How big a tank can the main floor support?

R

Rapunzelle

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Feb 17, 2003
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Dieppe New Brunswick Canada
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Hi,

We will be moving soon (again) and when we're in our new house, I would like to buy a new aquarium. How many gallons (taking into consideration gravel etc) can I go without it being too heavy for the main floor without problems? I wouldn't want it to go through the floor ! :D

tks
 
You don't want a tank to be over 3 feet tall because the floor might not support the weight. You can have a large tank in your house where the weight is distributed over a large area of the floor.
 
Don't you think that depends on the type of floor and construction? There's no way of telling what the max weight should be without knowing some of those things. I think that up to 55 gallons would be safe especially if you don't put the tank in the middle of the room whick most people don't.
Once you start getting into the "larger" tanks you have to be more selective on location. Water weighs about 8.5 lbs per gallon plus substrate so 50 gals. goes 425lbs. and with, IMO, adequate gravel you're talking close to 500lbs. Most floors, especially 1st floors are ok with that. If you're in doubt, have a builder or building inspector check it out.
Len
 
450gallon, 220gallon, 120gallon tanks on my first floor! 150gallon, 55gallon second floor. your floors should be more than able to hold a large tank, if they cant your house has soem serious problems to begin with. unless your putting into your attic.. you should not have a problem even on the second floor with say 150 gallons. think if you put 4 200lb men on your couch you looking at close to 1000lbs and you never would worry about that would ya..

i know other peopel who have 180s 220s even a 340 on the first floor snad dont sweat it. heck i know a guy who has a 150, 110, and a dozen 75galls on the 24th floor of a nyc apartment building.
 
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While I agree that you shouldn't have any problems, the analogy between 2 men on a couch is misleading. Unless you have some serious couch potatoes on your hands, the weight on a couch won't be there all the time. The weight from your tank will be there all the time, 24/7. That's a big difference. Long term exposure to such stress can cause a problem for an inadequately supported floor. Occassional wetness (which will dry very slowly in a confined environment) can contribute to problems. It might be worth looking into more closely. The link provided above is a lot of reading, but well worth it if you really are concerned.
 
Originally posted by AikidoGuy
...i know a guy who has a 150, 110, and a dozen 75galls on the 24th floor of a nyc apartment building.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't want to live on the 24th floor of a frame building! (I know it’s concrete).

I had a 90 on the 21st and in a wind storm you could watch the water sway back and forth about a 1/4" in height. A great curiosity for visitors.

Gumby7
 
Easy,

Find your building regulations code.
Your local council should have them.
Umm... You call them Counties in the US I think.

Here in Australia all the floors
are rated at 700kg per square meter.
You going to have to convert it into your anachronistic
system (ducks).

But in the US you may not have a uniform building code.
 
Thansk guys - food for thought (m)

Wulfy, I'm not in the US - I'm in Canada. House of course will be built according to building codes - which are quite strict. I know the house will be well built, but it is still nice to know from other people's experiences what is considered reasonable in terms of constant weight in one spot. I was just curious to see what other people had to give me an idea.

thanks,

Rap. (Canada) :p
 
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