Setting up a 120 on the first floor...is it safe?

[jeffreyyy]

Hi all,
I have yet to get my tank going as I'm taking things very slow as money is tight. But my question is this...can a 120 be set up on the first floor and the only place that I can put it will run with the floor trust not across them.
Can I put a couple of poles up in the basement right under the tank with some 2x4's (I'm a mammas boy so I do not know the name of the poles that are used in the basement of homes)?
And can I get my tank running and put these poles up a week or two later because I'm really getting anxous (spelling?) about getting my tank going.
THANKS AGAIN,
Jeff

 

[drpaul84]

whats supporting the floor now?

 

[ironeagle2006]

My 150 is in my Modular home running with the Joists with out any sagging right now. I called the builder of it and I can have up to a 300 gallon tank as long as I keep the load of the tank down to 4 lbs a square foot so what I do is make sure the tanks is set up with a flat bottomed stand. Meaning the stands bottom is one flat sheet of material spreading the weight out all over instead of in spots. My 150 has no problems where it is now.

 

[alabama reefer]

You are looking at close to 1000 lbs of water in your tank. Plus the weight of the tank, live rock and sand. Approx. 1500 lbs when all is said and done. If you think your floor is not going to support the tank as is then I wouldn't set up anything until you get the floor braced better. I would use at least 6" x 6" timbers to support your floor joists (this is of course without seeing what you have in place) or at least get somebody with a little more house building experience to look at it.

 

[jeffreyyy]

Thanks for your input guys. I think my floor would hold up the load of the tank as it's a 2 year old home but I have this black/ some say brown cloud that seems to be following me for the past 20+yrs. So, I just wanted some input and see what some of my SWF friends may say about the situation.
I'll probably play it safe and put up extra support with some 6x6's and any other input/ideas are still welcomed.
Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[scsinet]

The posts are called Jack Posts or Molly Posts.
What I'd do is set up two of them. Each one should be supporting a 6x6" beam that runs across the joists, so front to back of the tank. Set one about a foot in from the left side, one a foot in from the right.
Just set them up and snug them up, do not make them overly tight. Making them too tight can cause the floor to bow upwards, which can cause planar problems with the stand, exerting tortion stress on the tank which will almost certainly cause failure sooner or later. You may also consider placing a flat wooden block (like a hunk of 2x12) under each post to help distribute the load on the concrete. A thousand pounds on a 3x3" area of a cement floor could bust it.
Most homes are rated for a 40lb/sqft live load. Of course, that's on average. A floors weight capacity varies depending on how close you are to bearing walls, etc. A tank this size is going to exceed the floor's average capacity (if it's indeed 40lbs). With it going with the joists, that's even worse. I put a 180g tank on the first floor of my house running with the joists and I added significant structal reinforcements under the tank to handle the load.
If in any kind of doubt, get a structural engineer to look at it and tell you what to do. It'll be pricey, but trust me... once you set up that tank, if nagging doubt starts to set in, you'll wish you had. Plus, once the weight is on the floor, it's too late to reinforce it.