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Entacmaea

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I am starting a new tank and it is either going to be a 65gal or a custom 90 (36x24x24) Due to space I can only have a 36" inch long tank.

Question is, I think I will have to put the tank parallel to the floor joists, rather than perpendicular to them(I assume the floor joists in my new apartment, 2nd floor of an old victorian house which is narrow, run perpendicular to the long axis of the house). Saying I go with a 90gal, plus a 20 gallon sump, LS LR etc, what do the engineers say? :)

Appreciate the help...

Thanks!
 
A

Anonymous

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your tank is going to be wider than 16" centers that most floor joists are set on. You'll be spanning one or two at best. If you put the tank back against the wall, you'll be off the wall by a few inches. That will put you away from the joist by a couple of more inches. That puts the next joist under the back half of your tank.

What's your floor made from? is it plywood and carpet, or hardwood? if it's hardwood, you'll be mostly okay for a while. depending on construction, it may start to sag a bit. You won or rent?

B
 

Entacmaea

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Renting, so I will definitely be looking into renters insurance : ) Any advice into renters insurance for a tank would be welcome...

Yeah, as for the joist spacing Bingo, you bring up the main point I am worried about- only hitting one joist for support of the tank, which is possible with normal 16 inch spacing and a 24 inch wide tank. The floor
is wooden, but the wider old fir planks(4" wide), not the typical oak hardwood.

Does anyone know how to get my hands on the plans for my apartment- would City Hall possibly have plans on hand for a 80+ year old house?
 
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I agree with your assumption about the direction of the joists.

One joist (even two) will NOT handle the nearly 1200 lbs of weight in water and rock that you are proposing to put on it. None of the typical flooring types in a residential home (modern or old) will aid much in supporting that kind of weight on a single joist either.

Do you have access to the floor below, to the area underneath the tank to provide additional supports of some kind?

Can you turn the tank so that it spans multiple joists near a load bearing wall? Turn it perpindicular to the floor joists?

You are playing roulette here if you go with a joist-parallel installation. Sometimes those old homes have stupidly over-engineered construction but more often they have stupidly under-engineered construction. (6 in joists, no cross-ties, etc)

I wish you the best of luck, but be careful!
 

Entacmaea

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Thanks cknow- I think you just put into words what I feared but needed to hear : ) Don't have access to under the floor or the flat below, so...

It looks like I will have to run it perpendicular to the joists. Darn. Better safe than wet destruction! So with a 36" tank, placed perpendicular to joists next to a wall(probaby load bearing, not sure), I should hit at least 2 joists, probably 3, and will be ok?
 

Mekinnik1

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After reading all the posts on this subject I've noticed one thing you all are missing
Question is, I think I will have to put the tank parallel to the floor joists, rather than perpendicular to them(I assume the floor joists in my new apartment, 2nd floor of an old victorian house which is narrow, run perpendicular to the long axis of the house).
. If memory serves me correct depending on the age of your home the floor joists should be 12" on center not the normal 16". Another idea your could do is to put a piece of hardwood to act as a support floor to take up the distance you have your tank away from the wall.
 

grav

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Random placement of a 36 inch tank perpendicular to joists spaced 16 inches would leave a slim chance of getting 3 joists (only if each side of the tank lands RIGHT ON a joist.)

If your floor is wood, not carpet, a $20 stud finder from HD will answer a lot of your questions and let you line up the tank to be over 3 joists not 2.

Also, consider corners, even better between 2 load bearing walls. Especally in a 36 inch tank you wount be loosing too much space, which could still be used for undertank storage, and it is the strongest location.

Renters insurance is a good idea for everyone, and more so for us. "Your stuff isn't less valuable, just because you rent" and it is dirt cheap.
 

Entacmaea

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12" on center floor joists is even better! I will have to double check the 16" vs 12" floor joists to be sure. It seems to me that with a 36 inch tank, I will hit 2 joists directly, and will be close enough to at least one other (and maybe 2) for the wood floor and sub floor to disperse a little of the load to other joists? Since I am now not going to be going parallel to the joists, I could also go with a 48" long 90gal, hitting then 3 joists for sure, but it is additional weight. Arg, I hate being so nervous about this!

I will still check for floor joists with a stud finder, thanks grav, but my room is small enough that even moving the tank 6-12 inches away from the wall is less than desirable...
 

DOGMAI

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Just build a platform for it to sit on. It only has to be the height of 4x4's and a piece of plywood. You could make a real nice one and put some carpet on it after the tank is on it. If you make it 4' wide and 30" deep it will have a larger load bearing area and you would be sure to hit at least two joists. If you displace the weight over a larger area it will give you piece of mind. Also I heard some where that a marine aquarium with rock sand and water would weigh about 10 pounds or so per gallon so you would be looking at close to 900 to 1000 pounds. That is not to bad.

Wood floors will hold up a water bed. Its because of the displacement of weight. As far as that goes fill the tank slowly over a couple of days and keep a keen eye on it. If it starts sagging or getting out of balance than just drain the tank.

I do think that a platform is the way to go to give you piece of mind.

Thanks,
Shane
 

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