FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hello!

Okay, I am new to marine aquariums, and well, I'm about to begin a 75 gal. saltwater tank. I've been reading a book "The New Marine Aquarium" and it's been a great read so far, really inspiring

Has anyone experienced issues with sagging or worse?... a collapsed floor from a heavy tank? ]:|:#( Man, that would be a mess! lol.

My only concern is, will a standard ground level floor with 2" X 8" floor joists spaced 16" apart safely support a fully setup 75 gal. tank w/ stand and canopy? It's also got 3/4" hard wood flooring on top of a plywood base, and the foundation is a poured concrete slabs. The aquarium would be setup in a corner against two outter walls.

This topic dosen't come up much, so I'm guessing that alot of people don't experience alot of troubles. I would really like a 75 gal. due to it's foot print.

EDIT: I do have a basement but someone will be living down there in the near future... that would be where I'd set it up but! it'll have to be on the 1st floor.

Thank you!

bala shark

Last edited by bala shark at 20-Feb-2005 14:03

You really shouldnt have any problems..but if you are worried about it you can set it up so the tank weight is spread across more than one floor joist.

I have my 180 set up on the main level with the basement below and havent had any problems..I have over 400lbs of rock in it, and well over 300lbs of sand....I dont think you will have any problems with your 75 gallon.

Wow! your pushing over 2000 lbs.! Sounds like you have quite the setup

Is a rule of thumb for adding LR roughly 1.5 - 2 lbs per gal.? Coral sand substrate 1/4 - 1/2 lb per gal.?

The only way I can have the tank and joists setup is in parallel. So it would be sitting on 2 joists for sure.

Thanks DRO

bala shark

Sand is hard to judge because there are different grain sizes which weigh more per cubic foot of sand. For a 75 gallon I would say you need approx. 135 lbs of a sugar sized sand to give you a 3 inch sand bed that will act as a denitrifing sand bed.

Rock is a little easier, but it also depends on the rock that you get. Fiji for example is lighter and you get more filtration capability from it because it is so porous.....Florida rock is really dense and alot heavier so you would need alot more lbs of it to get the same filtration.

If you go with a light weight porous rock like Fiji, Bali, Marshal island, tonga, vanatau, etc then I would go with a rough estimate of 1 lb per gallon for effective filtration. I would however use more to fill the tank up so it looks the way you like it but still leave room for fish....hence the reason I have 400+ lbs of rock in my tank and still want a couple more pieces to finish it off.