Finally, I get the chance to build a new house (townhouse in my case) They are going to reinforce the floor beneath. My question, is what is the best way to go about this. I am looking to keep as much as a 180 gallon tank. Currently it will be on the ground floor but it has a crawl space underneath. Also it will have hardwood flooring which should be more strenght. Current flooring looks to be at least 3/4 inch thick. The beams are 2X10's that run perpindicular to the wall it is on. (they are running the correct way) The 2X10's rest on a cement footer in the middle of the house. What suggestions would you give the contractor???
Suggestions for Floor reinforcement
- Thread starter mrrrkva
- Start date
I don't have any structural suggestions, but just remind the general contractor to give the fish room outlets a separate power breaker of their own and all outlets should be GFCI grounded. I would even request a small drain outlet on the floor near the tank just incase there are floods......(knock on wood....)
i dont know if this will help but, my 240 is the only tank that had a big weight issue. it went the same way as the joists, so their was only 2-2x8 maybe three carrying the weight. all i did was sister 2 more along side the existing ones. so know there is 9- 2x8 under the tank. solid as a rock! have you ever walked by a tank and had the water move or the canopy doors bounce or shake? well it bugs the hell out of me, so if it was me i would have him double up all the joists, or triple. you cant have to much, and the price of the wood should only be 20-30$. yes this would be over kill but why take a chance! and to do it after really sucks (trust me)!
good luck,
SHANE
GFCI-
ground fault circut interupter
good luck,
SHANE
GFCI-
ground fault circut interupter
GFCI outlets are commonly used in rooms close to water such as kitchen, bathroom, and washing room. When there are short along the circuit, the built-in circuit breaker trips automatically preventing electrical hazards and shielded the rest of the circuit.
All outlets working near water should have GFCI installed. Most updated city codes requires that.
All outlets working near water should have GFCI installed. Most updated city codes requires that.
A couple of things here about the structural part:
1. If you leave the floor as is the tank will be fine (won't fall etc...)
2. The bounce of the floor can be aggravating, so I would double up the joists under the tank to eliminate this.
My 180 sits against a wall and is running with the joists (wrong way). I doubled up two joists and there is no bounce at all.
As Dan mentioned I would have them put a small drain in the floor. This would not even need to be tied into the plumbing if its only intention is for emergencies. Another idea is to tie it into the plumbing and use this drain for water changes
.
If you entend to have metal halide lights I would think about a duct system for your hood to carry the heat outside the house.
Steve
1. If you leave the floor as is the tank will be fine (won't fall etc...)
2. The bounce of the floor can be aggravating, so I would double up the joists under the tank to eliminate this.
My 180 sits against a wall and is running with the joists (wrong way). I doubled up two joists and there is no bounce at all.
As Dan mentioned I would have them put a small drain in the floor. This would not even need to be tied into the plumbing if its only intention is for emergencies. Another idea is to tie it into the plumbing and use this drain for water changes
.If you entend to have metal halide lights I would think about a duct system for your hood to carry the heat outside the house.
Steve
I am setting up a 180 gal as well (soon) and am worried about reinforcement. However, the tank would be running the correct way (perpendicular to the joists), and would be flush against a load bearing all. I'm really not sure if I need to do reinforcement or not. Did you folks have someone come out and see if you needed it or did you just take it upon yourself to put in extra supports? I have no idea if I should do some reinforcing, or even how to go about doing it, so I am kinda in the same boat as our original poster here.
Only 1 problem, this tank will be in my living room and I will have hardwood floors, wont a drain look bad?? Also, having another brain storm, how about putting sump in the crawl space?? I could put return lines thru wall behind tank and run it thru to closet and thru floor there. Any possibiltiy of contanments, will this make it tough for everthing?? Crawl space is only about 30 inches tall but taller under support beams (for skimmers).
I contacted a structural engineer before I put my 180 up. Luckily my company was doing lots of new construction so I had free access to one. It turns out I did not need to do anything to the floor for reinforcement. FWIW I have a townhouse and the tank is on the first floor with a finished basement underneath. My tank was perpendicular to the joists.
not as bad as the spot the salt water will eventually put on the floor. just put the drain under the tank, in the stand. if you can easily get in the crawl space go for it!
