Can I put a 120 gallon upstairs without worrying?

[moppy]

I am going to be putting my 120 gallon tank upstairs and don't want it to go through the floor (or even bend the floor for that matter). Don't want the tank to crack due to shifting...

Is this safe??? It will be against the wall that goes to the bottom floor.

[Zoaelite]

How old is the house? Do you know anything about the structure and where your support beams are at? At 120g I'm almost positive you will be fine, what sort of flooring will it be sitting on?

[fishytime]

and sortta depends on how big of a sump your planning?....you want the tank to span across as many floor joists as possible(look in your mechanical room if your basement is finished)

[lastlight]

Not a warning per se just my current story. I only have about 35 gallons on my floor. It's an older townhouse with 2x8 floor joists not the engineered ones. I could see the deflection downstairs! Tank bounced very badly too and over time I'm sure it would have gotten worse. I added a jackpost underneth and it has helped. I know I wouldn't place a 120 on my floor but generally I think you're ok (maybe bouncing as you walk by).

[viperfish]

Get as close to exterior walls and load bearing walls as possible. The ideal location would be in the corner of two exterior walls. Also make sure it sits perpindicular to the floor joists and it is hitting as many joists as possible. I have my 150 against 1 exterior and one load bearing wall, it hasn't gone through the floor yet.

[reefwars]

out of curiosity is there any certain way to figure out how much weight load your joists can carry their must be a formula to figure out how much your floor can hold?? anyone know?? always have been curious

[moppy]

It will be sitting on Hardwood flooring and will be against 1 wall (middle of the room). It is a bearing wall but the bottom floor is finished and I can't see the joists. Anyway to know where they are?

House is only 10 years old.

[Mech Eng]

Age of house will tell a lot, also the direction of the support beams (perpendicular to tank).

Unless its a brand new spec home it should be OK.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by fishytime

....you want the tank to span across as many floor joists as possible(look in your mechanical room if your basement is finished)

^^^

[toxic111]

FYI, current codes require the floor of a residential building to support 40psf live/ and 10-15psf dead load.

In most cases you will be ok with a 120gal on a modern house.

Running the tank accross more joists is always better.