# 55 gallon tank upstairs



## Egrance (Apr 29, 2011)

So I recently purchased a 55 gallon tank 48Lx12Wx21H & purchased a 4 leg stand. My mom would not let the tank downstairs so I am forced to put it in my bedroom. I have it along a bearing wall that separates me from my neighbors, & it is running diagonal across two floor joists which i believe may be 2"x10"s. Its running diagonal right off my bathroom wall behind the bath tub.I know they put extra joists around the bathroom, does that make a difference? I'm still trying to find more out about my community like building codes and everything, but all I can find right now is that it was built 1989-1990. With the rock and all my ornaments I calculated my tank is about 670lbs. or so which would be 167lbs. per leg. Am I going to run into any problems with the tank here or should I be okay?


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Egrance said:


> So I recently purchased a 55 gallon tank 48Lx12Wx21H & purchased a 4 leg stand. My mom would not let the tank downstairs so I am forced to put it in my bedroom. I have it along a bearing wall that separates me from my neighbors, & it is running diagonal across two floor joists which i believe may be 2"x10"s. Its running diagonal right off my bathroom wall behind the bath tub.I know they put extra joists around the bathroom, does that make a difference? I'm still trying to find more out about my community like building codes and everything, but all I can find right now is that it was built 1989-1990. With the rock and all my ornaments I calculated my tank is about 670lbs. or so which would be 167lbs. per leg. Am I going to run into any problems with the tank here or should I be okay?


Water alone for a 55 gallon is going to run you 456.5 pounds and the tank and filter is going to weigh another 50-75 pounds so I'd figure for 600 pounds plus the weight of the stand.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i used to live upstairs in a house built around the late 1800's to early 1900's..in the room at the front of the house i had a 150 gallon tank....2 75's....2 55's...2 40's...3 30's...6 20's and about 10 10's.......never had a problem...
1 55 gallon tank......no problem..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have a 55 and a 40 on the same iron stand with 4 little legs. Since it sits between supports on particle board subfloor and occasionally gets wet, I've got a slight depression in the subfloor. Maybe a 1/8" dip just from the particle board compressing a bit. No structural worries, but you want to keep it dry and setting each foot on something larger and flat won't hurt anything.


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## Egrance (Apr 29, 2011)

okay sweet! Yeah today I am planning on buying a 4 1/2 ft. plywood to place underneath the stand to help reduce some of the stress from the legs. Just curious I also have a 40 gallon tank I was trying to use for a sump because my 55 is stocked! What does anybody think about adding another 400-500lbs.?


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

I have a 75 gallon SW on a non load bearing wall. You'll be more than fine, but good idea on the plywood. Be sure the stand sits level though!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you were really worried, you could put it on a 2" x 4" rectangle. But I think it will be fine. The only time you get issues is when you already have water or insect damage, and in that case, you'd want to replace the floor, anyways.


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

Good choice with the plywood underneath since it has legs on it. If it was solid I wouldn't worry at all. But spreading the weight out with some 1/2" or 3/4" ply underneath will not be a problem.

For crying out loud half of my moms house was destroyed and we remodeled ourselves to an open floor plan. Laminated 2x12's that's about 18ft long and it's supporting about 8 tons. It settled with a 1/4" bow. We had to use THREE 4 ton car jacks to lift the house up to put the beam in place. It's resting on cinderblock and a header filled with 2x4's over a 16 inch span. 

700 pounds on a floor with 2x8's (or 2x10's) + plywood underneath? Psh, no problem. 2x6's would be nearing the limit.

Thing is as long as it's against the wall, that's where the most structure is. Load bearing or not. Being by the bathroom does make a difference, but it's typically only under the bathroom floors is where it's supported.


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## Hansolo (Sep 10, 2010)

Im a licensed contractor and build houses for a living. Putting the plywood under your stand is not displacing the weight any better. If your house was built in the 90s you wont have any trouble with a 55g upstairs. Typically we never even add extra joist to upstairs bathrooms unless its going to have a granite or marble shower. Don't waste your money with the plywood. Just get it nice and level and go with it. I wouldn't hesitate to add the sump as well, especially if you are close to a load bearing wall.


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

Hansolo said:


> Im a licensed contractor and build houses for a living. Putting the plywood under your stand is not displacing the weight any better. If your house was built in the 90s you wont have any trouble with a 55g upstairs. Typically we never even add extra joist to upstairs bathrooms unless its going to have a granite or marble shower. Don't waste your money with the plywood. Just get it nice and level and go with it. I wouldn't hesitate to add the sump as well, especially if you are close to a load bearing wall.


If it's on carpet then it will make a moderately significant difference. I'm sure you know that there isn't much flex on 1/2" ply within even a 16" span.

Hard surface as wood or tile, you're right. But it would still help protect that surface from anything happening to it as well. Particularly wood.


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## Hansolo (Sep 10, 2010)

1/2" sheathing isn't code for any flooring no matter the level of the house. I am assuming its 3/4" since the house was built around 1990. No matter I don't want to argue over building code as long as everyone is in agreement its safe to put the aquarium on the second floor. The extra wood beneath it might be beneficial for the carpets sake but ultimately wont disperse the weight over a larger area. The footprint really doesn't change is all I was getting at.


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## Egrance (Apr 29, 2011)

Thank you everybody for your help and input saved me money and the time and hassle moving my tank downstairs


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

Hansolo said:


> 1/2" sheathing isn't code for any flooring no matter the level of the house. I am assuming its 3/4" since the house was built around 1990. No matter I don't want to argue over building code as long as everyone is in agreement its safe to put the aquarium on the second floor. The extra wood beneath it might be beneficial for the carpets sake but ultimately wont disperse the weight over a larger area. The footprint really doesn't change is all I was getting at.


I know 1/2 isn't code for sheathing, that's way off from what the mid to late 70's with aluminum wiring when they phased that out? I was saying for the ply for him to put underneath the tank. And personally, I think you're dead wrong with it helping to distribute weight. I know because I have a back round in structural engineering. Weight distribution from one solid surface (plywood) to another (tile or wood floor) is 2-3% around the area. Still saves that surface of a wrought iron stand. Plywood on top of carpet at that point is closer to 60% dispersed over the area. Why? Because carpet compresses and moves none the less the insulation underneath to make the carpet feel "soft and squishy and nice to your feet."


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