2nd floor and tank weight

[3mm3]

I was looking for input on putting a 120gallon tank setup in a 2nd floor apartment? Can this safely be done or not?
Thank you

[redsoxfan692]

I would get a contractor to check out the specs of the joists and tell you the weight bearing load capacity. The super of the building may have those specs as well. Water is around 8.5lbs/gallon plus the tank weight and sand/rock/filtration and everything will put you placing close to a ton of weight on a second floor. There are plenty of people who do it and are successful with it. The key is how you are placing the tank, if it's against a load bearing wall etc. For me personally though, I would want to get the opinion of someone who deals with things like weight loads etc on a daily basis.

[jabbott]

Shouldn't be an issue. The main thing is to put it against a wall. That is the strongest part of the floor.

[AquaMore]

not all walls are created equal, you need a wall with weight bearing beam inside

[RcToners]

Depends on your building, I am located in key largo and most of the homes here are concrete. My house has no wood and my second floor in a pure slab so I had no issues putting my 375 g anywhere.

[3mm3]

From talking to the maintenance people i was under the assumption the floor was framed wood, but i did some digging and found that i appear to be on concrete floor. Would this be a better situation im in having concrete floor?

Originally Posted by RcToners

Depends on your building, I am located in key largo and most of the homes here are concrete. My house has no wood and my second floor in a pure slab so I had no issues putting my 375 g anywhere.

[jeff@zina.com]

Originally Posted by 3mm3

Would this be a better situation im in having concrete floor?

Not really. But that's because a 125 gallon tank is a non-issue structurally. If you can jump on the floor and it feels solid, you're fine. A 125 gallon tank is just four Michigan State fans on a couch.

Jeff

[jabbott]

Originally Posted by AquaMore

not all walls are created equal, you need a wall with weight bearing beam inside

No you do not.

The only time you need worry and look into it is if the house is really old. Due to the older building codes.

[Anthony.Luciano]

sorry to highjack the thread but how much weight can go on a fully concrete floor because my house is 4 floors high and i wanted to put my 125 gallon and 55 gallon sump in my room on the third floor but i was afraid of having so much weight so i put it in the lowest floor in my living room. but i was curious. on a concrete floor with hardwood on top of it how much can that hold?

[KAW750SS]

a 125 is like twice the size but I did have a system totalling right around 85 gallons on the 4th story of an apartment building.

[Lukel]

My 135 gallon is on the main floor of my house, backed against the center load bearing wall, having no issues at all, but my house is 1950's and there is REAL 2X12 on 16 centers if i remember correctly, it comes in around 1400 lbs

[James77]

Originally Posted by jeff@zina.com

Not really. But that's because a 125 gallon tank is a non-issue structurally. If you can jump on the floor and it feels solid, you're fine. A 125 gallon tank is just four Michigan State fans on a couch.
Jeff

Yes, but those Michigan fans will not be sitting there non stop for years. A 125 with tank, stand, water, and equipment could be pushing 3/4 - 1 ton. I would not really count on one test jump on a floor to assess its strength.

I've had 90 gallon aquariums on a 3rd floor right against a bearing wall with no problem. The story does not really matter assuming th efloor joists are all the same size and it is against a bearing wall. The weight is jest sent down the wall to the foundation and walls are incredibly strong as far as downward force.

Originally Posted by jabbott

No you do not.

The only time you need worry and look into it is if the house is really old. Due to the older building codes.

You cannot throw a very heavy aquarium- or anything- into a house just based on its age. Throw a one ton aquarium in the center of a modern room with no support, and you will most likely have issues within a couple years. Any heavy aquarium....90-120 adn up, should be as close to a load bearing wall as possible unless you have dedicated support (jacks) beneath it.

As far as older buildings, I sometimes have more trust in their materials than modern ones. Todays buildings are made to cost as little as possible, and to use the bare minimum to meet those codes. The wood in my 100 year old house is solid as iro(i cannot even nail into it) and is thicker....a legitimate 2" thick.

[James77]

Originally Posted by Anthony.Luciano

sorry to highjack the thread but how much weight can go on a fully concrete floor because my house is 4 floors high and i wanted to put my 125 gallon and 55 gallon sump in my room on the third floor but i was afraid of having so much weight so i put it in the lowest floor in my living room. but i was curious. on a concrete floor with hardwood on top of it how much can that hold?

