Is it safe?

AquariumNoob · 08-19-2010, 07:19 PM

I was thinking of getting a 75g tank to replace my 35 or 37 gallon tank... Is it safe to have that much weight on a 2nd floor, though? I mean.. thats like half of a car sitting in my room haha.. Anyone here have any big tanks on 2nd floors? I mean, i dont want the thing to 1 day fall through the floor.. i would guess that 750+ pounds on a few 2x4's is too much for them to handle, right? Any ideas?

Armonious · 08-19-2010, 07:25 PM

The best thing to do that I can think of would be to check out where the structural support beams are on your house. Just check out the blueprints. Your safest bet would be to find a load bearing wall on the first floor of the house and see if any of your rooms on the second floor would be setup so that the tank could rest very nearly ontop of that load bearing wall.

With regards to the weight specifically, I'm not sure. My largest tank is a 29g and it is on the second floor. With everything I have sitting in the tank stand, as well as heavy furniture along that wall, it must be well over 500lbs in that area. It is sitting directly ontop of an I-beam though, so I was never worried about it at all.

**xmas_one** · 08-19-2010, 07:33 PM

Unless you live in a chicken coop, or some old termite encrusted shanty a 75 gallon tank is not going to be a problem..

xGROMx · 08-19-2010, 07:49 PM

what kinda car are you driveing? 1500lbs......

The floor should be fine as long as its over or close to a wall underneeth. Putting it in a room that would put the tank center over the liveing room would be a bad idea, over time it would sag. Also, keep an eye on the levelness of the tank, add shimms to corect.

AquariumNoob · 08-19-2010, 09:18 PM

well ive got a 35 or 37 or 39 i dont even know.. upper 30's.. tank where im planning on putting it.. but we're talking about doubling the weight soo yea.. Its on a wall right between me and my sisters room so i would guess that there is some sort of beam right under.. I know that my room is on top of the Dining room.. What if i was to put it on an External wall? Theres bound to be support there, right? Or better yet, i can have it near the corner of the house where there is DEFINITELY plenty of support.. My room is on the outer corner of the house soo there should be quite a bit of support there.. Anyhow, i might just rearrange my room so that its near one of the outer walls. I was just at petsmart because i wanted to see what tanks they had and for how much.. no 75 gallons or anything near it.. jumped from like 36 to 120.. for 300 plus 300 for a stand so 600 for the tank and i think lighting is included as it was inside the tank.. so 600 plus a filtering system isnt too bad.. but theres no way in hell that the 2nd floor can support that much weight in that little space lol..

xGROMx · 08-19-2010, 09:40 PM

An external wall would deff. be the best choice of placement. If you are looking for aquariums, always check out CraigsList.

stewardwildcat · 08-19-2010, 11:11 PM

I have a 55g on the second flood of an apartment building. I would make sure you put the tank near a wall and put broad feet under the stand but you should be alright with that amount of weight.

Captivate05 · 08-20-2010, 01:16 AM

A modern building will support a 75 gallon tank just peachy. Modern building standards make darn sure that no matter what the bejebus you do that floor isn't going to bust through.

nokturnalkid · 08-20-2010, 01:30 AM

To be on the safe side, place the tank perpendicular to the floor joists

AquariumNoob · 08-20-2010, 02:50 AM

Well, i dont know if my house is Modern or not.. 30something-40 years old i think..

HypnoticAquatic · 08-20-2010, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nokturnalkid

To be on the safe side, place the tank perpendicular to the floor joists

+1 spread the load to be safe in time it can/might settle as every house does so i would keep an eye on that over time but that should be fine your floor is prob 2x6 though

Sharkfood · 08-20-2010, 04:23 AM

The weight of a 75 gallon aquarium is like having two fat guys sitting on a couch. As long as your building is structurally sound, you'll be ok. The floor is stronger near a corner or over a downstairs supporting wall if you're still worried.

aquaman3000 · 08-20-2010, 10:38 PM

Depending on what is below the aquarium, you could bolster your floor strength with adjustable jack posts.

Lil' Swimz$ · 08-20-2010, 10:48 PM

I have a 29, 16, and 5 gallon along with 3 pieces of HEAVY furniture, all in a closet sized room on the 2nd floor. No probs, its been about 2 years now too.

AquariumNoob · 08-20-2010, 10:59 PM

Great analogy Sharkfood haha.. yea its pretty sound.. relatively New house.. 40 years isnt that old

. Aqua, great idea but i doubt my mom would let me put jacks in the middle of the dining room

08-19-2010, 07:19 PM	#1
AquariumNoob Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Brunswick, NJ Posts: 779	Is it safe? I was thinking of getting a 75g tank to replace my 35 or 37 gallon tank... Is it safe to have that much weight on a 2nd floor, though? I mean.. thats like half of a car sitting in my room haha.. Anyone here have any big tanks on 2nd floors? I mean, i dont want the thing to 1 day fall through the floor.. i would guess that 750+ pounds on a few 2x4's is too much for them to handle, right? Any ideas?

