Will the tank be on a concrete slab, like in a basement? If not, you may have issues with any of those tanks, structurally speaking. As always, you should choose the largest tank you can fit in your house.
125, 150(long) or 180 gallon tank
- Thread starter Akysten
- Start date
Oh, and the 150 wouldn't fit in my car.. it's too tall. I can't fit anything higher than 27.5". The 180 WILL fit(I've moved a 125 before). Not that I couldn't get help... but it's a factor.
As for location? No, it's not on a concrete slab... but it is up against an outside wall, which is against the foundation. If you think about it, the house is supporting a lot more weight than that. This is also distributed over a large area.
I just ran some math, and weight per sqare foot of tank space is:
125gallon 164 lbs/sqft
150gallon 205 lbs/sqft
180gallon 185 lbs/sqft
Now, that doesn't figure in say, 200lbs of decoration/rock.. it jumps about 22lbs/sqft for the 125 and 150, but only jumps 17lbs/sqft for the 180...
By comparison, my 60g (48x12) is actually 177/sqft and a 110 high(48x18x30) is a wopping 220/sqrft.
I guess the point is that a 180 may weigh 2230lbs vs 710 for a 60 gallon, but when distributed for weight, the 60 gallon actually isn't that much less, and actually more than a 125g!
Now, if if you're running paralell with the support beams in the middle of the room? Then I'd say the 180 would be trouble!
One other neat thing... distributed for weight per square INCH... the 180g is actually 15lbs/sqare inch.. which happens to the pressure that gravity exerts on us on earth... apples to oranges I know.. but interesting.
As for location? No, it's not on a concrete slab... but it is up against an outside wall, which is against the foundation. If you think about it, the house is supporting a lot more weight than that. This is also distributed over a large area.
I just ran some math, and weight per sqare foot of tank space is:
125gallon 164 lbs/sqft
150gallon 205 lbs/sqft
180gallon 185 lbs/sqft
Now, that doesn't figure in say, 200lbs of decoration/rock.. it jumps about 22lbs/sqft for the 125 and 150, but only jumps 17lbs/sqft for the 180...
By comparison, my 60g (48x12) is actually 177/sqft and a 110 high(48x18x30) is a wopping 220/sqrft.
I guess the point is that a 180 may weigh 2230lbs vs 710 for a 60 gallon, but when distributed for weight, the 60 gallon actually isn't that much less, and actually more than a 125g!
Now, if if you're running paralell with the support beams in the middle of the room? Then I'd say the 180 would be trouble!
One other neat thing... distributed for weight per square INCH... the 180g is actually 15lbs/sqare inch.. which happens to the pressure that gravity exerts on us on earth... apples to oranges I know.. but interesting.
Well, I've been reading and all my ppf ratings are null and void if you're in not against a load bearing wall, in the center of a span, or if your tank runs parallel to the joists.
I checked today, and it's a 13" span, it runs perpendicular, and the tank will be up against a load bearing wall... so it looks like a 180 is OK.
I checked today, and it's a 13" span, it runs perpendicular, and the tank will be up against a load bearing wall... so it looks like a 180 is OK.
