Adding a tank upstairs

[Jl330]

I have my 75 gallon reef display tank downstairs in my "play room" as we call it. It's a separate living space with an office and all my daughter's toys. Fun room for us to hang out in.

My wife and I both love predator fish that aren't reef friendly, she wants a puffer fish and I want a huma trigger. We have a space upstairs that's perfect for another tank... if the floor can support it.

The ground floor tank is on a crawl space foundation so I don't know that it's much different. How big of a tank can I run upstairs? The location I'm looking at is at the top of the staircase where 4 walls come together so it should be a load bearing area. Just want to keep it safe.

 

[JoshH]

Wayyyy too many variables to give you a solid answer here. One would have to know what's load bearing what isn't, how old your house is, where your joists run a floor plan of your house with each floor and so on. Your best bet is to hire a contractor to give you recommendations on what to do. I will air on the side of caution and say that odds are you will not be able to throw in a 200+ Gallon system in the location without reinforcement of the floor in some way.

 

[Captain Quint]

Had an AGA RR 120g in one corner, a 125g RR in another corner and a couple of 29 BioCubes upstairs several years back. The 120 & 125 were located at load-bearing walls. No issues at all.

 

[ZoWhat]

If your floor design is floor joists 16-inches apart AND your subflooring plywood sheets are 3/4in thick and nailed into the joists.....AND you put the tank in a corner or against a wall....I would comfortably setting up to a 180g 6ft tank

My 180g 6ft fully loaded is roughly 2,000lbs. I have it against a wall in my morning room with joists and subflooring as described above. My basement is below my 2,000lbs tank

My 2,000lbs tank has been there since 2010.... 9 yrs. I have took measurements and the floor has not "dipped" not even a 1/4in. No bowing, no baseboards showing that the floor has moved.

With that said, I would NOT put the tank in the middle of the room....even though I dont think much would happen. I'm more comfortable with a tank against a wall where joists are tied into an outside wall.

(pic above) Definitely stronger flooring to put a heavy tank along an outside wall bc Center Bearing Beams (in the middle of your house) has a LOT more weight it has to support. Outside walls dont have much ask of them to carry the weight of the house

MY ONLY CONCERN for you, is water damage ruining your ceiling below the upstairs tank.

RULE: where theres a tank there will at some point in time, a minor flood. If a minor flood ruins the ceiling to the room below it..... getting Drywallers to replace the ceiling is expensive.



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[Captain Quint]

If your floor design is floor joists are 16inches apart AND your subflooring planks are 3/4in thick and nailed into the joists.....AND you put the tank in a corner or against a wall....I would comfortably setting up to a 180g 6ft tank

My 180g 6ft fully loaded is roughly 2,000lbs. I have it against a wall in my morning room with joists and subflooring as described above.

My 2,000lbs tank has been there since 2010.... 9 yrs. I have took measurements and the floor has not "dipped" not even a 1/4in. No bowing, no baseboards showing that the floor has moved.

With that said, I would NOT put the tank in the middle of the room....even though I dont think much would happen. I'm more comfortable with a tank against a wall where joists are tied into an outside wall.

(pic above) Definitely stronger to put a heavy tank along an outside wall bc Center Bearing Beams have a LOT more weight they have to support. Outside walls dont have much ask of them to carry the weight of the house

MY ONLY CONCERN for you, is water damage ruining your ceiling below the upstairs tank.

RULE: where theres a tank there will at some point in time, a minor flood. If a minor flood ruins the ceiling to the room below it..... getting Drywallers to replace the ceiling is expensive.



.

Excellent response to OP.

Thanks and no doubt helpful to them and probably others.

 

[Jl330]

If your floor design is floor joists 16-inches apart AND your subflooring plywood sheets are 3/4in thick and nailed into the joists.....AND you put the tank in a corner or against a wall....I would comfortably setting up to a 180g 6ft tank

My 180g 6ft fully loaded is roughly 2,000lbs. I have it against a wall in my morning room with joists and subflooring as described above. My basement is below my 2,000lbs tank

My 2,000lbs tank has been there since 2010.... 9 yrs. I have took measurements and the floor has not "dipped" not even a 1/4in. No bowing, no baseboards showing that the floor has moved.

With that said, I would NOT put the tank in the middle of the room....even though I dont think much would happen. I'm more comfortable with a tank against a wall where joists are tied into an outside wall.

(pic above) Definitely stronger flooring to put a heavy tank along an outside wall bc Center Bearing Beams (in the middle of your house) has a LOT more weight it has to support. Outside walls dont have much ask of them to carry the weight of the house

MY ONLY CONCERN for you, is water damage ruining your ceiling below the upstairs tank.

RULE: where theres a tank there will at some point in time, a minor flood. If a minor flood ruins the ceiling to the room below it..... getting Drywallers to replace the ceiling is expensive.



.

I never even considered the water damage factor. The flooring is hardwood and it would be going on a load bearing corner.