Fish tank

[ahmotorsport]

Hi, this is my first post here. I hope i've got this in the right section.

I live in your average 3 bedroom house and i want a big fish tank (You can probably see where this is going) the fish tank will have to be upstairs, in my bedroom. I'd like it to be 6ft x 18" x 18" Holding roughly 350Kg of just water.

I know i can't get a definitive answer, i just wanted to ask if the floor can support 400-450kg alright?

Thanks.

 

[Chri5]

What type of floor?

What is the empty weight of the tank, pumps and lighting? So 350 ltr = 350 kgs + ???

 

[ahmotorsport]

There is a squeeky floorboard outside my room, so I presume wooden, but all walls in my room are brick, wouldn't that indicate concrete?

I don't know the empty weight, I don't have the tank yet, but it will be 350kg of water, 30kg of sand and the weight of the tank itself, I guess another 50kg tops.

 

[catlad]

Not a chance the average floor will be stable enough.

 

[Chri5]

Well thanks for the quality of the detail give.

If the flooring is wooden and the unit going against a wall....

Pull back carpet, lift floor boards, use building blocks as sub floor plates, and brick on those to support every joist under the tank foot print.

So say you have five joists, each ends up with blocks covering as floor plates (blocks are 16") and then bricks as supports between joist and building block.

Thus when the floor boards are put back and the tank fitted the weight is supported by the new structures created under the joist.

If the tank is on legs rather than a frame that smoothes out point pressure. I'd fit some meaty ply wood as a one piece plate instead of the floor boards under the tank area. This will help distribute the load much more evenly across the tank / floor foot print.

 

[Wolfie1969]

Well thanks for the quality of the detail give.

If the flooring is wooden and the unit going against a wall....

Pull back carpet, lift floor boards, use building blocks as sub floor plates, and brick on those to support every joist under the tank foot print.

So say you have five joists, each ends up with blocks covering as floor plates (blocks are 16") and then bricks as supports between joist and building block.

Thus when the floor boards are put back and the tank fitted the weight is supported by the new structures created under the joist.

If the tank is on legs rather than a frame that smoothes out point pressure. I'd fit some meaty ply wood as a one piece plate instead of the floor boards under the tank area. This will help distribute the load much more evenly across the tank / floor foot print.

Won't that only work DOWNstairs though?

W.

 

[RonnyRaygun]

Whether or not the joists will support the load actually depends on how highly stressed they are at the moment, and how highly stressed they will be with the tank in position.
How highly stressed they are at the moment depends on the current span, joist centres, and joist size.
If there is some spare capacity in the joists, then putting the tank close to the ends of the joists is less likely to overstress them.

Deflection should also be a consideration, and again, the closer the tank is to the end of the joists, the less effect it will have.

Provide the information and I will be able to give you a good idea as to whether it will be possible.

 

[Chri5]

Well thanks for the quality of the detail give.

If the flooring is wooden and the unit going against a wall....

Pull back carpet, lift floor boards, use building blocks as sub floor plates, and brick on those to support every joist under the tank foot print.

So say you have five joists, each ends up with blocks covering as floor plates (blocks are 16") and then bricks as supports between joist and building block.

Thus when the floor boards are put back and the tank fitted the weight is supported by the new structures created under the joist.

If the tank is on legs rather than a frame that smoothes out point pressure. I'd fit some meaty ply wood as a one piece plate instead of the floor boards under the tank area. This will help distribute the load much more evenly across the tank / floor foot print.

Won't that only work DOWNstairs though?



W.

Sorry, should have picked that up about being on the 1st floor!

Silly me.