# How Much Will My Floor Hold?



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

Well this is my first post, and it's a loaded question. Please don't blast me.

I live in small town with the majority of homes being older. I am not sure the year of build for my home, but I assume it is at least 60yrs old. It is a 2 story stick built and basement is dirt and used only for storage,H2O tank,Furnace, AC, etc...you get the idea. Anyway, I have had a 55gl FW and a 75gl SW Reef (Not in same room) in a similar home and nothing bad happened. I am interested in getting a 250 gallon Glass tank with stand and canopy. I will put sand for base and use rock and drift wood for detail. I was told a 125 gallon can be but in a single-wide trailer, but I always thought I would need a concrete foundation for a tank 250 or larger? 

I appreciate any and all positive feedback. Great Site by the way.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Do you want to put it in the basement or upstairs? Can you see your floor joists and tell how wide/thick/far apart they are?


----------



## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

I would not put a 250 on anything that was not defiantely well supported. You can get your floor reinforced for a price, but I wouldnt risk 250


----------



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

I want it on the first floor, above the basement. I have not looked at the structure from below. I will check it out.


----------



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

Gourami Swami said:


> I would not put a 250 on anything that was not defiantely well supported. You can get your floor reinforced for a price, but I wouldnt risk 250



I didn't think so either. Do you think a 125gl would be ok?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Look at the floor, some old houses are really poorly built and others are far better built than modern construction. Does your stand have a rectangle base or just four legs? Are your floors wood? Hard or soft? I've never heard of a tank crashing through a floor unless termites were involved. But its pretty common to find dents where pianos and refrigerators once sat. Its not the net gallonage, its the weight/unit area, so the shape of the tank matters. I have a 55 and 40 gallon on the same 4ft long iron stand upstairs and all the weight sits on 4 little feet. I know there will be dents there when I move the tank, but its in no danger of falling. Do you own this house, or do you have to leave it undamaged when you move out?


----------



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

emc7 said:


> Look at the floor, some old houses are really poorly built and others are far better built than modern construction. Does your stand have a rectangle base or just four legs? Are your floors wood? Hard or soft? I've never heard of a tank crashing through a floor unless termites were involved. But its pretty common to find dents where pianos and refrigerators once sat. Its not the net gallonage, its the weight/unit area, so the shape of the tank matters. I have a 55 and 40 gallon on the same 4ft long iron stand upstairs and all the weight sits on 4 little feet. I know there will be dents there when I move the tank, but its in no danger of falling. Do you own this house, or do you have to leave it undamaged when you move out?



The base will be a wood 3/4dr rect. stand. Canopy will be wood as well. The floor is a wood subfloor with short berber carpet. I could very easily place small feet on the base if need be. I do not have to worry about any small damage as far as dents in the flooring. I am not at home now to look at the support of the floor from the basement.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Rectangular is good, it spreads out the weight. I don't want to say no, because lots of people have tanks this size with no problems. But you are right to be concerned about something that literally weighs a ton. (250 * 8 lbs/gallon = 2000 lbs).


----------



## Chrispy (Oct 28, 2007)

ok,first off, everyone is over thinking it. I am sure your floor will hold it. A house can hold a LARGE amount of wait. and your floor joists are spread out to displace the wait. i know a think or two about houses and their strength. so here is a list of things i would do and use like a check list.

1. look at your neighborhood. are their a lot of hold houses like yours. If so then i would say you house was built well. Like EMC said most older 20th century houses are built to last. My house was built in 1888 and trust me. its not going anywhere.

2. Go in your basement thing and locate the spot below were the tank is. This spot is important. now there are two things to note. First look at the joists and poke at them. just see if they look ok and aren't soft and easy to break parts off. if they look decent and aren't soft or soggy they the wood is dry and not moist or rotting. secondly see how far the nearest support is. i am sure your not putting the tank in the middle of a room, but if you can, but it as close to a place were the wall lines up with the foundation as possible. this will insure your tank in in the strongest possible location of the house.

3. the stand. you want the lowest weight per sq. inch. that means you want as much in contact with the floor is passable (a womans high heel is stronger then an elephants foot because the elephants foot is spread out.). so a wood stand with a full frame rather then a metal one with 4 legs would be best.

with that said if you check those you should be fine. since you live in a small town and a lot of houses are still standing thats a good sign. and if the wood in your basment is in good condition then you should have nothing to fear. however if you can break them with your hand. you got larger problems and need to call somebody to come take a look. I honestly think you will be fine. the ground floor of buildings can hold a lot of weight. So much you would never be able to break the floor. I have held up a car with less wood then is in your floor. and about termites. i do believe you can check online if your area is at risk. and they are easy to spot (wood dust in random spots). so all in all i think you would be fine. i really doubt a tank would fall through the floor. maybe if you had A HUGE tank and it was on a 4 leg stand, but i think your fine.


