# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Will the floor handle the weight of my tank?



## daisydog (Feb 6, 2003)

I asked a similar questions a while ago but I now have a plan and want to see if everyone thinks it's ok. Here's the situation. I'm building a new house and want to make sure the floor can handle my tank. It's a 135g Oceanic with thick glass. I'm guessing the whole thing weighs a couple thousand pounds when full. The stand is a wooden stand that touches the floor all along the perimeter of the stand. I'm having the builders double up the floor joists. The joists will be 2x10's 16" on center. I plan on orienting the tank perpendicular to the joists and against the wall. Does this sound like a good plan? Is there anything else I should consider while I have the chance (they haven't started building yet). Thanks.


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## daisydog (Feb 6, 2003)

I asked a similar questions a while ago but I now have a plan and want to see if everyone thinks it's ok. Here's the situation. I'm building a new house and want to make sure the floor can handle my tank. It's a 135g Oceanic with thick glass. I'm guessing the whole thing weighs a couple thousand pounds when full. The stand is a wooden stand that touches the floor all along the perimeter of the stand. I'm having the builders double up the floor joists. The joists will be 2x10's 16" on center. I plan on orienting the tank perpendicular to the joists and against the wall. Does this sound like a good plan? Is there anything else I should consider while I have the chance (they haven't started building yet). Thanks.


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

I am having a really hard time picturing the setup.

Like they say,

a picture is worth a thousand word. hint hint.

it would be great if u can draw a diagram, scan it and post it on here.

75 Gal, 4.6 WPG MH 10 hour, pressurize co2 /w controller, Fluval 404, ph 6.8
Mike's Canadian Aquatic Plant Page
A Canadian's Plant Traders website


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## imported_Mark (Mar 4, 2003)

If it's a load-bearing wall, you should be fine. Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon. Let's assume you'll have about 120 gallons of water in there. That would be 960 pounds of water. Add rock, gravel, the weight of the tank, the stand, and any equipment and you'll probably just top 1500. With the joists you're putting under the floor, you shouldn't have an issue.


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

Rule of thumb is 10 lbs. per rated capacity of tank for finished aquarium plus stand and equipment, barring large sumps and refugiums. That gives you, say, 1400 lbs. The tank is about 6 feet long, and spans 4.5 floor joists. The usual distributed rating for a floor is 40 lbs/square foot. You have about a 3000 lb. capability there, and if the load is concentrated next to a load bearing wall, the rating would be more. Doubling joists wouldn't be needed, but it won't hurt anything.


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

I have my tank (~1400lb) oriented in a similar fashion. The notable exception is that the tank sits on the joists which sit on a concrete/cinder block pillar. The weight is transferred straight down to the foundation.

The results are very satisfactory with no noticable effects.

*James Hoftiezer

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*


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## daisydog (Feb 6, 2003)

Thanks guys. That makes me feel a lot better. It is a load bearing wall that the tank will be up against. It sounds like I might be doing more than is really necessary. On the other hand, you never know when you're going to want to add another tank, and another tank . . . besides, doubling up the floor joists is really inexpensive when you're building from scratch.


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## Spartacus Warrior Aquarist (Mar 7, 2003)

The best article I've found covering this topic is by Kevin Bauman and can be found at:

Residential Wood Framed Floors and Aquarium Weight

If I was in your situation I would also put some extra strength into the floor because, as you said, it would be much cheaper and easier now and also it would not limit your future tank upgrades or additions.

Good luck with the new house.

SWA


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

This is a timely subject... I am buying a 100 gallon (~1000 pounds) and know I probably need to add additional support to my 40-year-old floor. Our joists are at 5-foot spacing (that's right, 5 feet) covered with cardecking. The tank will be located next to the wall between the house and garage, which I assume is a load-bearing wall. There is no foundation, the (uprights?) supports are in concrete blocks and the crawlspace floor is dirt covered with plastic. I read that article but am a little lost as to how to continue. 

How do I go about reinforcing my floors? Do I need additional joists under the cardecking? Sister braces? ...?


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

Not to overwhelm you Heady but you need everything. 
You'll need to add support under the tank as if you had no floor. The bracing will have to assume all of the weight and be tied into a column(s) which go to some foundation.

P.S> That's an awesome article

*James Hoftiezer

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*

[This message was edited by JamesHoftiezer on Fri March 07 2003 at 08:12 PM.]


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

OK, How do I find out how to do it? Should I hire somebody to actually come look at it? If so, what kind of professional do I look for?


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

The safest way would be to have a licensed carpenter take a look at it.

You could make assumptions and DIY but you're taking risks that might not be covered by your homeowner's insurance.

