Melinda P Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 I would like to put a larger tank on the second floor of my house, on an inside wall, but I am concerned how big a tank I could *safely* put there. I obviously want to avoid a catastrophe if the floor cannot hold the weight of the filled tank and stand, let alone substrate, decor, etc. Does anyone have a number (X amount of gallons) where you should start worrying about it, or any other tips? I'd rather get a small tank rather bring in a contractor/other to reinforce the floor, but I'd want the biggest tank I could have. TIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevesFishTanks Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 It is useful to know if you are spanning several joists perpendicularly or resting on a few in parallel. I would think about reinforcing once you go bigger than 100 gal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 I would at least find out which way the joists are running, and whether there is a load bearing wall under where you want to put the tank. You want the tank to sit across perpendicular to the joists and go across as many joists as possible. Without knowing and actually seeing for myself, you should be able to safely go with 55-75 gallons easy if you place the tank across joists perpendicular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynameisnobody Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 @Melinda P I agree, you should definitely find out which way your joists run. Also whether or not, it is a load bearing wall. From my experience (I am not an authority on this at all), I lived in an old building in the Bronx, NY and I had a 125 gallon, (2) 90 gallons, (2) 40 gallons, and a few 29’s on a 2nd floor. I never had an issue. I was terribly paranoid about it, but MTS got the best of me. I believe the only reason it worked was because old buildings in NYC were made with cement blocks throughout. Do not use my experience as a guide, it’s just incredible to me that I never had a problem. It was a 450 sq ft apt, and 3 of us lived in there with all those aquariums. It was about 5 years ago and we paid $1300/month. Lesson is don’t move to the Bronx. 😎 Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 How many gallons is a waterbed? Do you have to do something special for those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now