Tank on second floor.

[Seth72]

Hi,I am just starting out in this hobby and I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way,any time anyone takes to awnser them I am thankfull for.

So this is my first question. My tank is 120 gallon 48x24x24, with a 30 gallon sump.Total 150 gallon.It will be on a wood stand so the weight is dispersed evenly over the 16 square feet of the tank.It will be placed beside an outside wall running against the joists,(should cover three).The home is 4 years old.
Now I did read all the articals i could find ,so im not waisting your time,What i would like to know now is some real life examples.

So if anybody could leave examples of the size of tanks that they currently have on there second floors above the basement and any problems you have encountered if any.

Thanks in advance guys

[sean2477]

Ive got my 135 gallon with a 40 gallon sump on the second floor of my house and have had no problem.

[monocus]

think of a fridge sitting on 2-3 joists and the weight-the joists will take a lot of live weight no problem-especialy alongside a outer wall

[Seth72]

Originally Posted by monocus

think of a fridge sitting on 2-3 joists and the weight-the joists will take a lot of live weight no problem-especialy alongside a outer wall

I dont think my fridge with just a bottle of mustard in it weighs that much

No, but it is really serious weight we are talking about 1600 pounds,but ive already decided to do it,I just wanted to know if anybody has had any problems running tanks above 90 gallons on the second floor.

Its really hard to find good advice in this hobby,for example,i wasnt even going to buy a tank because i refused to have the heat and power bills from hilade lighting and everyone was saying 6 watts to ten watts per gallon and i figured no way am i going to run 700 watts of lighting for a fish tank.

Then my pro told me that its not the watts but the depth that counts,so just a 24 inch deep tank with a couple of inches substrate then live rock,you can keep corals fine with t5s even stony corals closer to the top.

So I think it is going to be best to try to learn by example...such as how many people are keeping corals just fine in a 24 inch deep tank with t5s.

There are just so many opinions.

[Milad]

Originally Posted by Seth72

I dont think my fridge with just a bottle of mustard in it weighs that much

No, but it is really serious weight we are talking about 1600 pounds,but ive already decided to do it,I just wanted to know if anybody has had any problems running tanks above 90 gallons on the second floor.

Its really hard to find good advice in this hobby,for example,i wasnt even going to buy a tank because i refused to have the heat and power bills from hilade lighting and everyone was saying 6 watts to ten watts per gallon and i figured no way am i going to run 700 watts of lighting for a fish tank.

Then my pro told me that its not the watts but the depth that counts,so just a 24 inch deep tank with a couple of inches substrate then live rock,you can keep corals fine with t5s even stony corals closer to the top.

So I think it is going to be best to try to learn by example...such as how many people are keeping corals just fine in a 24 inch deep tank with t5s.

There are just so many opinions.

i was reading somwhere newer homes because of code shouldnt have a problem with bigger tanks as long as you run them across the joints.

as far as your lights, go MH or you will kick your self later. im running 150w on my 180 and it seems fine. Total of 800+ watts with my attincs on (i think) and havent really seen much difference in power bill. You gota remember they arent on 24/7 only 6hrs a day for the MH. Also my computers and server pull more power than the fish tank!

reason im saying MH is you will always run into that one coral you wish you could put in your tank but just dont have enough light for it.

[Chaloupa]

I had both a 120g and a 150g on the same exterior wall on my second floor..no problems...both were run across the joists.

[ILIKECOUGARS]

I have a 150g (48L x 30W x 24H) tank with 50g sump. 180g total water volume, which is placed by a outside wall and the floor joist run perpendicular. The joists (2x10) are enbeded in concrete @ 16" center on the outside wall. I made sure that the stand would sit on 4-floor joist, and have had no problems.