Aquariums in Apartments

thewackyreefer · May 11, 2010

Trying to decide how big I want to go when I upgrade. I currently live in an apartment and probably will for quite a while.

How big is your apartment setup? Thinking I shouldn't go much bigger than 60 gallons (36" x 18" x 20").

TopNotchCorals · May 11, 2010

I live in a 2br apartment and I have a 50g cube 24x24x20 and it is perfect for my living room,but I can definitely see a 36"x18"x20" too..........interesting

viper1972 · May 11, 2010

Thats about the max on most apartments. A lot of them I have seen has a limit of 20 gallons. Unless you can hide it from the landlord.

MAKcorals · May 11, 2010

I was living in a two bedroom upstairs apt and started with a 14g then quickly upgraded to a 60g then my addiction really got bad and i ended up with close to a total water volume of about 280g down in the garage lol. Landlord didn't really have a problem with it but then again they didn't know that I flodded the hell out of the ustpairs a couple times hehe

lReef lKeeper · May 11, 2010

this is a very general question, it really depends on a few things ...

1. how old is the building ??
in newer buildings, the building code is far more strict and followed by the builder. this leads to stronger floors, roofs, and walls.
2. can you fit the bigger tanks that you might want on an exterior wall ??
setting up on an exterior wall will provide the most stable place to set up.
3. figure out which way the floor joists run and set up across as many as possible.
doing this will disperse the weight and pressure across more of the floor and you will have more joists (usually 2x8s or 2x10s) to support more of the weight.

with that being said ... i lived in a brand new apartment a few years back, and i kept a 6' 125 with DSB and 200+ lbs of LR, a 55, and an 8' frag tank ON THE SECOND FLOOR !!

if the planning is right, and the building permits it ... apartment living should have no affect on what size tank you can go with.

subielover · May 11, 2010

We are currently in a 2br and have a 40 breeder and a 14 gallon nano. I wouldn't want to go much bigger as we will be house shopping once I get my degree

CoralBandit · May 11, 2010

I got my 90g with 100lbs LR on 2nd floor for about a year now, no problems. Would have been interesting if there was though lol

BlazinNano · May 11, 2010

I a 55 gallon (freshwater) on one wall. The on another wall. I had a 29 gallon FOWLR, Entertainment center (5 feet long 3 feet wide solid oak), then another 29 gallon Reef. Then in the bed room 2 29 Gallon (freshwater) with those cheap Petco metal stands that only have 4 legs. But all of these tanks where on exterior walls. But is was the Second floor and the exterior walls where wood but the wall below them was brick.

The 55 gallon freshwater had close to 90 Lbs of slate in it. And a 8 Lbs Oscar.

Demonic · May 11, 2010

I had a 125 with 30 gallon sump in a 2 br apt. That was a couple of years ago. Of course I never seen the landlord after the day I took control of it.

HAudioSolutions · May 11, 2010

I have my 180 set up in my apartment and the apartment manager loves it. BUT... I am on the bottom floor with a slab. I waited an extra month to move in waiting on a bottom floor because of the aquarium. I couldnt imagine how guilty I'd feel should a break or flood happen and it get into someone elses apt damaging their belongings.

thewackyreefer · May 11, 2010

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm actually on the ground floor in a building that's definitely pretty old. We do have 2 levels of parking UNDER the building so I'm assuming we've got a cement slab below us as well.

RBursek · May 11, 2010

Go as big as you want, BUT for about $100.00 a year have renters insurence for all things, damage you do, a fire, either yours or a neighbors, that covers your belongings, deposit, and a place for you to live in mean while!!!!!!!!!!!

HAudioSolutions · May 11, 2010

But when they see how perma-flat the carpet is when we move, they may think differently about anyone having a large tank again lol

thewackyreefer · May 17, 2010

Definitely have the insurance, that was a must!

Do you guys suggest putting anything down between the carpet and the stand? Currently just have my 40g stand right on the carpet, what a PITA it was to balance...