----------



## darkfalz (May 7, 2006)

Everyone knows a tank full of water is heavy, but I mean, can your floor support five people standing in a cricle? Of course it can. That's about what most big tanks would weigh. Your main concern should be that the floor is level.


----------



## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Well, Dark, in my case.. that would be like... 500 pounds xD.

If your house can't hold a tank around 180 gallons securely, you need to move, fast . The tank would be a slight cause for concern, and of course, the basement would be best- but as long as you place it over a support beam, I don't see a reason why not to. Make sure it's level, possibly have a contructor coming over and taking a look at it... you get the point 
Good luck


----------



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

Thanks for all the info. I also had reasoning the same as Dark. My living room has 2 couches (one with end recliners) a chair recliner, 42 plasma with stand, people, etc.... I guess during Christmas when every seat was full and some people on the floor nothing happened....lol. I guess my question was since the tank, weighing around 2,200lbs when complete, will never move if the weight of the tank would eventually take its toll? I know when I purchased the home the structure was sound and no termites were found. The basement is dirt floor and there were no damp areas. As far as placement of the tank, it will be in the dining room. In the middle, against the outside wall. I guess no one has ever heard of a 240 or less tank causing major structural damage or collapsing due to the floor giving out. I should have the tank set up in next couple months. Need to get rid of my 55 first. Just doing some research prior to making the commitment. Thanks again.


----------



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

oops hit post twice


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have to agree with Crispy. Check underneath for anything stuctually wrong (bugs, missing joists, holes in joists) then go for it. If you end up replacing a few squashed pieces of subfloor in 20 years when you empty the tank, big deal. My grandfather added rooms onto his own house. Permitting wasn't strict 60 years ago so you do need to check. Do also make sure the tank is level both before and after you fill it up.


----------



## Manwithnofish (Jan 28, 2008)

2200 lbs is a lot of weight. While the aquarium will probably not crash through the floor and spash on the earth below, it could cause some serious sagging if the construction is shoddy. If it were me, and I was concerned about the stoutness of the floor contruction (big if), I would just add support under the floor where you are going to set up your tank. Cinder blocks, 4x4 treated post, etc. would not cost you much money and you could rest at night and NEVER have to worry about this again.

PS. If you want the tank, you can do this.


----------



## buckeyefinance (Feb 1, 2008)

Well, I looked last night and all looks good. Because it seems the worst always happens, I am going to put up some extra support just in case. It is only going to cost me about $50.00 and a little of my time. Thanks for all the replies.


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Folks:

I have not gotten into this thread but now I believe that I need to.

For the "don't worry be happy folks" have yall ever observed a catastrophic structural failure in a residential unit?

I do not believe that yall have are else you would be "worrying".

Many concepts set forth in this thread are conceptually correct with respect to floor deflection and/or failure due to dead loads and mass distribution (refer to prior posts as well as to all of emc's).

For the "don't worry be happy folks" who have discussed several folks who stand in a circle just exactly how long do they stand there.

For similar folks who think in terms of the heavy couch concept what is the longitudinal dimension between the legs of the couch?

I am not posting to be confrontational but to be informative.


buckeyefinance:

If you can post photographs of the substructure of you living area taken from your basement I can ask you for specific measurements which will hopefully allow me to help here with respect to structural calculations.

TR


----------



## Manwithnofish (Jan 28, 2008)

*I agree with the weird guy from Austin*

Again, 2200 lbs is a LOT of weight. Maybe you can pull your car up on fewer pieces of wood than you have in your floor and have it hold. But, can you park it there for 5 year and NOT have the wood sag, bow and eventually in the long run fail. Wood will bend and bow over time if it is not adequately constructed for the weight load (the reason you are worried to begin with). Best bet is to make sure you have a sufficient structure for the weight. However, it sounds like to me that this is a very doable project and with a little preparation can be a successful one. Thinking it through and getting advice from the right people is the right course. :chair:


----------



## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Im going to go ahead and say that you can NEVER be too sure with these kind of things. Imagine 2,200 lbs of water crashing through your floor into the room below. Not a pleasant thought. With that said, I would make sure the spot is structurally sounds, and put up some extra support bracers. It seems like you are already doing that, which is the right thing.

Good luck!


----------

