# tank on main floor.



## nate (Oct 14, 2011)

just wondering who has a large tank on their main floor of their house?

i have a 125 gallon tank that im building on the main floor of my house. its been there for a while as a freshwater tank but im concerned about the weight of it when its turned into a sw tank with 40 gallon sump. and a whole bunch of live rock and equipment and top off resevoir. 

it will be crossing the main support beam in the basement.

really just wondering who else has a larger tank on their main floor and for how long and any problems?

thanks
nate

EDIT woops meant to be in SW section. could someone move??


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## dock (Sep 6, 2011)

I'd like to know too and if anything can be done to sustain the weight on the floor.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

If the tank is on a standard metal stand, that would mean all the weight is distributed on four different 1 inch squares, this could pose a problem.

We make sure the weight of the tank is distributed on the stand, but we often forget about the weight the stand puts on the floor.

If you have or were to build a stand that spreads out the weight on the floor then you should be fine if the house is build properly and you are spanning more than just a couple joists.

Also, if you have access to the joists from the basement, you can, hmm, forget the term Mike Holmes uses, add extra beside each joist, glue and bolt them together to add more strength.

If its covered, its actually not too hard to cut out drywall, add the extra support and redrywall again, tape, mud, sand, paint.

You could also do the marble test. Using a marble, see if it rolls around on its own in that area, if it rolls towards the tank, you have already made the floor sink a bit from the weight or it was build wrong in the first place.

Just don't let your spouse see you do it or they will think you lost your marbles.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

It is a good thing to make sure your tank is set across as many floor joists as possible and as close to an exterior wall or support beam that the joists rest on, but never randomly add an additional joist unless you have the advise of a professonal as you may cause problems with the design of the structure.


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## supergourami (Apr 12, 2011)

i have a 180 gallon on my main floor in a 90 year old home with steel stand and its fine just throw down a peace of plywood under your stand (if its steel) to distribute the weight


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## dock (Sep 6, 2011)

pyrrolin said:


> Also, if you have access to the joists from the basement, you can, hmm, forget the term Mike Holmes uses, add extra beside each joist, glue and bolt them together to add more strength.
> 
> If its covered, its actually not too hard to cut out drywall, add the extra support and redrywall again, tape, mud, sand, paint.


>add extra beside each joist 
Extra what? 2x4?
Is there an online video to teach/show how to do it? 
Thanks.


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## dock (Sep 6, 2011)

bob123 said:


> It is a good thing to make sure your tank is set across as many floor joists as possible and as close to an exterior wall or support beam that the joists rest on, but never randomly add an additional joist unless you have the advise of a professonal as you may cause problems with the design of the structure.


Why is bad to add an additional joist? My tank is sitting directly above the basement window, there is a big area in front of the window without any wood support, which means 1 corner of the tank is not sitting on wood.



supergourami said:


> i have a 180 gallon on my main floor in a 90 year old home with steel stand and its fine just throw down a peace of plywood under your stand (if its steel) to distribute the weight


How long have you had this setup? 90 year old home has better built for sure.


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## nfamusic (Dec 19, 2012)

I have a 130 gal on the main floor of my house, 2x8 joists 16" on centre.
Also my tank is along an outside wall, and the stand I made has a bottom plate that spreads the weight over a larger area.


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## boun (Feb 16, 2012)

Floor joists are usually 2x10s. If you are not sure take a measure tape and measure the depth of the joist.

I did a lot of searching of how to do this but was not able to find any definitive way. So I looked around some friends and families basements to see how extra support were added using joist of the same size. Most of the extra support consist of four or five 2x10s bolted together.

When I was building my 120g, I added three extra joist for a total of four under where the tank is located. Luckily my basement was not finished so it made the job much easier. The joist runs parallel to tank and it sits far enough from the metal beam to make me worry. I also have two boys that loves to run and jump around the house and when they do their act there is a noticeable bounce. With the added support there is less bounce.

After getting a mallet, sledge hammer, 2x10 cut to lenght and some bolts. I began knocking off the cross beams next to where I will add the extra support. Remove all wiring going through the joist with the power disconnected at the breaker. Due the load of the house on the existing joist you will have to insert the new joist in an angle. Once one is in the proper spot hammer it into place. Continue alternating sides with the next joist to keep it even. A heavy mallet or a sledge hammer is very effective here. Once done I bolted them all together. Replaced all the cross beam joist to keep the joist from deflecting. Rewired and I was set. This was a days work.

I also built my own stand out of 2x6s to support the tank and distribute the weight over 6 feet.

Others may do things differently and I am not a licensed anything


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

When my fiance lived with her grandparents she had a 55gallon aquarium on the main floor. Their floor was pretty weak as it was and because of the location the cross beam wasn't very supportive. We simply added an extra beam in the basement and bolted it into the concrete. It worked perfectly.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

This is very difficult to advise on without any diagrams or pictures.

While most homes are capable of sustaining the weight of a large aquarium, there are a lot of variables such as location, orientation, and age of the house.

The bottom line, is that if you don't feel confident about it, you should have someone look at it- you want to be able to sleep easy at night  A good experienced contractor or framing carpenter will be able to give you a good enough idea of how to ensure a sound installation.

Most homes are built to withstand a minimum load of 60psf over the entire span of a floor, which is about 3 tons for a 10x10 room, but the variables in the way your floor or basement walls/ support beams may be framed can effect the practical application of that. If your tank footprint is 2'x5'=10', that doesn't mean that you can only load that area with 600 lb., for as you reach the edge of the wall where it is supported beneath, the actual bearing load capacity increases. 

Boun is correct, there is no definitive way to instruct how to do this. And while you could laminate another set of joists to your current joists, it might not be the ideal fix for your particular application.

Post some pics if you want and we'll see if we can give some more pertinent advice.

Another thing you may want to consider is plumbing the sump into the basement. I did it when I upgraded a year ago and there's no looking back. Just a suggestion...


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## dock (Sep 6, 2011)

The red mark in the photo is the approx location of the tank sits on, see the area near the window, there is no beam. Please let me know what opinions you guys have and what needs to be done. Thanks.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

There is a double joist running left to right in the photo which is the way to frame that area, no problems with that. If you where to check the opening around your stairs you will see the same type of framing double joist all around.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

If you use a wooden stand made of 2x4/6's ( or any stand that distributes the weight evenly) you will be fine. 
There is plenty or support in that area and you are up against an exterior wall. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## dock (Sep 6, 2011)

I was thinking about adding some support between the double joist and the window because the area is empty, I'm glad to hear it is alright for a 150g.
Have a regular steel stand with a sheet of plywood under the tank to distribute the weight. Thanks guys, I will have better sleep tonight.


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