how safe is a 55gal upstairs?

I'm glad some other people chimed in with the relatively small size of a 55. Last I checked renters insurance was less than 20 dollars a month, and most if not all apt complexes allow "fish, birds, and small furry animals" within reason. Relax and enjoy your new aquarium, there are lots of people who have tanks much larger than 55 gal. on 2nd and 3rd floor apts.

I can see how those few posts would make you paranoid, but relax and enjoy, and get the renters insurance, it's well worth it, even if you didn't make the mistake or have an aquarium for that matter.
 
whew :)
 
weight probably isn't much of a problem, but again it's 500-600 so pounds in a fairly small footprint... you could always put a sheet of plywood under the stand to distribute the weight over a larger area... but yea it's not alot of weight.

It's the liability of it leaking/breaking and the other people it will effect. With such a lawsuit friendly environment these days you should almost always have insurance in an apartment type building anyway. For example a fire start in your apartment, you could be sued by everyone else whos effected by that fire (And by could I mean most likely will be).

:rolleyes:
 
oh well...

well its starting to look grimm over here. I cannot even get my landlord to return any of my calls. and even though I am 100% sure where it is would be fine, my GF and I agreed that we should probably ask in this case...so I guess let this be a lesson to anyone who is eccentric and goes out on a whim to buy a fish tank?

hmmmm I'm sure he will let me have up to a certain size in the apartment, right? so I wonder, what would be the best bet for my apartment? maybe a 29gal, or I am going to move somewhere else, luckly for me my lease is up in 2 weeks. :(
 
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I'm living on the 16th floor, have a about 100gal fishtank. No problem so far, it is located with the back to a bearing wall. I have big, solid tiles under it, also the frame of the stand is in a way that the load is spread out. Was worried too but then I tought what the h..., just do it.
I agree a party with 20 people, a bath tub (dough the bathrooms have a thicker floor!, at least here in China), a big, double door fridge (think of the surface area, is less compared to the height and weight), there are many things that weight a lot, and most appartements support it.
But try to find out the average bearing per sq inch, that can give a hint to what you can do. There are many webpages, especially from the construction area. I found many, but as I'm German I looked up them only. Not that I would look into others as well, but I find more technical details on german webpages, sorry.
I'm about 250% over the recommended limit, if I remember right...
 
HI All,
I am a builder in Sydney Australia. Although I would need more specific details on the apartment I have the following comments. Please note this has nothing to do with insurance polices and strata managament this would have to be investigated by you (that is my disclaimer lol):

1. Assuming tht this is a timber frame construction for the floor, and a standard design for a tank stand and that a 55G tank is approx 200KG distributed over the 4 legs of a tank stand, this means you have 4 point loads of 50 kg each. The average male ways aroung 70 kg. You will have no problem supporting the weight at all.
2. If you are concerned due to the condition of the floor what you can do is lay a sheet of CFC or particle board even a couple of planks spanning the full distance of the tank. Make sure these are running perpendicular to your floor joists. What this will for is distribute the load more evenly then have the load come directly through the legs of your tank stand.

If you have more specific information on your floor construction please feel free to email me on buballo@optusnet.com.au and I will be more then happy to help and calculate the loading on your floor.

Cheers, have a great day.
 
The weight isn't an issue at all, IMO. The legalities are what will get you. Your lease may already rule aquariums out or limit their size. Read it closely.
 
GOOD NEWS

YAY!!!!!
my landlord finally returned my call and he said that it would be just fine to have my 55gal fishtank!!!
I haven't been this happy since I got my 1st drumset at age 11....

So now all I have to do is start to figure out what to put in the tank.

(also he never said that I had to get any kind of insurance,
just that if I had a flood I would be liable (obviously)
so I am going to shop around for some renter ins. just in case.)
 
SWEET !
Yes,do yourself a favor and get some insurance,not just for the tank issue,but it is just a good idea to have.Everyone thinks something won't happen to them,until it does,and then they find out for a very small amount they could have had coverage.

Now have fun with that tank !!
 
Outstanding!
 
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