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I live in a double wide trailer (no jokes please ) and my mom says we can't have a large tank.

Right now I have a 20g but I'd like something bigger.

Does anyone know the maximum size I could get without having to reinforce the flooring.

Owner of 20g with 7 diamond tetras, 1 mosquito eater,& 1 lyretail molly.

There would be too many variables to answer that. If your home is old and/or has poor foundations and flooring constructions even a 3ft could be too much. If ever thing is perfect a 6ft "could" even be considered.

I would strongly suggest in getting a qualified builder who knows what he is doing to actually have a good look at all that is under the flooring and how it is constructed and the condition it is in. Even a brand new home does not mean go BIG

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Think about it this way: what is the average weight of a human being considered safe for your home. The area of feet (the contact area where weight is 'forwarded' to the floor) is pretty small resulting in a lot of weight per square inch per person. On the other hand, the contact area of a standard tank will be larger, which reduces the weight per square inch or whatever unit you want to apply. (If you stand on one leg, you will double the amount of weight that you put per unit - the smaller the contact surface the higher the weight per unit and the chance that the floor will crash). Conclusion: I would go in my calculation within a comfortable range of what is considered safe for your home and for peace of mind I would contact a manufacturer of trailers and inquire of what is deemed safe without requirement of floor enforcement.

Hope I did not make it too difficult to understandcc

I lived in a double-wide that had flooring far stronger than the building code required, so I suppose it would depend on where and when your home was built. I suspect though that you'll find that it's very strong and that, on a proper stand that would distribute the weight (as catdancer indicates), you won't have an issue. Keith's suggested the only real way to be sure though.

I vote! Do you?

Another thought, look for tanks that are called "breeders" These are usually shorter and longer than "standard" tanks. While you may not be able to keep larger fish, you will likely be able to have more smaller fish as there is more surface area for them. Surface area is one of the most important factors when considering stocking, possibly more important than gallonage.

Plus, it'll have a larger viewing area, and be more impressive .

^_^

A 'breeder' tank will also distribute the amount of weight per square inch better due to the increased area! Not to forget that they are excellent for plants if you are interested in this aspect of the hobby.

Ya'll all have very good suggestions.
Our house is a Homestead Home, so even though it is a little older it is still strongly built. I've looked all over the internet for blueprints of our house. Couldn't find one. They don't make our model anymore. I'm not sure if we have one laying around here. Probably not.

A breeder does sound good, I would like to have lots of plants. I'll look into it.

I found a table on the internet that showed sizes, gal.s,weight, etc., etc., etc. for tanks. I tried to figure out the lbs per 2 in. For the 75 and 55 reg the prefered tanks I'd want. Turns out I forgot to take into acount that it will be sitting on a stand and those calc. just flew out the freakin window.

So anyway...

Time to get my uncle involved. Didn't want to do it, but now it seems I have no choice.

Thanx All!

Owner of 20g with 7 diamond tetras, 1 mosquito eater,& 1 lyretail molly.

Ok so I got him involved and he said it would be safe.

So, I guess...

I'M GETTING A 75 G

Owner of 20g with 7 diamond tetras, 1 mosquito eater,& 1 lyretail molly.

hey great art! welcome to FP, and I for one, am looking forward to reading about your new set up and what all goes into the tank!

Do you have any ideas so far on stocking? plants? set up?

Yes ,as a matter of fact I do.

I was thinking for fish, I'd get at least 3 clown loaches, at least 5 diamond tetras, and some featherfin rainbows. I would like to get some blue rams and cherry barbs but I wouldn't know how many to get. For blue rams some say to get at least one male and three females or just a male and a female, I don't know... And cherry barbs are supposed to come in pairs but how many in total. I'm used to just having tetras, live bearers, and goldfish.

I generally have never had plants except I bought 2 bulbs of dwarf lily hybrids that I found at Wolly-World. They both grew and are doing fine. But I'd prefer to have lots of easy first-timer kind of plants in the 75. I've been researching and I've narrowed down the selection to about 30 different species I'm interested in.

Owner of 20g with 7 diamond tetras, 1 mosquito eater,& 1 lyretail molly.