Has anyone reinforced their floors?

NeveSSL · Aug 14, 2013

For those of you with large tanks, did you reinforce your floors? If so, how did you do it?

Where I'm planning on putting my 150 is perpendicular to several floor joists and back against a load bearing wall, but it still makes me nervous and I may reinforce a bit, anyway.

What all have you guys done?

Brandon

Mike J. · Aug 14, 2013

Yes, I have reinforced many floors; I'm a general contractor. But, IMO putting a 150 where you stated you should not have a problem. Advice that should be heeded is not to put a tank parallel to the floor joists and is only being supported by one (maybe two) joists.

gmoney243 · Aug 15, 2013

My 180 is ran.parallel for almost 2 years with no bracing or bowing. Subfloor should help distribute weight. I also have laminate floors so im sure that helps.distribute weight also.

totion · Aug 15, 2013

I helped a friend reinforce floors in a 150 year old home for a 180 running parallel. We used 4 basement floor jacks and twisted them up. The floors sagged without the tank so we raised them level, then filled the tank, and made a few more minor adjustments to make sure the tank was level. We had to raise the one side by almost half an inch

NeveSSL · Aug 15, 2013

Awesome. Thanks for all of the replies, guys. I'm also thinking it will probably be fine since it will be across 3 or 4 joists right where they meet the support wall, but it does make me a little nervous. Its also on hardwood floors, but they're prefinished. That's a different thread, though.

I'm putting the sump in the garage, so water changes and most maintenance will be done out there. I'm hoping to keep spills to an absolute minimum (who isn't?) and being quick to wipe up the ones that do occur.

I may have a structural engineer come out and verify, though, just to be absolute sure. The last thing I want to do is screw up my house. Mainly because A) its expensive, but B) it doesn't make for a happy wife. lol

Brandon

poolkeeper1 · Aug 15, 2013

NeveSSL said:
Awesome. Thanks for all of the replies, guys. I'm also thinking it will probably be fine since it will be across 3 or 4 joists right where they meet the support wall, but it does make me a little nervous. Its also on hardwood floors, but they're prefinished. That's a different thread, though. I'm putting the sump in the garage, so water changes and most maintenance will be done out there. I'm hoping to keep spills to an absolute minimum (who isn't?) and being quick to wipe up the ones that do occur.

I may have a structural engineer come out and verify, though, just to be absolute sure. The last thing I want to do is screw up my house. Mainly because A) its expensive, but B) it doesn't make for a happy wife. lol

Brandon

Brandon Me thinks your over thinking this, After more tanks than i can remember (Some on the second floor) I have never had any problems.
Glad to see u getting a tank again
Bill

NeveSSL · Aug 15, 2013

I think you're right, Bill. The more I think about it, the more comfortable I am placing my tank there. It really meets most of the recommendations I've seen, anyway. Multiple floor joists where they meet their support.

Brandon

SmyrnaReefer · Aug 15, 2013

i put 4x4s and a couple of pavers under mine for $10. its a comfort thing. dont think i need it, but i did it anyways

pickupman66 · Aug 15, 2013

my 180 was setup parallel with the floor joists but backed up against a load bearing wall. they were also shorter joists and only ran about 12-14 feet to the nearest support column. I still re-inforced my floor. I made 3 pillars from cinder blocks and then shimmed them up. one of them looks crooked in this photo, but I straightened it up.

dwilliams87 · Aug 15, 2013

I live in a house that is over 100 years old. I bought a 75 gallon over a year ago and was worried about the same thing. What I did was ran a garden hose in the house and filled the tank with water. I checked it with a level before I filled it and after I filled it and made sure there was no movement. There was none, it was perpendicular to 3 floor joists and on a load bearing wall. Unfortunately the landlord said no to a tank that big, so it was sold before I even put saltwater in it. So, now I have a 40 in the bed room with a 29g sump. He won't go in there. lol

kateater · Aug 15, 2013

My 215 runs parallel with the floor joist. I framed up two frames to support 4 joist with 2x4. I had the PE at my work certify the floor load.

Volitans67 · Aug 15, 2013

I'm sistering 5 joists for my 240. For me it was worth the peace of mind, but the structural engineer said a 180 would be fine without it, especially up against a load bearing wall.

Dowtish · Aug 15, 2013

Just put some pillows in the crawl space, if it falls through it will have a soft landing....Peace of mind is huge for me.

Mike J. · Aug 15, 2013

Unless your jacks or columns are set on a footer or dug down below the frost line they are not a permanent fix. One way to greater increase the strength of your joist and to prevent sagging and to spread the weight evenly over the entire floor is by installing blocking. Make sure the blocks are all pushed up so they are tight and touching the floor sheeting. I have used this method many times to fix sagging floors. Here's a picture:

ToXIc · Aug 15, 2013

I ran 2ea 2x6 parallel across the joists and at each intersection i put 2ea 6" screws into each tying them together. Then supported the 2x6's with 4x4's on blocks which was hammered into place under the 2x6.
before i did this my 34g RSM130D rocked to and fro when the kids stormed trough the room. After bracing my 120g stands firm. i may have to re-evaluate before putting the 185g in the same spot.

poolkeeper1 · Aug 15, 2013

ToXIc said:
I ran 2ea 2x6 parallel across the joists and at each intersection i put 2ea 6" screws into each tying them together. Then supported the 2x6's with 4x4's on blocks which was hammered into place under the 2x6.
before i did this my 34g RSM130D rocked to and fro when the kids stormed trough the room. After bracing my 120g stands firm. i may have to re-evaluate before putting the 185g in the same spot.

Laying them on their sides like that gives you no benefit of support as all the strength is gained when they are upright...

ToXIc · Aug 15, 2013

poolkeeper1 said:
Laying them on their sides like that gives you no benefit of support as all the strength is gained when they are upright...

i did it like that to stop the joist from flexing cause traffic moves along the joist instead of across.. the tank sits on the two 4x4 in the foreground.... but i see your point.

Tennsquire · Aug 15, 2013

I put a couple of jack posts on piers in the crawlspace under my 75 gallon to stop the floor from bouncing. The floor wouldn't move much, but it would move a little bit whenever anyone walked by the tank. I didn't want the tank to flex as it can weaken it over time. It's been solid for the last 10 years. The house we're moving to at the end of the month has a basement (aka "fishroom"), so I may end up bracing what will be a significantly bigger tank....

NeveSSL · Aug 16, 2013

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! I think I feel comfortable with up to a 180g there, and maybe more, but it will probably be a while before I get a tank any larger than that.

Chris, I'm thinking mattresses may work a bit better than pillows, but great thought, nonetheless.

Brandon