How big of a tank can i have on secondfloor

[I think a lot would depend on the square footage of the tank. You know the bigger the footprint, the more area the weight is spread out. And also if you have the tank on a supporting wall of the house and if it the wall that the floor supports T into, not the wall they run parallel to. You could also put the tank on a sheet of thick plywood that would spread the weigth out some more. I would also think the builder could give you some definate guides to go by.]
 
[Most stories are rated for between 400 and 1/2 ton without it being the main support.

Salt water weighs like 5lbs per gallon right? So, I agree with Bigstun... Dohh that is twice now :no: I will never live down the humiliation :no: j/k]



Edited By BrianC on 1107269723
 
[Freshwater is 8.8lbs per gallon, salt is closer to 10. Weight will very based on tempature a little too.

I had a 125 on the 2nd floor of our house for 6 years when I lived at home.]



Edited By mwolek on 1107271457
 
[It's going to depend on location, the building and weight distribution like mentioned above.

I live on the second floor in a duplex built in the early 40's. I had an Architect budding of mine come over and inspect the joint. Due to the building techniques of that time and the second floor construction, the spanse of the floor between walls, etc.. I'm good with my 90g, 110lbs of rock and a 29g sump, and a DSB. Was definately holding my breath filling it up. I would not have gone larger.

I did place the tank on an outside wall and the floor joists are perpendiculiar to the tank/wall. I tried to situate the tank on as many supports as I could. There is also a wood floor, padding and carpet under there as well.

Do some searches on reefs.org. I know I had an in depth conversation with several folks over there about a year ago. My name is "Modo" over there as well.]
 
[The weight of saltwater with a specific gravity of 1.026 is 8.56lbs. per gallon. You usually base the total weight of the tank and setup though, at 10lbs per gallon. That means say for instance a 89.8 gallon tank 48"x18"x24"tall takes up an area of 6 square ft. that comes to 150 lbs per sq. ft. I can assure you that a second floor of a house can support that much weight, or I would be going down through the ceiling right now. Like I said before it would be good to put it on a load bearing wall and a wider tank is better than a tall tank. Figure out the tank weight and area it will take up. Then you will know what kind of weigth per square foot you are dealing with. Any builder would know the guidlines for the support of a second floor.]
 
[Had to put in my 2 cents. I've got a 140 (48*24*28) on a second floor apartment with no problem. Like Rick said...It's more about the lbs/sqft than the total weight. Mine has about 180lbs/sqft. Just in case, put it on a load bearing wall...at least that will keep the first floor ceiling from bowing down.

later
:beer:]
 
[I have two tanks in my second floor apartment. One is a 72 and it is on the inside wall. The other one is a 175 and it sits on the outside wall. I have about 150 lbs of live rock and 200 lbs of sand plus another 15-20 gallons in the sump. I have not had a problem with either tank. I talked to the apartment manager and he said there were a few other people on the 2nd and 3rd floor with tanks.]
 
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