big tank ?

[incubusboy87]

Hey everyone! Im wanting to set up a 200 gallon plus tank in my parents house. They wont let me because they say we have no where in the house that can safely suppourt all this weight. How do all you guys have your huge tanks in your houses? Becasue 8 pounds for gallon thats 1600 lbs of water plus live rock, gravel, stand, canopy, so basically easily 2000 lbs plus! How do you get it so your house floors can suppourt that? Or when the hosue is built do you have to have a place made for it? Anyways was just wanting to know if theres a chance i can change dads mind.

Thanks,
Jon

[YoFishboy]

It really depends on the age/design of the foundation of the home...the strongest areas will be near the wall where most tanks are located any way...I know people who have retrofitted extra posts and piers, extra foundation shear, etc. to beef up the floors as insurance for larger tanks. My tanks are in my garage, so they are on cement floors. Goodluck with the folks!

[jessie]

i went into my crawlspace and shimmed my floor joist with cement blocks.

[NDferro]

I helped set one up last year we went in to the crawl space and used mdf to create a box under where the aquarium would set then went and cut a hole in the floor and filled the box with cement lets see that not support a tank :thm:

[Larissa]

would just a concrete foundation be sufficient?

[OrionGirl]

I have 2 120 gallon tanks with 55 gallon sumps, about 140 pounds of rock per tank on tile with a concrete foundation. No worries. Concrete is actually stronger when it's under compression.

[FloridaBoy]

If you live in an upstairs apartment or upper floor of a home, their concerns are valid. There are cases where large/heavy tanks have been filled upstairs only to end up downstairs, falling through the floor with disastrous results. Consult a residential architect/engineer if in doubt. Settling can also be a big problem in older structures/above ground wood floors; as it can lead to a tank that gradually becomes unlevel and leaks. Even a cement foundation or support will be a problem if it is not level. You could always go with a smaller tank to cut down on weight but the leveling issue still applies.

[incubusboy87]

well thanks for the advice everyone very helpful! where i think im goin to put it is on the first floor on an outer wall, but its an overhang of two ft. out and 4ft. wide. So im just going to add some steel pipes of sum 4 by 4's as post on the corners to help support it. Would just fill it with concrete under it but theres a basement window sill under it! But acouple of 4 by 4's bracketed to a layer of conrete in the corners of the over hang i think should be able to hold the 2,000 pounds i need it to...hopefully!

[AW2EOD]

Anything over 125gal, I wouldnt put on a first floor or above with floor supports.

You can go to Home Depot and buy the steel floor jacks, if it's going on the first floor. A buddy of mine used those for his 180gal. cube. He placed a few 4x4s parallel to the floor joists and then used the floor jacks to tighten everything up. He's had it set up for just over a year with no problems.

You can see, from my signature, that I have a problem with big tanks. lol Luckily, my townhouse has a full basement with 16" thick concrete floors.