• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

Alfredo De La Fe

Senior Member
Location
Upper West Side
Rating - 100%
30   0   0
I actually had a structural engineer come out. His response was that if my floor could not handle a 180 then the building should be condemned. While the floor of an older building MAY settle a bit (my problem- my floor settled a little and for the past 12 years my tank has not been perfectly level) but it SHOULD be able to handle the weight.

Figure 10 LBS per gallon to be on the safe side (factoring in equipment, stand, tank, water, rock, etc.) So a 180 gallon system weighs 1800 LBS. or roughly 150 LBS per square foot.

To be safe, because I am the paranoid type with these types of things- I put 3/4 plywood covered in 1/4 wood (nicer looking stuff) under the tank, the piece was 3x7. I did this to help distribute the weight over a greater area (I am sure that "mathematically" it only distributed PART of the 1800 LBS over the extended base). I also have my tank up against one of the supporting walls of the building.

Considering that the previous owner of my apartment actually CUT through a few of the floor beams, my floor has held up quite well for over 14 years.

Alfred
 

jaa1456

MR's Greatest Member
Rating - 100%
50   0   0
I'm sure a typical 180 weighs more than 1800, my 120 will weigh 1700 when done. Saltwater weighs 8.5lbs a gallon, if done right you should have at least 180lbs of rock. A 180 should weigh around 340lbs on its own empty. Figure in the sump, sand if you are using sand. And equipment.
 

frankieboy

Advanced Reefer
Location
astoria
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What will a 150 gallon weigh filled with sand live rock, equipment under tank in Sump also stand. Anyone knows that's why mi planning on buying tank is still slow, space ok worried about wait, need to check floor even doe my tv entertainment center is heavy. Can't remember how much it weighs. So any advice like to have a 150 oh I have no basment.

Sent from my PG86100 using Reefs
 

tangy84

Advanced Reefer
Location
Fairfield, ct
Rating - 100%
50   0   0
I had a 180 on 2 different walls and the floor dropped about half an inch and there were cracks on my ceiling. On one of the walls the cracks went through the hallway next to it and across. I'm telling u it's scary to the point that I didn't even enjoy my tank.
 

tangy84

Advanced Reefer
Location
Fairfield, ct
Rating - 100%
50   0   0
so tangy what should i get i want a big tank

If u want a big display, get a 120 with a smallish sump (add sump weight as well) If u care about ur sump volume get a 90 with a decent sump. Acrylic tanks reduce some weight but not much. Rock and sand replace water which shouldn't be much of a difference in weight. So if u have a 90 filled to the top with rock, u'll prbly end up with 40 gallons net. So weight of a 120 with rock will be almost equal 120 with just water.
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top