*James Hoftiezer

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

heady i feel so bad for you. you had this wonderful dream of getting a big beautiful planted tank and now your budget for it is getting shot through the roof as you check out substrate, lighting, CO2, and now even your floor! i agree with james, unless somebody in your family is a true-to-life carpenter, i'd get a pro out there. the insurance is a good point, i didn't think about it, but i would just be scared that the floor would give out. daisy dog is lucky and correct, adding extra joices to the floor of a house being built probably costs a whole 3 bucks worth of material, plus just telling the guys which section of the floor needs to be braced, BUT in an existing house it's more difficult. don't let it dishearten you, it's difficult, but not difficult for a pro. just yank the flooring out and hopefully dropping in some extra hunks of wood, BUT it'll be tougher than a custom built house







hey heady, ever think about a puppy? ;-) why don't you guys just put the tanks in the basement anyway?? concrete floor, no sunlight, stable temperatures, and moles (aka teenage computer geeks like myself) can fully enjoy them! anyway, good luck to both of you, and daisy, knock yourself out with your super strong floor. it costs you nothing and gives you peace of mind. heck, if you get rid of your tanks you could always park your car in the living room with no problem... or maybe a small bulldozer... ;-)

JP


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

No basement. Crawlspace with dirt. Anyway, I want the fish tank to be where I can actually see it during the normal course of a day, so the basement would be a bad spot even if I had one. 

My dad is a real-life carpenter who has built stuff, including a complete barebones remodel of our 2nd floor when I was a kid, but he's not 100% certain about what techniques would be best to use for 1,200 pounds of weight in a 5' x 1.5' area.


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## Jon Mulzer (Mar 9, 2003)

Wow, not to doubt you but I find it hard to believe that your joists are at 5-foot spacings. Those have to be some massive joists then. And what exactly is "cardecking"? If you have room to move down in the crawlspace and a carpenter for a father then it should be no trouble to reinforce the area. You would just need to put more joists in. If you are looking for a cheaper approach you could box off a 5x5 area under your floor, reinforce the hell out of it and then pour new piers under the corners of it and put floor jacks under it. If you come out 5 feet from the wall and place a 2x12 or larger perpendicular to the run of your joists and then put more 2x12's as false joists running from it to the wall you should be ok. Make sense? Or am I just rambling? lol

Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, tact, or fact are transmission errors.


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

You're rambling









There are lots of ways to do it and having professional advice is worth the money even if its just a consult.

*James Hoftiezer

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

yes at the very least you could have it professionally consulted, then tell your dad their advice and he can tell you if they are full of BS or not







regardless, it's about time to whip out the good old yellow pages to look for "extremely knowledgeable and equally inexpensive carpenters." then when you find none, you can just flip to the "we know what we're doing and we take organ-and-limb donations" section







oh wait, that's the lawyer section...


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

I don't know the terminology so you'll have to bear with me, but I saw this myself.

The joists are 5 feet apart (no, I'm not joshing you!). On top of the joists, running perpendicular/crossways to the joists, there are boards which are 2" thick and about 5" wide, connected together by I think the term is "tongue-in-groove"? ... This is the "cardecking". 

The inspector who looked the house over before I bought it said the 5' spacing is unusual but since it is covered with cardecking, not the usual plywood or whatever, it should be very sturdy. 

The nice part is, since the wood is so thick, no insulation is required, and the floor stays pretty warm even in winter. 

I don't want to hire any old carpenter, because I would trust my dad to a better job than the finger-in-the-yellow-pages carpenter. My fish store advised me to hire a structural engineer, but I've never heard of that before and was wondering what you guys thought here. He just wanted to know what people recommended before starting because he said there are a few different ways of doing it. 

I figured, most of you with large tanks (100 gallons or more) must have gone through this before, so I figured I'd ask what you did for yours...


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## Jon Mulzer (Mar 9, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by JamesHoftiezer:
> You're rambling


I do that sometimes, because I overcomplicate and overthink EVERYTHING!!! I agree with those guys, have a professional come out and get their opinion. I just know how I would go about reinforcing it if the situation is how I think it is. But if anything is changed then it wouldn't work. But I am in construction and have built everything from houses to hospitals, lol.

That must be a very old house to be built such a way. No one has done such a thing that I have heard of in years. Not that it is a bad thing, it sounds to be a very strong floor for normal circumstances. That is just a VERY expensive way to put in a flooring system.

Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, tact, or fact are transmission errors.


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

I think wood was a LOT cheaper back in 1958... No spotted owls to look out for...


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## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

Update!

My dad actually went down in the crawlspace and looked around. The joists are 6"x6", 5 feet apart. There are also 6x6's vertically going down from the joists into a concrete block at varying distances apart. As it turns out, the exact spot I wanted to put the 100 gallon tank already has two of these vertical supports right under it, so I don't have to do a thing!!









I'll be setting up my new tank this weekend!!!


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