Fish tank too heavy for floor?

[Joe_Schlabotnik]

I have a 35 gallon in my living room. I never think about it being too heavy for the floor -- causing floor beams to sag or anything like that. I just imagine that if I invited an NFL linebacker over for dinner, and he said he wanted to stand in one place for the next five year, it wouldn't destroy my house, so why should an aquarium in one place hurt anything?

But seriously, I read about people with 50+ gallon fish tanks. At 10lbs a gallon, roughly, are tanks like this too big for the first or second floors? Are people keeping tanks like this in their basements?

 

[ianab]

If your floor can't support a 100gal tank, you need to move to safer house.

Seriously, do you worry if 3 fat people (or NFL QBacks) sit on your couch at the same time? Hopefully they wont stay there for 3 years, but you get the idea.

Sure if you get up to 300+gallons you need to start worrying about what is holding the floor up, but normal domestic size fish tanks, no worries.

Ian

 

[Rbishop]

I have 90s and 70s all over upstairs...even racks that have 8-12 10 gal tanks....

 

[To3kn33]

I have 90s and 70s all over upstairs...even racks that have 8-12 10 gal tanks....

How many tanks do you own?

 

[Rbishop]

LOL....28 with water in them....others here and there.....

 

[Wren]

I have a 125 gal on the first floor (basement underneath) of a 100 year old farm house. I made sure to place it along a wall with a supporting beam and also placed two additional support jacks under the floor near the front of the tank (in the basement). I don't know if the extra support is really needed, but it's a big tank and it certainly doesn't hurt to have the extra posts in the basement.

There's also a 55 gal on the second floor. No extra support for that one.

 

[drdud]

I try to keep my tanks next to the load bearing wall. For bigger tanks, place the tank across the most floor joists, if you know the pattern. If you don't know the pattern for second floors, next time you change carpet, pay attention.

Please, someone correct me if I am wrong, but I also try to make sure that I do not exceed about 20 pounds per square inch pressure.

 

[To3kn33]

28 tanks............ what do you have??? you got pictures of them?

 

[GMYukonon24s]

As like above said I have my 110g tall in my family room and I put it along whereI have the most floor joists and below my family room is are crawl space so we just took 4x4's and put them under the joists for even more support.

 

[To3kn33]

I still can't get over 28.....