question for the big boys

logen32

logen32

Member
hello
This is a question for you people that have large aquariums. I am planning on getthing 155 or more. I am moving out soon and would like to put the aquarium on the main floor. Do i put some extra support ? what did you guys do?
Thanks
 
thangbom

thangbom

Active Member
i have a 155 bf... it's on the 1st floor and we have a full basement.... i dont do anything to the house itself before i placed my tank.. but i did place it on the outside wall of my house... so it's perdy much sitting on the foundation like... it was the only place that will fit my tank and look nice.... but anyhow.. i suggest u put it where there there is good support under it.. water is 7.5 lbs a gallon so.. 1000's of lbs we talking hea...
 
B

bigdogzack

Guest
Place the tank at a wall that is near / has bearing support from below (i.e. concrete/masonry if its an outside wall...2 x 4 or 2 x 6 center support framing if its an ******** wall)...make sure the tank is placed PERPENDICULAR to the floor's structural components (e.g. dimensional lumber wood joists, floor trusses, or "I"-joists)...also, if the tank is on "post" type legs, try and get the posts centered over the structural floor members (if I have totally managed to confuse you, email me directly and I'll email back my phone # and or just email your phone # and i'll call you)...
joev@dreamstoreality.us
...finally, figure at least 8.5 lbs per gallon (saltwater is denser than fresh and the live rock/sand is heavier than just water)
 
joker_ca

joker_ca

Active Member
if you place it next to a corner, that corner will support more weight because corners are load bearing walls....thats what a engineer told me
 
B

bigdogzack

Guest
not trying to pick a fight...really...but corners (especially inside ones) are not supported from below by structural members...
 
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bigdogzack

Guest
well, that's just a very dangerous "blanket" statement to say...
back
 
j-key

j-key

Member
water is 8.34 lbs. per gallon....saltwater may weigh more due to density. but my vote on this is play it safe,better too much support than not enuff.:happyfish
155 gallons is just short of 1300lbs then throw in yer sand,rock etc....:sleepy: support your fish:happyfish
 
fishcake

fishcake

Member
If you want to place tank in room as a divider,Just lay tank across 4 floor joists then take 2 2x6 and nail them together then make sure the length is enough to span the 4 joists and then nail that to the joists directly under where the tank will sit. Then just put 2 floor jacks... each between 2 joists . you can get 2 jacks, each can hold about 15,000 lbs each. It's what i did with my 210 gallon.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
My 155 bowfront was fine against a load bearing wall... until I had a party and 10 people were standing right in front of the tank. I could see the water level shift by about 1/2". After that I put up another support column in the middle of the room and it seems fine now.
 
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