aquarium weight

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Hunter2001

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Jan 24, 2003
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I am looking at purchasing a 72 gallon aquarium. Once filled with water, it will weigh a lot, exactly how much, I'm not sure. Is it safe to put all that weight on the second floor of a house, or can the weight potentially damage the floor? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
8 lbs per gallon of water:
72 gallons = 576 lbs

gravel, decorations, and rocks will add to the weight. IMO if you really want it on the 2nd floor, hire someone to come and test it. I have heard that anything over 46 gal isn't suitable for a 2nd floor.
 
ddayton21 said:
IMO if you really want it on the 2nd floor, hire someone to come and test it. I have heard that anything over 46 gal isn't suitable for a 2nd floor.
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Hope that's not true since I'm putting a 65g tank in my son's bedroom. It's going against the outside wall over the joists and with substrate et al, it weighs about 740#, 800# tops.

Roan
 
All depends on how the house is built. Run it across multiple joists, see how the floor is supported, etc. Plan on 10-12lbs per gallon, depending on specifics.
 
There probably is no magic rule. Check out for yourself how the house is built. Strenght of the floor joices. Judge accordingly. I have a 55g and a 66g (combined weight is about 1200 pounds) in a 9'x10' room. Floor joices are made from 2"x8" boards alternated with 8"x8" beams.
 
Running across the joists and next to a load-bearing wall in recent construction, you should have no problems. Many years ago we lived in a townhouse, and all of the aquariums were on the second floor, including (in my office), a 280g and a 125g). The house did not collapse. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check, and to make sure you have renter's insurance.
 
I would think that it would be fine. My reasoning being that I know dozens of people who have water beds on the 2nd floor of their homes, as I myself used to. The total weight of a water bed plus the weight of the people sleeping on it has to be more than a 72 gallon aquarium. This is just my thoughts on the idea.
 
wow, I never even thought about water beds. That makes good sense to me.
 
I've looked at the floor joists in my house & the first & second floor are constructed the same. I suspect that most houses are, so unless your first floor is a slab on grade it should not make a difference.

Chris
 
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