How Big a Tank on Upper Floor?

[beesnreefs]

Our main living space is on the first floor. Floors are hardwood. Basement below.

How big a tank (ie, how much weight) could we safely keep on the first floor going across the joists without adding any reinforcement?

 

[coralfishreef]

20 - 30 gal is generally a safe size. Saltwater weighs around 8.6 lbs per gal. Add tank and stand weight, sand, rocks, and equipment, and then remove some water from displacement.

 

[Jekyl]

Our main living space is on the first floor. Floors are hardwood. Basement below.

How big a tank (ie, how much weight) could we safely keep on the first floor going across the joists without adding any reinforcement?

I have my 90 gallon over a basement with no issues at all. Anything above a 120 you may want to have some extra support. Make sure it's running acrossed the floor joists not parallel.

 

[ZoWhat]

Your first hurdle is when you get the hardwood floor wet and your spouse beats you unconscious with the boards that pop up bent and warped IN HER HOUSE

 

[KrisReef]

Our main living space is on the first floor. Floors are hardwood. Basement below.

How big a tank (ie, how much weight) could we safely keep on the first floor going across the joists without adding any reinforcement?

How big of a space do you have? A shallow reef flat has very low psi compared with any 4’ deep fish tank.

 

[ZoWhat]

I have a 6ft 180g on a floor where there's a crawl space underneath.

It's a huge help when the tank is sitting in a corner of two outside walls where all joists are tied into the concrete foundation

 

[Gtinnel]

There are several things that will change how much weight the floor can hold, assuming perpendicular to the joists how many joists would it span, what size lumber are the floor joists, what is the spacing of your joists, how close is the tank to where the joists are supported below?

One of my first tanks years ago was a 75g that I placed in a second floor apartment that had questionable construction. The floor in the living room would noticeably bounce when I walked but it held the tank without any issue, and a 55g on the opposite wall. In my very non-professional opinion floors will hold more weight than most people would be willing to put on them.

 

[DaddyFish]

The biggest concern is sagging over time. Do the bounce test. Jump up and down where you plan to place the tank. Does anything shake like lamps, tables etc.?

 

[beesnreefs]

Your first hurdle is when you get the hardwood floor wet and your spouse beats you unconscious with the boards that pop up bent and warped IN HER HOUSE

Too funny

We actually already have a 65 gallon tank in this spot on the hardwood and so far not only is my wife OK with it....she actually loves the tank almost as much as I do!

 

[beesnreefs]

There are several things that will change how much weight the floor can hold, assuming perpendicular to the joists how many joists would it span, what size lumber are the floor joists, what is the spacing of your joists, how close is the tank to where the joists are supported below?

One of my first tanks years ago was a 75g that I placed in a second floor apartment that had questionable construction. The floor in the living room would noticeably bounce when I walked but it held the tank without any issue, and a 55g on the opposite wall. In my very non-professional opinion floors will hold more weight than most people would be willing to put on them.

Great questions - thanks!

The spot is against an interior wall and the tank would be going across joists (perpendicular) not along them. Joists are about 16 inches apart. Since it would be against an interior wall it would be sitting on the part of the joists that meet the foundation.

Here is a photo of the joists in the basement:

 

[Big C]

I have a 220 gallon total volume tank on my main floor with finished basement. I was a bit worried and had an engineer come out and look. Luckily no reinforcement needed. Worth the $340. Now I know how much larger the next tank can be!!!

 

[beesnreefs]

I have a 220 gallon total volume tank on my main floor with finished basement. I was a bit worried and had an engineer come out and look. Luckily no reinforcement needed. Worth the $340. Now I know how much larger the next tank can be!!!

Very interesting!

I'm curious to understand more about your setup.

I assume the tank crosses joists? Do you know how far apart your joists are? Is the tank up against an exterior wall? Anything in particular the engineer pointed to that allows you to have such a large tank there?

Thanks!

 

[stanleo]

If you are planning anything bigger than a 120, I would get a structural engineer in there to assess the load bearing capability. Keep in mind that a 120 with rock and all would weigh more than 1200 pounds.

 

[HeyJay]

The joists are going the right way, so that's in your favor (hopefully the tank will sit over multiple joists). It's also pretty easy to add a support jack just under the tank if it wouldn't be too much in the way.

 

[mdb_talon]

We all can give educated opinions and i would say personally up to 120g i would have zero concerns based off pics and what you describe. Really though to know the maximum safely supported tank you need a professional onsite to determine.

Remember the risk is not the tank falling through the floor really it is about deflection and longterm structural issues it can create.