It is nearly impossible to say because of the unknowns of the strength and thickness of the concrete.

[jabbott]

Originally Posted by James77

You cannot throw a very heavy aquarium- or anything- into a house just based on its age. Throw a one ton aquarium in the center of a modern room with no support, and you will most likely have issues within a couple years. Any heavy aquarium....90-120 adn up, should be as close to a load bearing wall as possible unless you have dedicated support (jacks) beneath it.

And if you read my earlier post you would see it says to put it against a wall.

[mktang]

i wonder if renter's insurance (which is really cheap) would cover you if you had a major issue?

[James77]

Originally Posted by jabbott

And if you read my earlier post you would see it says to put it against a wall.

The post of yours I quoted sure does sound like you disagree with it needing to be against a supporting wall, but it must just be me.

[Anthony.Luciano]

oh well maybe an answer to my own question above i totally forgot about this when i asked. i have a friend on the 27th floor of an apartment that is obsessed with fish. hes got a 125 in his bathroom, a 220 in his bedroom, a 90 wave and a biocube i think its 30 gallons or around there in his living room. this isnt a big apartment either its an averaged size apartment and he says the floors are made of concrete so the weight is fine. hes had the tanks up for like 15 years so idk thats just my little story of the day

[Lukel]

Originally Posted by James77

The post of yours I quoted sure does sound like you disagree with it needing to be against a supporting wall, but it must just be me.

I'm not too sure what you guys are getting at, and i am not taking any sides... but My 135 is on main floor, against the load bearing wall in my house, that load bearing wall is carried again in the bacement with a laminated beam which has telescopeing post every 10 feet along it with footings below that, and again if you go to the second floor there is another load bearing wall that carries the weight of the roof, in essence the center wall in my house is carried from the bacement all the way to the attic.

[JPhan1]

Shouldn't be an issue I have a 120 on 2nd flood apartment

[kevincp]

does ur downstairs neighbors like reef tanks...lol.. its alot of weight mine is close to 1800 lbs with everything..i checked under my house first to make sure the floor joist where run across the tank and not with it so i have 5 under it right now 2x10 12 inches apart with a 5 ft span. so load was good..some building use wood frame with light wieght concrete to make them level so i would really check it out first. if that went through the floor,"not just making a mess" u or somebody else could get really hurt.

[ramtmac]

Shouldn't be an issue.... i have my 125 on a 70's apartment second floor and haven't had an issue. Its been about a year too.

I don't reccommend doing jumping jacks right next to it though, just to be on the safe side.

[3mm3]

Thanks for all the input. I take it that if i am not able to place this tank near an outside wall then a 120 is not a wise choice..?..

[steevareno2002]

That's why I chose a 72 without a sump. I sold some frags to an architect who looked at the joists in my basement and he said to keep it under 75 gallons to be safe. Also make sure you have your tank touching as many joists as possible, not running the length of just 1 joist that way the weight gets distributed more evenly.

[SwiftysReef]

Originally Posted by Anthony.Luciano

sorry to highjack the thread but how much weight can go on a fully concrete floor because my house is 4 floors high and i wanted to put my 125 gallon and 55 gallon sump in my room on the third floor but i was afraid of having so much weight so i put it in the lowest floor in my living room. but i was curious. on a concrete floor with hardwood on top of it how much can that hold?

Im a conrete finisher and in most cases in basements the average thickness is will be 3.5 -4 inches.if you have a crawl space it 2-3inches thick. On average the concrete will 400 psi which does mean 400 pounds per square inch! So within reason you could pretty much put whatever size tank on it. On the highrises the psi will be higher for code reasons. But food for thought, almost all of those jobs being commercial or residential, the lowest bidder got the job, so where did they cut costs? But saying that you should be safe.

[SwiftysReef]

Originally Posted by steevareno2002

That's why I chose a 72 without a sump. I sold some frags to an architect who looked at the joists in my basement and he said to keep it under 75 gallons to be safe. Also make sure you have your tank touching as many joists as possible, not running the length of just 1 joist that way the weight gets distributed more evenly.

That's what I did, I ran my tank across as many floor joists as possible. But mine is sitting against the load bearing wall as well.