Ever Think About How Much your Tank Weighs??

and add more weight!

 

my tank weighs about 80-90 pounds!

 

Oh I dont want to think about that! ;D

 

Usually 10-12lbs per gallon, once all is said and done (water, salt, rocks, stand etc... ) gives a reasonable estimate.

My tank is 93g so about 930-1100lbs. Sump is in the basement, so doesn't count. The tank is 30" by 30", but is on a 36" by 36" stand, so if the weight is spread evenly, as I hope, it's only about 0.72 to 0.85 psi.

 

Your tanks weighs less than a super model standing in you house with 4 inch spike heels on. Most tanks are long not tall. Now if you have 7 foot tall 400gal tank you may have a problem. I figure my tank is around a 100 LBS a sq. foot.

 

the thing we have to worry about with weight of our tanks isn't comparable to many adages that "you can stand in your bathtub and won't fall through the floor, etc". It's the 24/7 weight that's constantly present on whatever area of your home that could bow or shift weak flooring. That in turn creates an unlevel area that puts stress on your tank seams which can cause them to give or burst.

So the initial "it works" doesn't mean in the long run you won't have an issue. The safe bet is putting a tank perpendicular to your floor joists and to choose an area that is against a load bearing wall. Most older homes were built much better than newer ones I find. But again, there's so many variables that success cannot be guaranteed as noone truly knows how the constant weight of a large tank will affect the area over an extended amount of time. Just one of those things, the best you can do is pre-plan so your tank sits in the safest & most secure area as possible.

 

+1 MoJoe, that is the real risk. Over time, the floor can settle and this uneven support can cause the glass to crack. I also agree old homes are often built better. New ones are too precisely engineered to save on building materials. Old ones are often, although not always, overbuilt.

 

Funny how people worry about their tanks but never ever think about their refrigerators, many of which weigh a helluva lot more than our fishtanks do

 

Also water heaters!

At my last house I put a 1/2 inch sheet of plywood under my 55 gallon stand since I wanted to spread the weight out some on the old wood floor. When we removed it there was a definate low spot where the tank had been setting. I can understand people being worried with wood floors but not on a slab.

 

Good point, if you figure a 24"x24" footprint on the fridge and 500lbs, that's about 0.87psi, which would be about the same as I mentioned my tank produces. Some tank setups do get significantly more than this though. Especially if tall, or have a large sump underneath.