14 replies to this topic

[Moontanman]

I have tried to figure how much a 225 would weigh fully set up. Does anyone else have any experience setting up a tank this large in a house? I have a 225 now that was given to me, I need to re glue all the panes since it leaks at the seams but that will be fairly easy but the 300 pounds per square foot weight of the tank which when I remanufacture it will have a 10 square foot foot print. 

 

Any ideas? 

[Sunfish Catcher 321]

1800 pounds of water Here's for acrylic http://www.usplastic...?contentkey=884

[MtFallsTodd]

Yep, over 8 pounds a gallon just for the water. Well over a ton fully stocked.

[Moontanman]

I figure about 3000 lbs set up but my question is would the floor of a average house hold it up? I rent a house now days, if it was my own house I might chance it but the floor collapsing in my landlords house would probably not be a good way to make an impression.  

 

It is a glass tank made of 1/2 inch glass the aquarium is heavy, really a four man job to pick it up empty, 4 inches of black sand and a sturdy stand might be too much for anything but a concrete slab home. This house was made in the 1970s and is relatively well built.

[MtFallsTodd]

At the very least you may want to put extra supports under the floor. It would help to place the long dimension of the tank perpendicular to the floor joists.

[Michael Wolfe]

Some people say it is about surface area... which is kinda true... but the real thing to think about is spanning floor joists.

 

I once had a 75 that was sitting along a non-load bearing wall in my house, and when you walked by it you could feel the floor bounce.  I went and looked in the basement and realized that I had it all sitting on one floor joist (and a fairly long span).  Within a week I moved it to to sit 90 degrees different... so now it went across several joists.

 

I know this is a story about a 75, but the point it... orientation is just as important as total weight.  if your 225 is 6ft long and a house from the 70s maybe your floor joists are 24" apart, then you are likely loading only three directly (unless you plan well or are luck and can hit four).  That should be enough when you consider that a lot of times your refrigerator is several hundred pounds and sits only on 1.  Another factor that can help you is if the aquarium is sitting next to a load bearing wall... that way you are at the most rigid and strong part of the house and the joists.  You can easily see these places if you have a basement.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Basically an outside wall perpendicular to floor joists. Most simple ranch style houses have two. Typically the front and the rear of the house. Also most simple homes have a beam down the center of the house supporting the floor joists, with a load bearing wall above supporting the roof trusses. Along this center point wall is also an appropriate place to set a large tank..Look up from below and you will see the layout.

 My bed has a weight on the floor at night of over 30 pounds per square inch. Just mentioning this so you can see the PSI of an average bed.

 

If you place the aquarium appropriately in one of these areas you should not have a problem. If you are really concerned, build a triple 2x8 beam and place it 36 inches out from the foundation or load bearing center beam, wherever you plan to put the tank, and support the beam with appropriate length floor jacks. https://www.google.c...use floor jacks If you do this, it will be bombproof and cost you less than $350

[Moontanman]

Thanks for the advice guys, I am shooting for a set up date sometime in the spring, I have to take it apart and re silicon it back together, both the back side seams and the front side seams are leaking and I have to either get a new piece of glass 1/2 inch thick and 24.5 inches wide and 72 inches long to allow me to take one side off and turn it over so I have a tank that is 24" tall instead of 30" tall and 30" wide instead of 24 inches wide.  I think 24 inches is tall enough and I like to have as large a foot print as possible.. 

[Sunfish Catcher 321]

What is this tank for.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Thanks for the advice guys, I am shooting for a set up date sometime in the spring, I have to take it apart and re silicon it back together, both the back side seams and the front side seams are leaking and I have to either get a new piece of glass 1/2 inch thick and 24.5 inches wide and 72 inches long to allow me to take one side off and turn it over so I have a tank that is 24" tall instead of 30" tall and 30" wide instead of 24 inches wide.  I think 24 inches is tall enough and I like to have as large a foot print as possible.. 

Might be a problem as sometimes the bottoms are tempered. If you put non tempered in will lt lack needed strength? I don't know much about glass though.

[Irate Mormon]

Where is Harry Thames when we need him? 

[Moontanman]

What is this tank for.

 

 

I honestly haven't decided yet, but shovelnose sturgeon are on my list of wants and I'd like to try paddlefish again but mostly things like Jumprocks, redfin pickerel, bluespotted sunfish, maybe some other larger fish like hogsuckers or some hogchokers that I have grown out to adults. 

 

This tank appears not to be tempered, it has holes drilled in it in odd locations that probably didn't come from the factory. 

[Moontanman]

Basically an outside wall perpendicular to floor joists. Most simple ranch style houses have two. Typically the front and the rear of the house. Also most simple homes have a beam down the center of the house supporting the floor joists, with a load bearing wall above supporting the roof trusses. Along this center point wall is also an appropriate place to set a large tank..Look up from below and you will see the layout.

 My bed has a weight on the floor at night of over 30 pounds per square inch. Just mentioning this so you can see the PSI of an average bed.

 

If you place the aquarium appropriately in one of these areas you should not have a problem. If you are really concerned, build a triple 2x8 beam and place it 36 inches out from the foundation or load bearing center beam, wherever you plan to put the tank, and support the beam with appropriate length floor jacks. https://www.google.c...use floor jacks If you do this, it will be bombproof and cost you less than $350

 

 

The location I want to put the tank is against a side wall in a room that is off the back of the house, the wall has a window, if it matters it is a brick house. 

[MtFallsTodd]

If this used to be a reef tank, the odd holes were probably for a closed recirculating system. Some people used this to make increased water flow.

[Moontanman]

If this used to be a reef tank, the odd holes were probably for a closed recirculating system. Some people used this to make increased water flow.

 

 

I was a reef tank or at least a marine tank at one time, it does have an overflow..