help?

[Lizzy & Me]

Hello All,

I am ready to purchase a 300 gallon used set up, the question is can I put this on the second story of our house? I went as far as calling the city for the load bearing code on a second floor, but they were unable to help because I have the "engineered" joists. Has anyone done this or are there any engineers here? Thanks for the help.

Jack

 

[Anonymous]

Lizzy & Me,
:welcome:

I can't help you, sorry haven't got a clue how to assess that, but wanted to welcome you anyway. There are others here who can help you out I am sure.

 

[waymack97]

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html this might help.
_________________
Love Advice

 

[mr_X]

how many gallons is in a king sized waterbed? i am thinking about 200 or so????
right now i am in a 2nd floor apartment and i have approximately 200 gallons in a 2' x 6' area, and see no problems as of yet 8O
i think as long as you place the tank crossways so that you are hitting multiple beams, you'll be ok. just find out what each beam is rated for. depending on your building codes, you are probably standing on 2x12 lumber.

 

[Anonymous]

That is quite a large tank to have on the second story. It can be done tho. The tank would need to be running across the floor joist near or over a load bearing wall. If you can not verify these two things I would not even consider it.

 

[trido]

That is quite a large tank to have on the second story. It can be done tho. The tank would need to be running across the floor joist near or over a load bearing wall. If you can not verify these two things I would not even consider it.

That would go for the first floor as well with a tank that large. I believe the engineered joists are called TGIs. I forget. I have never worked with them personally. They are supposed to be stronger than dimensional lumber. Probably because there are no knots for starters. The only difference between putting the tank on the first floor to second is the lack of potential additional bracing in the crawl space on the first. You might want to consider hiring a contractor for a consultation to get a better Idea. It would be pretty inexpensive in the whole scheme of the hobby.

 

[Anonymous]

They are supposed to be stronger than dimensional lumber. Probably because there are no knots for starters.

That and the fact they are shaped like I-beams. For spans you get more strength with deaper beams and things shaped like I-beams rather than regular dimensional lumber.

 

[ChrisRD]

"TJIs" are what you guys are thinking of. Actually they're a proprietary product manufactured by TrusJoist, but the name is sorta used generically to refer to manufactured wood beams.

A tank of that size/weight would likely require some reinforcement to place it on a second floor. To give you any kind of real answer you'd need to find out what size/model the joists are. You'd also have to provide a basic sketch showing the layout of the floor construction with some dimensions. Also, some dimensions on the tank and where in the room you plan to situate it would be needed.

The other issue to consider with a tank that size is whether or not you could get it through/around the necessary doorways/openings/corners to get it in the intended spot. If it's a glass tank it will be very heavy and tough to manipulate.

 

[Lizzy & Me]

Thanks for all the input! I had a little trouble signing up and am not getting the email notifications, so I will check my settings.

I thought this would be a relitivy easy question, but it is proving not to be. The set up I am looking at, has all the goodies I am looking for. VHO lighting, nice protien skimmer, tons of live rock, 20 healthy fish etc., etc.

We do have the TJI's and apparently without the code on the joists, I can't come up with an answer. I spoke to gentleman who built the house and he didn't think it would be a problem, but man do I need concrete answers.

Thanks for the welcome! My daughter and I really want to make this happen, but not willing to risk the possibility of 300 gallons crashing down to the first floor. I will continue to research.

Jack

 

[Lizzy & Me]

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article28.html this might help.

Wavmack97,

This was exactly what I was looking for, so thanks for the link. I don't have a basement here in AZ so the first floor is a slab.

 

[Anonymous]

If you first floor is a slab then you have no problem putting it there.