Will this hold a fish tank?

[fishnovice33]

I know it’s hard to say without knowing what it’s built from but I can tell you it’s solid as a rock and perfectly level. I think it’s built in the structure of the house. It’s a separator between my kitchen and living room and a perfect spot for a tank.

It’s dimensions are almost 7 feet long, and 18 1/2 inches wide.

Deciding between a 48x15x18 60-gallon or a 48x18x20 75-gallon. Acrylic. But I don’t want to push it...I think it will hold anything, but it is right next to the stairs separating the rooms as well.

As you can see I have a glass 40B on there now but I have been overcome with the sudden ‘go big or go home’ feeling we are all too familiar with

Just from pics what do you guys think? Thanks

 

[jda]

It should be fine. 75g is not all the weight in the world.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’m not sure, I would try it myself honestly. But that is an AWESOME spot for a peninsula set up!

 

[fishnovice33]

I’m not sure, I would try it myself honestly. But that is an AWESOME spot for a peninsula set up!

Yea it’s hard to say...you’d think it’d be fine...but I can‘t tell the GF that if something happens lol

It’s such an awesome spot for a lot of things tank wise. All sides visible from the kitchen, dining and living room all at once. And hasn’t been used for anything when we bought the house 6 months ago (other than a separator)...but I saw it right away and knew it’s purpose...main reason I bought the house. (jk kinda)

 

[TriggerFinger]

Yep I get it. My boyfriend would never let me live it down if that happened. I still vote go for it...but I don’t have to deal with any consequences from your girlfriend ;Happy

 

[Greg Goby]

Perhaps a little investigation with into what the framing looks like inside that wall. I would imagine it is standard stud spacing but who knows. You might be able to use a stud finder to figure out how many beams you have running through that wall. My guess is that it would be just fine. You could even drill the bottom of the tank and run the lines through the wall to a separated sump............

 

[robbyg]

I would never feel comfortable putting nearly 700lbs of weight on that without knowing exactly what is holding it up. Some carpenters use thin Pine wood and long staples to build the frames as that is strong enough for holding up the items it is intended to hold up. You also have no idea of what is under the flooring. Have a good carpenter come in and examine it before you do anything.

 

[mike550]

Great spot!

I would at least take off the electrical plate and see if you can peak around or get a sense of how that was made. You could also cut through the sidewall on the inside shelves and look inside.

Personally, I’d remove the trim around the shelves and get a better sense of how it was built. If you plan it right maybe you’ll end up opening that whole side for your sump and other equipment. You already have electrical, and if it’s unfinished basement below that spot it could be awesome — auto water changes, sump in the basement etc.

 

[fishnovice33]

Great advice here thank you everyone! There is indeed and unfinished basement right below it...this kind of work would need the GF approval lol. But great idea for future endeavors.

I will remove the trim and electrical face to see if I can see anything, at the very least what kind of wood was used and then a stud finder to see exactly where.

Maybe I can get lucky and pay a carpenter $50 to come over here and give my their 2 cents as well.

I can’t imagine this is made from pine but I have seen worse things so I will check.

 

[Jvalle]

Yea it’s hard to say...you’d think it’d be fine...but I can‘t tell the GF that if something happens lol

It’s such an awesome spot for a lot of things tank wise. All sides visible from the kitchen, dining and living room all at once. And hasn’t been used for anything when we bought the house 6 months ago (other than a separator)...but I saw it right away and knew it’s purpose...main reason I bought the house. (jk kinda)

Now yours chance go for it lol

 

[Greg Goby]

Start your conversation with you want to add two more 150 gallon tanks and a sump in the basement and then work your way down just to the sump.

 

[msjboy]

75 gallon on MDF counter is questionable. It will be at least 850 lbs for the water alone, then the tank, rocks etc. Have 4 big men sit on the counter and maybe it will give you an idea of rigidity.

 

[Caseyoidae]

if it feels stable I vote go for it. It’s probably framed just like many of us build our diy stands. Can you walk across it? Average person weighs say 150 lbs ? I’m not certain but you could do the math and figure out the highest possible amount of pressure in any given spot. Level would be my biggest concern. That is an awesome place for a tank! Lol

 

[msjboy]

There was a guy (rocketscientiist name? ) on reefcentral who did a simple 2x4 structure for any tank up to 90 gallon. Maybe see if that can be shoehorned into the existing structure but mind you, some minor reno work.

 

[JoshH]

Yea it’s hard to say...you’d think it’d be fine...but I can‘t tell the GF that if something happens lol

It’s such an awesome spot for a lot of things tank wise. All sides visible from the kitchen, dining and living room all at once. And hasn’t been used for anything when we bought the house 6 months ago (other than a separator)...but I saw it right away and knew it’s purpose...main reason I bought the house. (jk kinda)

Pfft you own the house??? Rip that sucker apart brace it up and throw a custom peninsula on there the whole length of the wall

 

[Caseyoidae]

Pfft you own the house??? Rip that sucker apart brace it up and throw a custom peninsula on there the whole length of the wall

I’d do this. Plumb sump into the basement and make a nice spot for the dog under the tank

 

[Scratch08]

There was a guy (rocketscientiist name? ) on reefcentral who did a simple 2x4 structure for any tank up to 90 gallon. Maybe see if that can be shoehorned into the existing structure but mind you, some minor reno work.

You're referring to rocketengineer...he is also a member on r2r

 

[Hugh Mann]

Start your conversation with you want to add two more 150 gallon tanks and a sump in the basement and then work your way down just to the sump.

Those are rookie numbers. Start with a 1,000 gallon lagoon.

Also, +1 for verifying the structure. That's a lot of weight that is going to be sitting there for potentially a very long time.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Pfft you own the house??? Rip that sucker apart brace it up and throw a custom peninsula on there the whole length of the wall

+1764 to this one.

 

[fishnovice33]

WE own the house...and she’s a cryer....a very, otherworldly ugly cryer, this needs to be avoided. If it was just me I would already be bracing it and tearing it apart. If she saw me doing this she would freak OUT. I take it a lot of you guys are single lol.

I was recently allowed to put a tank there, any further discussion requires a cool down period before it all blows up in my face fellas.

Lord knows if it collapses that’s my once chance gone forever. So sacrifices need to be made, I will settle for a 60/75 gal for now. There is no reason to tell her now that this is only the first of many many tanks/projects.

I can easily walk on it, jump on it. I also tested it out. I’m muscular and so is my buddy and we’re combined about 450, and my girl sat up there too which is about 570. No bend at all, or give at all.

But as mentioned, there is a difference in doing this and something 700lbs constantly sitting there all day every day for years and years.

Going to start messing with it tomorrow and try and post any information I can find out. I don’t think any carpenter will waste time unless I want to fork over a couple hundred dollars.