PANDOR
i was in general construction for about 6-7 yrs so it comes natural. it is easy, and no matter how the tank goes you should put extra support! it will bounce even if its carryed by 5 2x10 ect. but you can also just take a couple 4x4's and make a new beam under the tank. that should take the bounce out! jack it up a little with floor jack(auto)and cut the pieces to fit (one along all the joist's, and two down to support the load. but SPC is correct it wont fall through but it can come out of level by more than 2" in 8' not very attractive.
hope this helps.
SHANE
JB
can you do a test for us, stand in front of your tank and jump up and down. what happens? do you think the fishies like that(they might but i doubt it) do you have kids? my 12 yr old walk like he's on a trampoline every time he walks by it.
PANDOR
i was in general construction for about 6-7 yrs so it comes natural. it is easy, and no matter how the tank goes you should put extra support! it will bounce even if its carryed by 5 2x10 ect. but you can also just take a couple 4x4's and make a new beam under the tank. that should take the bounce out! jack it up a little with floor jack(auto)and cut the pieces to fit (one along all the joist's, and two down to support the load. but SPC is correct it wont fall through but it can come out of level by more than 2" in 8' not very attractive.
hope this helps.
SHANE
JB
can you do a test for us, stand in front of your tank and jump up and down. what happens? do you think the fishies like that(they might but i doubt it) do you have kids? my 12 yr old walk like he's on a trampoline every time he walks by it.
Pandor, as I said in my original post the tank won't fall through the floor. The question is will you have bounce to the floor which can cause the stand and tank to shake when someone walks by the tank. With a large tank this could be a concern over time because of the chance of fatigue to the joints of the tank. If your house is built like the average house, and the way you will have your tank located, you should have no problem at all.
I am in consturction work so I was able to crawl under my own house and add a couple of extra joists myself. I needed to add these joists for the bounce factor, as I said my tank is located running with the joists. If in the future you find that you are having a problem with the tank shaking, you can always hire someone to double up a joist or two then.
Steve
I am in consturction work so I was able to crawl under my own house and add a couple of extra joists myself. I needed to add these joists for the bounce factor, as I said my tank is located running with the joists. If in the future you find that you are having a problem with the tank shaking, you can always hire someone to double up a joist or two then.
Steve
ator":kpyoet4i" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">25gator":kpyoet4i said:
I just did, the tank doesn't move a bit. I had the engineer check out the wieght for the tank at 3,500lbs. I est. the actuale weight at 2400. My house also uses truss contruction, and the tank is against a load bearing wall. The engineer told me that if I had a party and had something like ten male adults standing right in front of the tank I might start to feel a little bounce in the floor. But for normal day to day, the weight is well below the static weight the floor can support. I'm not saying you should use my example and not do anything, I am saying you should talk to an engineer and get their opinion.
mrrrkva, some concerns about your sump in your crawl space:
1. The ground is treated for termites.
2. How will you get to the sump?
3. Cold weather.
4. Although plastic will be put down on the ground it will not cover 100%. When you crawl around under there you will kick up dust.
5. Duct work etc... to crawl under?
What I did was locate my sump/ref (75gallon) in a closet in an adjoining B/R.
Steve
1. The ground is treated for termites.
2. How will you get to the sump?
3. Cold weather.
4. Although plastic will be put down on the ground it will not cover 100%. When you crawl around under there you will kick up dust.
5. Duct work etc... to crawl under?
What I did was locate my sump/ref (75gallon) in a closet in an adjoining B/R.
Steve
OK, ihave a 180 runing along the inside wall of my 30yr old house, it has 11.5' between outside concrete foundation and the load carrying beem. the tank IS going the right way and IS on the carrying wall (interior) but that puts it 2.6' into the house on the joists. it definetly shakes when you walk by. if it was on the beam it might not but thats not possible! so i would support ! it can not hurt to put extra support.
PS i would not trust an arcitect or engineer to support my ten gallon feeder tank! just my opinion. hope that does'nt hurt any feelings.
PS i would not trust an arcitect or engineer to support my ten gallon feeder tank! just my opinion. hope that does'nt hurt any feelings.
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