level(unlike my present home). Would anyone expect an issue with supporting the weight? I will also be adding 2x75G tanks and bringing along my 50G and 20G as well if that would be a concern.

Any advice on determining floor strength, or moving large fish....please send it my way

[Aeonflame]

Congrats on your new home! It would be heartbreaking for me though to leave 5 acres of countryside behind.

Not sure about the weight issue since most houses here have poured concrete foundations and floors. For transportation though, Plastic sterilite containers work very well. It is also easy to drill holes in the lids for air tubing if needed .

[Lady Hobbs]

Jenn, have you got a basement? (Sounds like it.) You could also get some floor jacks and use them to ease your mind, as well.

[Lady Hobbs]

Buy or borrow some big plastic totes. If would be great if you could set up the new tanks, have them ready to go and just move the fish and filters over. I would definitely do them last so you have your furniture where you want it first.

Yeaaaa....Christmas in your new home. Congratulations!

[Cliff]

Jenn, have you got a basement? (Sounds like it.) You could also get some floor jacks and use them to ease your mind, as well.

+1 to that

If it is a unfinished basement, you can support the the floor joists with a simple supporting wall made of about $20 worth of 2X4s

My house was built in 2006 with those cheep looking engineers floor joists. My 4 foot, 120 gallon tank with a 1/2 filled 55 gallon sump sits on the floor and runs in the same direction as the joists so it is only sitting on two of them. I frame a simple 2 foot wide 2X4 wall directly under the tank to make sure the weight was supported. That might have been overkill, but as least I don't worry about it any more

I would not be too worried about a 6 foot tank as long as your floor joists are at least 2X10s

[MCHRKiller]

Thanks for the insight you guys, very helpful! I am not sure what the structure itself is as I have not been under the house. It does not have a basement...just a crawlspace(hence why I have not been under it). It is a dirt floor of course with a moisture barrier.

[Taurus]

It does not have a basement...just a crawlspace(hence why I have not been under it). It is a dirt floor of course with a moisture barrier.

Jenn, take a flash light and look into the crawl space up under the floor to see if the floor joists are 2 x 10s and how far apart they are on center.

[Lady Hobbs]

Your house is pretty newly built and probably in very good shape. You might get someone to crawl under there and lay some cement blocks and some 2x4's under that area to shore it up a bit....or.....

There are also short jacks that will cost more but be less work. They're about $30 at Home Depot.

[Rue]

I agree...no point in worrying....and I'd rather have overkill too.

Hire an engineer and have extra support put in...then worries are over!

Congrats on the new digs! Post a picture!

[MCHRKiller]

I talked to a contractor who suggested that I get 2 floor jacks and put a 2x12 board under the area I want braced. He stated I could use some solid blocks under the floor jacks or pour some concrete to provide a more solid surface. I do need to crawl under there and look to see what they are using, next time I am at the property I will do that.

Here is a photo from the realtor...