How many have not?
- Thread starter muggle0981
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muggle0981
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I’ve had it evaluated
felt area of floor is capable to support 180g
Just reading thru here some say they have, some say they have not, juat paranoid, yet no stories of massive floor collapse on here
felt area of floor is capable to support 180g
Just reading thru here some say they have, some say they have not, juat paranoid, yet no stories of massive floor collapse on here
saltyfins
Well-Known Member
do you know where your floor supports are? and how do they line up with tank/stand? I dont know. I'd be so worried. but that's just me. I worry about stupid stuff all the time.
Josh@BVA
Active Member
never have. but anytiome i think of install i usually have next to exterior wall or at least somewhere that i know the floor board runs perpendicular to pread the weight over multiple boards.
We did the whole checking when we set up our 210g in the main floor. It is next to the main metal support beam and the flooring was double checked and runs perpendicular to beam, so we did not have to add support. WE looked into the floor joints and such from the builder. Always good to have too much than not enough.
Vette67
Reefing since 1997
I have a 180 gallon tank that has been set up since 2002, and have not added any floor supports. In my case, my tank is right next to a supporting cinder block wall, which is the wall just behind my tank (and in the basement), and the joists run perpendicular to my tank. By my calculation, my tank sits on like 4 joists. So my tank is inches off of a supporting center load bearing wall. And I have had no problems....
Rubberfrog
Well-Known Member
Fun video, but that's not what happens when a heavy tank is improperly supported. Of course the entire floor doesn't give way. However, a joist settling a quarter inch under the tank could throw the tank out of level and cause a crack.
Tanks along an exterior wall, and running perpendicular to the joist, are typically fine. Interior wall parallel to the joist? That's an entirely different situation.
Here's my story. In 1995 I bought a double and lived in one side. It was built in the 1950's with (I thought) good, solid lumber. Of course, my tanks came with me. I had a 150 on the center dividing wall and perpendicular to the joists, and a 120 on the other side of a doorway but parallel to the joists. All was well for the first couple months, but then I noticed that the floor between the tanks seemed a little bouncy. Down to the basement I went to take a look. It seems that the joist that was carrying the main load of the 120 had cracked! After a quick trip to Lowes and a little bit of work, there were now two new floor jacks under both tanks and a pair of 2x12's sistered to the cracked joist. I now had the most solid floor ever! I also had no more worries about either tank for the next 5 years I lived there.
Moral of the story? When in ANY DOUBT AT ALL, ADD SUPPORT!!!! It's cheap, effective, and can save you from a potential disaster!!!!
In my new house (a new build in 2001) the 150 went to the finished basement, the 120 is in the center of the living room, both perpendicular to the joists and sitting directly on top of a steel I beam. Solid as a rock!
Moral of the story? When in ANY DOUBT AT ALL, ADD SUPPORT!!!! It's cheap, effective, and can save you from a potential disaster!!!!
In my new house (a new build in 2001) the 150 went to the finished basement, the 120 is in the center of the living room, both perpendicular to the joists and sitting directly on top of a steel I beam. Solid as a rock!
Andreas' Reef
Valuable Member
Pog
Zach B
Noo-Psyche Sales Rep
I just finished adding support in the form of an adjustable floor jack (permanent) for our 150 that will be set up this spring. It's close to an exterior wall but I am not willing to risk any of it. It may seem fine for a while but will most likely cause you serious issues in the future if not done or placed properly
I went back and forth on this. My 150 sits largely over the center metal I-beam of the house but is offset a bit. The joists run perpendicular to the tank. For peace of mind, I added RV levels (stick-on type) to one of the rear corners of the tank (one on the back/one on the side). I check them at least once per week to ensure nothing changes with the level.
Poor man's early warning system.....
Poor man's early warning system.....
TanksJB
Community Member
I recently built my fish room in a house we remodeled. I put 5/8 inch plywood around three sides of the walls where the tank would sit. I had someone put a metal frame (4 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick) around the three sides and had bolts screwed into the plywood and studs all around three sides where the tank would sit. A tubular steel support goes across from the sides and is welded in several places to the steel on the sides of the wall. The platform for the tank hangs on the frame that is attached to about 20 feet feet of wall on three sides. There are no posts underneath the tank platform to the floor. This distributes the weight of the tank over several floor joists and one main beam which runs underneath about 1/3 of the tank platform. I figure it needs to hold up a ton of tank and water including sump which sits on the platform beside the tank and not underneath. This should be enough but I still worry about it. I would rather have a concrete slab for everything to sit on.
TanksJB
Community Member
