Tank Weight Concern

[mombostic]

I currently have a 90 and 55, both reef. I'm looking into a 125 around the fist of February, but this time I want to do FOWLR, so I can try my hand at some more advanced species.
However, the reason I didn't go larger in the beginning was because of the weight of the tanks. I read in a book that any tank over a 90 really needs a reinforced floor for support. This is a big but old house. I crawled under the house and there are 12X12 oak beams as the basis of support. It just works out so I can position the 125 along one of these beams. Of course there is the floor and subfloor as well.
Does this sound okay? Wouldn't it be a nightmare to not only lose that much of a tank, but also have a giant hole in the floor?!?!
I'd really like some opinions here. Thanks!
:thinking:

 

[speg]

Hmm.. I have no idea what your floor could support.. but you can do the math and get a guesstimate on how much the tank may end up weighing.
90 gallon tank weighs ?
Lets say you go with just 90 lbs of rock... so 90 lbs
Then there would be probably 80-90 lbs of sand.. so another 90 lbs (180)
Then we'll say after the rock/sand you'll end up putting in 75 gallons of water thats 600 lbs (780)
Depending on if its a reef you'll need to add weight for the lights which would probably be 20-30 lbs.. the stand which probably only 20-30 (if that)... if you have a refugium or sump...
Figure around 800-1000 lbs or so. Give or take.

 

[scsinet]

Expect the tank to weigh in at somewhere around 1500 pounds, figuring the weight of the water, tank, furniture, substrate, and rock. It's hard to tell on the size of the joists alone, since leverage counts. If you are very close to an outside wall, that will help. Floors can support more weight on outside walls because that is bearing the load.
Me, if I wanted to be sure, I'd put a couple jack posts under the house resting on a couple cinder blocks to provide extra reinforcement. Even though the joist size alone isn't enough to tell, I can tell you that old houses are not constucted to carry nearly the loads that today's houses are.
I think today's homes are built to handle something like 120 PSF, and given that a 125 gallon tank takes up no more than 10-15 square feet, that's pushing things by even today's standards. I have a 125 gallon in my office at work (concrete slab floor), and I fear the day I have to bring it home because I don't know where I can safely put it.

 

[speg]

Oh crap.. its a 125 gallon I did all that measuring for a 90 gallon... well go with the other guys weight then (1500).

 

[scsinet]

Dude I was doing it too for 90 gallons. I had to go back when I previewed and redo it for 125.

 

[palmer]

I'd have to agree with SCSInet. If you have any doubt, get under the house and beef up the support. It's not just a matter of the floor itself collapsing but if there is a weak spot anywher around the tank/floor area, the floor could start to slowly lean one way or the other. It may takes days or weeks, if it leans at all, and you wouldn't even notice it. You could eye the water level line in the tank over time. But, once it starts (if it starts) to lean, all of the weight will be shifting towards that weak spot and that could cause it to collapse. I'd add supports, cement blocks, extra joists, stringers or whatver under your flooring to make sure.

 

[mombostic]

The leaning thing is a good point that didn't really enter my mind. I sort of had a cartoon image of the tank just dropping through the floor, but a little lean could cause a lot of stress, I guess. I'm lucky it's a well-built old place, not like some farm houses were, but still.....
Read the post, boys---I said 125. Just teasing.

 

[shark bait]

I have my 150 reef up stairs along a major wall on both sides. It will move a little if people are walking around the room but it has been 2 month and all is well. I asked the insurance company if it went through to the first floor if it was covered and it would but live stock is not. So I droped my deductable to $100 for all peril and $250 theft.

 

[mombostic]

But Lord what a mess and what a broken heart!