will floor hold 200 gal tank???

[robpsca]

this is an older home and the floor shakes when ya walk and no access under the house to resupport the floor anyone ever have a tank fall through the floor?

 

[wangotango]

Well if the floor shakes when you walk on it, then I would say no it would not support a 200 gallon tank. Contact a contractor or someone to see what could be done.
-Justin

 

[michaeltx]

Originally Posted by WangoTango
Well if the floor shakes when you walk on it, then I would say no

I have to agree not a good idea unless you can boost the stability of the floor.
Mike

 

[dinki]

Wouldn't it really be a matter of making sure that the tank is set perpendicular to the floor joists? I'm not a carpenter, but I'd imagine that they'd be placed on 16" centers. You'd be spreading the load across a good many joists if the tank is indeed placed perpendicular to them. Take that for what it's worth (very little). Does the floor actually sag or just creak?

 

[ameno]

if there's a little movement it doesn't necessarly mean the floor is not structurely sound, most older homes will have some of that, but there is no way I would set a 200gal tank on it without seeing whats under there and depending on were it's at as Mike said you will probably need some extra support, thats a lot of weight. and even then you should be sure that the tank is set running opposite direction then the joist and would be best if it was up against a load bearing wall such as an exterior wall.

 

[robpsca]

gonna move it to another room that has a concrete floor under it just to be safe wanted it in the living room but not gonna take a chance have about an inch or two of water in and its about an inch higher on one side than the other so its not level thanks for the info kinda common sense lol

 

[mikesin]

Ya, I would NOT put that big/heavy of a tank on any floor without inspecting it first I lived in a house built in 1914 - it was a balloon frame and the floors shook quite a bit...

 

[zeroc]

yeah, we're talking all said and done with rock and sand over 2000 pounds so get some of your buddies together and equal 2000 pounds, all stand close together where you want the tank, and do a 1-2-3 jump. If the floor doesn't flinch and you don't all fall through the floor you're all good.

In short i'm kidding, but we're talking about 2000 pounds so if you can't bolster the floor or know what the structural integrity is, i wouldn't.

 

[t316]

That's a lot of weight, but it CAN be done. I have a 270, open from both sides. One side is resting on a support wall, the other I added a support beam. If tank is going to be parrallel w/ joist, add cross supports. Since you can't get underneath, the only option is to go from up above. Take up that section of the floor, do it right, then replace it. Some tanks are the center piece of the home. Hiding it in a bedroom makes no sense. If you want it in that spot...make it happen.

 

[jpardi]

I've been curious about this myself, I just moved into a new two story, and I have a game/bonus room upstairs that I want to setup, but not sure how big of a tank i can put up there. any ideas? AlsoI think floor joist should be 22" O.C, wall studs are 16" O.C
Jason

 

[nsajd]

It's very simple. I live in a house that is well over 100 years old, and my 180 Gal. tank is placed on a "load bearing wall". These walls are the ones that have the same beams running all the way to the bottom of the house. It's not the floor that makes the difference, it's the wall that it's placed against, especially in older houses. The joists in these houses tend to be 12" on center and can support almost anything, but if the wall it's placed against is stand-alone....you're going to have a mess.

 

[t316]

It makes no difference what the "on center" measurement is

The key is that at least one side of the tank (the weight) is "ON TOP OF" the load bearing wall. Be careful though...putting your tank "up against" a load bearing wall does NO good. The "load bearing" is directly underneath the wall. If at all possible, look at your original house plans. If unsure at all about this, hire a General Contractor to show/explain this. Putting this kind of weight in the wrong spot probably won't cause the floor to "cave in", but it will cause uneven tank, sagging floor, and a lot of other problems later.

 

[ameno]

I think he's gona move it to a concrete slab which is the safe bet, going up againsst a load bearing wall does make a big difference. has to do with the span to were the load point is on the beam from the nearest beam support, say the center of the load is 2' from the wall at 2000lbs. that's 2x2000=4000 ft lbs. if it's 4' from the wall that 8000 ft. lbs. so the load bearing on the beams are much greater the fauther away it is from a support.

 

[renogaw]

make sure the concrete is level

 

[buckster71]

Originally Posted by ZeroC
yeah, we're talking all said and done with rock and sand over 2000 pounds so get some of your buddies together and equal 2000 pounds, all stand close together where you want the tank, and do a 1-2-3 jump. If the floor doesn't flinch and you don't all fall through the floor you're all good.

In short i'm kidding, but we're talking about 2000 pounds so if you can't bolster the floor or know what the structural integrity is, i wouldn't.
My neighbors were away for a weekend and their son decided to have a party. I was in the kitchen with 8 burley loggers (I grew up in Upper Michigan) and 10 seniors/18+ year olds. The house was probably a 1930's built house. All of us in the kitchen, when all of a sudden the floor bounced, like it was going to collapse and we all tore out of the house. We later iinspected the floor from the basement, but noticed no damage...This was an impact spike not a long duration as I'm sure if we waited the floor would have gave.
180 Gallon 72" x 24" x 25" 2100 lbs filled weight -probably minus sand and rock
That answers the question...as I would say it was close to 4,000 pounds on a fairly stable wood floor.