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I've just moved into my unit (first bought home, yay!) and after a few...problems...(cracked bottom of tank, had to get it replaced!) have set up my 120 gallon. But I'm really worried about the weight on the floor. The only place I could put it was a place where it runs parallel with the joists instead of across them. The floor is hardwood underneath by the way, with a laminate floating floor glued above. What really worries me is that the floor bends slightly towards the tank. I went and had a look at the floor from underneath - it actually sits above a neighbours garage, which is really annoying because I can't be constantly checking on it without bugging them - and it looks fine, so the bend is probably only in the laminate and is probably just the glue compressing. But I'm still worried, we've lived in older places (this place is about 30 years old) but we've always been able to place it spanning the joists and sometimes against a load-bearing wall. I couldn't sleep last night for worry, I just kept picturing the things going through the floor.

Can anyone offer some reassurance, and/or advice? I'm seriously considering moving it downstairs to the garage, but it is my display tank and I would never see it down there apart from daily feedings. The only way I think I would do it would be if I could get a smaller, say 40 gallon hexagonal type set-up and make a beautiful reef tank with it upstairs, but I just don't have the money for that. I don't want to sell the 120 gallon because I love my Africans!

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

just a suggestion - and i'm not really sure if it's a possible one - but would your neighbors consider letting you put a supporting beam in their garage under the wall the tank is against? my aunt set up a 100gal reef tank and had the same concern so she put the beam in the basement (it was a pretty old house too) and never had any problems with the floor buckling... just an idea

i'd say its the laminate thats bending. Hardwood is just that - hard. I'd be worried if it was pine or something but hardwood is pretty much invincible. The only concern I'd have is with the age of the wood - i'm not certain whether hard wood degrades at all over time. If I were you and I didn't want to bother the neighbours, I'd get a flooring guy in to check it out. We've just recently had one in after having termites and they're actually quite knowledgable about wood in general. They'd be happy to help you out...for a price...

Last edited by simpkia at 26-Oct-2004 06:16

Could you place somthing substantial that would reach across the beams the other direction and place the tank on top of that? I'm thinking like a false fireplace hearth or somthing? Good luck.

You might find this article helpful, Just_Beginning, as it covers the very worries you are having -

[link=Residential Wood framed Floors
and Aquarium Weights]http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php" style="COLOR: #BA55D3[/link]

x

should b fine as long as there at least 24" centers

How did the bottom crack in the first place? Just curious. Is it possible to see the floor structure. Is the roof in the garage drywalled. Is there any beams there. Are the floor joist in good condition? Are you going to put any other weights near the tank. i.e. other heavy furniture items and heavy objects that share the same joist. Definitely would want to put an 120g near a load bearing wall and perpindicular to the joists.

i'd say its the floating floor.

what about putting the tank stand on a sheet of finished hardwood? it should spread the pressure a bit more and save your floor surface.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Thanks for the replies. I'll try to answer the questions you've asked...

Openwater: the tank bottom cracked because a big bowl of wet sand was dropped on it. There's a thread about it in the Recovery Room. It's all fixed now.

The roof is not drywalled, we can see the wood and the joists. It's all in good condition, and when we had the building and termite inspections before buying our place, they said that the floors were in good condition. There are no other heavy objects close to the tank, the fridge is fairly nearby but not sharing any of the same joists or floorboards.

Calla - we do have two big thick (like 1.5" ) planks of hardwood running lengthwise underneath the front and back legs of the stand, we've had them there since we first got the tank. So some of the weight will be spread out, but still the fact that the joists are parallel rather than perpendicular worries me.

What we are thinking of doing is emptying out most of the water on the weekend and then asking our neighbours if we can get in there and put in some nice big lengths of hardwood and use really big, strong nails to get them in places where they will support the weight a little more. In that article it says that it won't work unless it is done before the tank is placed there but it should work if most of the water is gone and therefore most of the full weight not on the floor, right?

Last edited by just beginning at 28-Oct-2004 21:32

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

Okay, we came up with a solution to our floor problems, and it's the same solution to so many fishy problems - buy a new tank!

It does mean going down in size, but that's not a bad thing. A 120 gallon tank is just not apartment-friendly, especially a second-story one like ours. Having faced that fact, and not wanting to send the tank to the garage where it would never be seen, I went out to my LFS to check out what was available. I found a really nice 80ish gallon tank that is designed to be a room divider. One end of it is square, and is supposed to go against the wall. The other end is curved, and is supposed to stick out into the room. The stand is designed to look the same and has doors that open from both sides. Kind of hard to explain, but I'll have pics once I set it up (and if I can find my digital camera, which I haven't seen since the move three weeks ago.... This is the first time I've bought a tank brand new from the LFS, and although it cost much more than any other tank I've ever bought - $800 AU for tank, stand, hood and lights (2 fluorescent and 1 compact fluorescent, not sure of wattage yet) - it's worth the peace of mind it will bring me, plus it's so different from any tank I've had or have seen! I'm going to sell the 120 gallon too, so hopefully I can get some money back from that.

It's in place and filled with water now, and looks fantastic. Because of its design, I was able to place it in a much better spot across the joists, and the floor doesn't bow at all. I emptied most of the water out of 120 gallon, and noticed later that the bow was gone from under it, which is a great relief and really makes me feel like I've done the right thing.

This afternoon I'll be aquascaping (going to be a real challenge, to make it look good from both sides!) and introducing the fish to their new home. I'm very glad I've kept the 120 gallon understocked for all this time, because the stock is about perfect for an 80 gallon!

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde