Size of Aquariums in Condos?

[toxic111]

BTW concrete floors are designed to the same load (live/dead) that wood floors are, so that won't make much difference.

[SAMSHUNG]

5th floor of concrete building, 55gal + 5gal sump. No problems. I think even a 75-100gal tank would work if I had the room.

[lorenz0]

Originally Posted by toxic111

BTW concrete floors are designed to the same load (live/dead) that wood floors are, so that won't make much difference.

depends. I have no idea which way the I beams are running in my building. And personally I wouldn't risk my neighbour underneith me getting an unwanted shower

[SAMSHUNG]

I've never heard concrete creak.

[toxic111]

I am just saying it don't make much difference.. Floors are designed (residential) to carry around 40lbs/ft2 live load (plus fudge factor).

Spanning accross more joists does help some, but even a concrete floor is done the same way, the reinforcing in the floor spans like joists.

Generally concrete floors are used for larger spans than wood joists can do.

Not all floor systems are 'I' joists either, they may be open web, or even just 2x10's.

What I am getting at, is there is no right answer, each floor maybe different on how they will handle the load. The further the clear span, the more problems you may have, and the smaller tank.

The only way to truely answer on how big of tank you can have on a floor is to have a structural engineer review the floor system from building drawings. Or just play it safe and figure how much your tank & system wieghs, and figure out the load per ft2.

This is what I do for a living, so I have a good idea what I am talking about.

[NanoHuman]

My building limits to 30 gallons. I have a 28 gallon that I drilled and a hidden 30 gallon sump that I have hidden. It passes inspection when the yearly fire alarm inspection takes place

[Sean]

I got a small nano cube in my appartment. One thing I would suggest is either an A/C unit or a chiller for the aquaruim. My experience with condo/appartments are that they tend to be extremely warm.

[torrid_07]

i have a 5g nano and a 29g bio cube in my 3 bdrm apartment on the 3rd floor which is wood frame.
i previously had a 75g but it took up too much space so i downsized
i definitely would recommend advanced insurance though

[Beccadawn]

Thanks everyone for your help. Deep down I knew that my tank was most going to be too big, but I just love it so much. But I would feel terrible if it went through the floor. (Hubby's main concern not to mention possible water damage if it let go...) I put an offer in tonight on a condo, not ground level though... My current tank setup is 44 x 31 x 28.5 for the top tank, then I have a 70 gallon sump with the middle as the 1st refugium, then I have it plumbed into another 70 gallon under the larger tank that is another refugium seahorse/slow fish tank. I can separate it apart, but it's such a shame as I was making it into a bar with stools, it's peninsula tank so you can view both tanks from the 3 sides, and the bar is on one side, it comes in handy for water testing/cutting coral, eating & standing on. I'll have to post some pictures one day so you have an idea what I'm talking about. I haven't even gotten to finish the facing yet!

Thanks again,
Becky

[darb]

If that is all that the bylaw states is "reasonable" then I would say that the door is pretty much wide open to personal interpretation.

So personally, I would say that any production tank on the market is reasonable since they are commonly available through any LFS and mass produced .... sounds reasonable doesn't it?

I would also keep away from the strata if you are bent on getting as large of a tank as possible. Undoubtedly their interpretation of reasonable will come into play and may be considerably less that your interpretation. Maybe if you wan't to do some due diligence, start a poll in a thread and ask the question to your fellow peers: "what size aquarium do you think is reasonable?"

I am certainly not a structural engineer, but I can say that floors in a concrete mid/high rise are going to be a minimum of six inches of concrete and rebar; go into the stairwell of the building and you will be able to see how thick they are in the buildings that you are looking at. Again IMHO there is no way that 2 X 8/10s on 16 inch centres with a sheet of 1/2 inch ply on top are anywhere near as strong as 6 inches plus of concrete and steel.

So as long as you buy a production tank and stand combo and ensure that your insurance will cover you in event of catastrophic failure, you are within the realm of reasonable .....