falling through my floor?

[possitive k]

i live on the 3rd floor of a wood frame apartment, i have a 90gal tank, and no problem. i think you should be ok. it's not like your putting it in the middle of the room, there is more support at the walls, and you live in a concrete building so your fine.

[BCOrchidGuy]

In my humble opinion... okay maybe I should say the way I see it, a lot depends on how you distribute the weight. If you have the tank on a home made stand that has 4 1x4s as legs with nothing else supporting the weight you would want those legs to be on the supports under the floor rather than on a space between supports (trusses? maybe). If you have your legs in the 90 degree angle style... um like this "L" then you effectively cut the lbs per sq inch in half... (I think). If you build a stand that runs the legs down in the L patern then those are attached to more 1x4 or better yet 2x4 that run the length and width of the tank, with some 3/4 inch ply under them your weight is spread out over a very large area and I believe it would be supported in almost all situations. I'm not an engineer, I just remember the old analagy of a woman in a stilletto on your chest vs a sheet of plywood with some concrete on your chest the plywood wouldn't be as attractive but would be a lot more tollerable.

Doug

[bullit67]

Well I have a 315 Gal system sitting in my kitchen do the math on that

One 265 Gal tank 500 lbs
stand Cap and sump 200 lbs
Live rock 250 lbs
Live sand 200 lbs
plumbing pumps and Mis. 150 lbs

and last but not least

315 gallons of water 3150 lbs

for a grand total of 4450 lbs

Yes 4450 pounds on a second floor I did reinforce the floor since the floor joist run the length of the tank so all the weight is sitting on 2 floor joist this is about the samr as standing a large family car on its end in the kitchen I was alittle nervous at first every time my cell phone rang while I was at work I would start sweating but one year later and still no problem

[fkshiu]

Common sense and rudimentary (very rudimentary in my case) knowledge of structures dictates the following points to minimize the bizarre occuring:

1. Spread out the weight of the tank using a plywood bottom on the stand, for example.

2. Place the tank against a load bearing wall where the structure is the strongest and NOT in the middle of a room.

3. Place the tank perpendicular to the floor joists and NOT parallel to a single joist.

4. Actually have a looksee with an engineering type at the underlying structure. Just because you've got an old house doesn't automatically mean it will be in poorer shape than a newer house.

[RD]

A good read on this subject;
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...ium_weight.php

HTH

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Excellent read.

[andsoitgoes]

lol - uh, that's the same article I posted on page one :P

Although much more nicely formatted here! And I like the visual aids ^_^

[Mike Olson]

It all comes down to pounds per square foot that is being exerted on the floor....If its a wooden floor with the joists running parallel with the tank- you would be applying your weight over two joists...you might get some flex depending on where your main support walls are located.
I have a 180 upstairs that spans five 2x12 joists that run perpendicular to the length of the tank and the tank runs parallel to the support beam that is 4 ft away....my tank etc. weighs approx. 2300 lbs....the key is that the stand has solid wood over the entire bottom so the weight is evenly distributed (psf is spread over a 6x2 area) I would have more stress if my stand was on 4 or 6 legs. YOUR TANK IS OK..There is also no extra bracing or extra joists laid out for fridges,cabinets etc when houses are built, they are designed as a 'support system' for the entire structure.