 

[mjh712]

Great questions - thanks!

The spot is against an interior wall and the tank would be going across joists (perpendicular) not along them. Joists are about 16 inches apart. Since it would be against an interior wall it would be sitting on the part of the joists that meet the foundation.

Here is a photo of the joists in the basement:

What do you mean by interior wall? Is there a foundation wall below this wall? or is it above the middle of the joists?

An Interior wall (with nothing beneath it) is a lot different than an exterior wall/wall with a foundation wall underneath. The further away the tank is from a vertical support, the more deflection you're going to have & the more of a moment (Force * Distance) you're going to have.

Also, where the tank lines up on the joists also determines how much load is being carried by each joist. Ideally, you'd want to split the weight out as best you can. If the Joists are 16" on center, if you had a 4' tank you'd want to center it over a joist (8"-16"-16"-8"), for a 3' you'd want to center it over the mid point between 2 joists. (11"-16"-11")

Basically, the further you get away from a vertical support, the smaller your tank should be. I wouldn't put anything more than a 40G/55G (400-550 lbs including tank weight) next to an interior wall.

However, if there's a foundation wall underneath you should be fine running up to a 6-8" long tank (that's not crazy tall or deep) along the wall. Just make sure it's evenly spaced over the joists. It may still be worthwhile to get a Licensed and Insured Engineer to do the calculations and/or build a small support wall beneath the tank, especially in a unfinished basement. Just make it into a closet.

 

[Big C]

Very interesting!

I'm curious to understand more about your setup.

I assume the tank crosses joists? Do you know how far apart your joists are? Is the tank up against an exterior wall? Anything in particular the engineer pointed to that allows you to have such a large tank there?

Thanks!

Like you probably did I tried to research how much tank I could put on my main floor. As you can see in this thread you will get an answer on each end of the spectrum. The cost I thought was well worth the piece of mind.

Disclaimer on the following points; I'm NOT a structural engineer, every house is different based on age, codes, existing conditions, etc...... but a few key points that allowed this (or slightly larger tank):

1. Assumed current and future loads (didn't plan on any large parties on the main floor, just a few tank viewers )
2. Tank was set spanning several joists (across joists)
3. Tank was set next to the main support beam (iron support beam in the center of the house)
4. My finished basement had a wall about 1/4 away from the iron support beam running across the joist that took addition load that would prevent deflection (I believe without this I couldn't have this size of tank)

Again, NOT a structural engineer. Didn't dig into their calculation much (just understood them), just the assumptions. If want something larger I would budget an evaluation.

 

[dennis romano]

Zoa what is 100% correct. A friend of mine recently bought a house with carpeting over oak floors. As we pulled up the carpeting, one area of the oak was warped and black. She then remembered that the previous owner had a salt water tank there.

 

[beesnreefs]

What do you mean by interior wall? Is there a foundation wall below this wall? or is it above the middle of the joists?

An Interior wall (with nothing beneath it) is a lot different than an exterior wall/wall with a foundation wall underneath. The further away the tank is from a vertical support, the more deflection you're going to have & the more of a moment (Force * Distance) you're going to have.

Also, where the tank lines up on the joists also determines how much load is being carried by each joist. Ideally, you'd want to split the weight out as best you can. If the Joists are 16" on center, if you had a 4' tank you'd want to center it over a joist (8"-16"-16"-8"), for a 3' you'd want to center it over the mid point between 2 joists. (11"-16"-11")

Basically, the further you get away from a vertical support, the smaller your tank should be. I wouldn't put anything more than a 40G/55G (400-550 lbs including tank weight) next to an interior wall.

However, if there's a foundation wall underneath you should be fine running up to a 6-8" long tank (that's not crazy tall or deep) along the wall. Just make sure it's evenly spaced over the joists. It may still be worthwhile to get a Licensed and Insured Engineer to do the calculations and/or build a small support wall beneath the tank, especially in a unfinished basement. Just make it into a closet.

I did not mean to write "interior".....I meant exterior. The tank would be up against an exterior wall where the joists meet the foundation.

 

[muggle0981]

I recently upgraded to 180g

i had the same fears and questions
While bot a structural engineer i was out in contact with someone who works in the field of evaluating floors, structural buiding and what not, and trust where he was recommended from

basically based on going perpendicular on joists, sitting basically in steel i beam, he was not concerned one bit for mine, said if when out from wall 5-7 feet that would be a different story and could be trouble

again, not a structural engineer but going with the trust factor

every house and floor and tank are different

but that was my experiece

5 mo in and still walk on egg shells, don’t think i’ll ever stop,