tank weight - different sort of question

[schatzi]

It appears everybody considering a large tank goes through the "can my floor hold it?" question. You'll find this question many times over and over again across the net. My question is...has anyone ever actually had a floor problem due to tank weight?

[Ace25]

I have never known anyone personally that had that problem, but I have read probably 3 terrible horror stories throughout the years of an aquarium that came crashing through the floor. So, it is one of those things everyone thinks about but the vast majority do not have problems.. then again, most people talk about tanks 400G and smaller..

[fsn77]

I don't know of anyone that it's happened to, but at the same time, the people I've talked to with tanks large enough for it to be a potential concern planned ahead and had the floor reinforced when the tank was installed.

[kcress]

Could be there aren't a lot of horror stories is because people do think and talk about it.

Falling thru the floor is probably eclipsed by floor deformation that prompts rapid changes anyway. (my tank is going out of level!!)

I have had heavy things negatively alter the flooring without actually collapsing.

[Miss my puffer]

I heard about one person who put a 90 gallon on an inside wall and after a little while the door in the wall underneath where the tank was would not shut, but unfortunately I don't know much more about it (not even sure it had to do with the tank or if the door was like the doors in my house and when the weather changes the doors don't want to close). I have seen what happens to the ceiling underneath when the tank has a slow leak (needless to say my grandmother was not thrilled, I think she was kinda glad to see the tank go when I got married and moved out).

[jackiomy]

I live in a really old mobile home circa 1957. I had a mobile home guy come out and he said that I would have no problems as long as I put the tank where a support beam was. He said if I still felt insecure that I could put a 4x4 with 2 floor jacks under it but I really shouldn't be concerned.

[excuzzzeme]

My in-laws house flooring cannot support the local weight that an aquarium would present. As it is we have had to add lolly columns to support the flooring and furniture. 300 years ago when the house was built (cicra 1770's) people didn't have much in the way of heavy furniture and junk. No, George Washington did not sleep there but at a near-by inn. (Almost every old building tries to claim that Georgie slept there -lol. The area was settled sometime in the 1600's)