08-19-2010, 07:49 PM	#4
xGROMx Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: OBX, NC Posts: 106	what kinda car are you driveing? 1500lbs...... The floor should be fine as long as its over or close to a wall underneeth. Putting it in a room that would put the tank center over the liveing room would be a bad idea, over time it would sag. Also, keep an eye on the levelness of the tank, add shimms to corect. __________________ 100 Gallon Long ~~Fluval Pimp Club #25

08-19-2010, 09:40 PM	#6
xGROMx Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: OBX, NC Posts: 106	An external wall would deff. be the best choice of placement. If you are looking for aquariums, always check out CraigsList. __________________ 100 Gallon Long ~~Fluval Pimp Club #25

08-19-2010, 11:11 PM	#7
stewardwildcat Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 427	I have a 55g on the second flood of an apartment building. I would make sure you put the tank near a wall and put broad feet under the stand but you should be alright with that amount of weight. __________________ Have you ever seen a French Ninja? NO because they are sneaky.

08-20-2010, 01:16 AM	#8
Captivate05 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,447	A modern building will support a 75 gallon tank just peachy. Modern building standards make darn sure that no matter what the bejebus you do that floor isn't going to bust through. __________________ The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Rita Mae Brown twenty-nine gallon

08-19-2010, 07:25 PM	#2
Armonious Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 483	The best thing to do that I can think of would be to check out where the structural support beams are on your house. Just check out the blueprints. Your safest bet would be to find a load bearing wall on the first floor of the house and see if any of your rooms on the second floor would be setup so that the tank could rest very nearly ontop of that load bearing wall. With regards to the weight specifically, I'm not sure. My largest tank is a 29g and it is on the second floor. With everything I have sitting in the tank stand, as well as heavy furniture along that wall, it must be well over 500lbs in that area. It is sitting directly ontop of an I-beam though, so I was never worried about it at all.

08-19-2010, 07:33 PM	#3
xmas_one Custom User Title (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 2,060	Unless you live in a chicken coop, or some old termite encrusted shanty a 75 gallon tank is not going to be a problem..

08-19-2010, 09:18 PM	#5
AquariumNoob Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Brunswick, NJ Posts: 779	well ive got a 35 or 37 or 39 i dont even know.. upper 30's.. tank where im planning on putting it.. but we're talking about doubling the weight soo yea.. Its on a wall right between me and my sisters room so i would guess that there is some sort of beam right under.. I know that my room is on top of the Dining room.. What if i was to put it on an External wall? Theres bound to be support there, right? Or better yet, i can have it near the corner of the house where there is DEFINITELY plenty of support.. My room is on the outer corner of the house soo there should be quite a bit of support there.. Anyhow, i might just rearrange my room so that its near one of the outer walls. I was just at petsmart because i wanted to see what tanks they had and for how much.. no 75 gallons or anything near it.. jumped from like 36 to 120.. for 300 plus 300 for a stand so 600 for the tank and i think lighting is included as it was inside the tank.. so 600 plus a filtering system isnt too bad.. but theres no way in hell that the 2nd floor can support that much weight in that little space lol..

08-20-2010, 01:30 AM	#9
nokturnalkid Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (75/100%) Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: HI, but Pueblo, CO for now Posts: 1,225	To be on the safe side, place the tank perpendicular to the floor joists

08-20-2010, 02:50 AM	#10
AquariumNoob Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Brunswick, NJ Posts: 779	Well, i dont know if my house is Modern or not.. 30something-40 years old i think..

08-20-2010, 04:23 AM	#12
Sharkfood Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Posts: 2,536	The weight of a 75 gallon aquarium is like having two fat guys sitting on a couch. As long as your building is structurally sound, you'll be ok. The floor is stronger near a corner or over a downstairs supporting wall if you're still worried.

08-20-2010, 10:38 PM	#13
aquaman3000 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Atlantis Posts: 171	Depending on what is below the aquarium, you could bolster your floor strength with adjustable jack posts. __________________ My 110 gallon in-wall hi-tech photo journal

08-20-2010, 10:48 PM	#14
Lil' Swimz$ Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (15/100%) Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: WI Posts: 1,084	I have a 29, 16, and 5 gallon along with 3 pieces of HEAVY furniture, all in a closet sized room on the 2nd floor. No probs, its been about 2 years now too. __________________ Ha ha, he he! DAncE whEn yoU're HAPppy! He he he! DAnce, danCE, DANCe! 20g

08-20-2010, 10:59 PM	#15
AquariumNoob Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Brunswick, NJ Posts: 779	Great analogy Sharkfood haha.. yea its pretty sound.. relatively New house.. 40 years isnt that old . Aqua, great idea but i doubt my mom would let me put jacks in the middle of the dining room

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