tank size for 2nd floor apartment

Hi guys,

Longtime reefer, first time poster! Anyway, I am currently making the transition from renting a house to renting a 2nd floor apartment, and I was wondering if anybody had an idea about the maximum size tank I could use. I was thinking that since I was moving my tank, I may as well upgrade from a 55g. I do have a 125g tank in my possesion, but I think it might be too large. I was tossing around the idea of a 75g just because it would fit the stand I made for my 55, obviously with some add-ons to accomodate the 18 1/2" depth of the 75. I was planning on scaling down the amount of rock (i have about 100lbs in my 55), and going for a deeper sand bed. I also have a 10g that I set up as a refugium. I am planning on putting about 8" of miracle mud in it. Also, I was wondering if I didn't use the refugium, would mixing miracle mud in with my existing sand and new sand reduce my chances of "old-tank syndrome"? Sorry if this seems like rambling, moving day is in 8 days, and I have 10 million things on my mind. Oh yeah, I am running an aquaC remora (not the pro) which I swapped the MJ12 out for a mag3, do you think that would be sufficent for a lightly stock(1 arc-eye hawk, 1 sand sifting goby, 1 false perc, 1 coral banded shrimp, possibly a yellow-eyed kole tang, and some various softies to be decided at a later date) 75g? Again, sorry for the rambling!
thanks in advance
michael

 

depends what your apartment floor is made of. if its concrete it'll hold your 55, 75, or 125 easily. keep all your rock cause if your worried about weight, water will weigh more.

 

It's definatley a stick framed structure. The wall I plan to put it on is a load bearing wall.

 

i have my 135 gallon reef tank in my up stairs bed room with a 55 gallon sump, with like 300 pounds of LR total including the sump and like 200 pounds of live sadn easy maybe more, i dont think you should ahve any problems! lol.

 

I guess I could go with the 125! I had heard somewhere that 200g was the max, fully loaded with 200lbs of rock without screwjacks underneath the floor. but i just wanted to check. thanks a lot!

 

a gallon of water weighs approximately 8.5lbs. so for a 125 your looking at 1062.5lbs, w/o the tank and filters. i think your safe. but by me they don't make wooden condos/apartments, maybe cause of hurricanes?

 

i would be cautious with the tank my tank a 90(on first floor) crushed the particle board under it luckily the beams are holding.

 

I thought everything in Florida was made of concrete!lol

 

I think I'm just gonna play it safe and go with the 75g. That way I can save some money and stick with all my current equipment. Thanks for all your input.

 

I've had both 70 gal and 125 gal tanks on 2nd floors without any problems. For really heavy tanks, it's a good idea to make sure that they are perpendicular to your floor joists. That is, the tank should cross 3 or 4 joists instead of running along the top of just 1 or 2. Another point worth remembering is that even a fully loaded 125 gal tank exerts much less pressure on your floor than a woman wearing high heels or an adult sitting in a typical dining room chair.