Poll: How many of you live in an apartment and how big is your tank?

I live in an apartment and have a

  • 0-10 gallon tank

    Votes: 8 1.7%
  • 11-20 gallon tank

    Votes: 12 2.5%
  • 21-30 gallon tank

    Votes: 27 5.7%
  • 31-40 gallon tank

    Votes: 31 6.6%
  • 41-50 gallon tank

    Votes: 22 4.7%
  • 51-60 gallon tank

    Votes: 17 3.6%
  • 61-70 gallon tank

    Votes: 12 2.5%
  • 71+ gallon tank

    Votes: 62 13.1%
  • I don't live in an apartment

    Votes: 282 59.6%

  • Total voters
    473

PugsAndFish

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Many apartments limit the size of your aquarium, and some apartments may even ban aquariums. I'm curious how many of you live in apartments, what city you live in, and if you have run into trouble or frustrations due to living in an apartment.

I'll start. My building has a 'no pet' policy that no one follows so I keep a few tanks. I have 2 20 gallon freshwater tanks and I'm starting a 10 gallon reef tank in my tiny NYC 1 bedroom apartment. I dread moving day.
 

LuizW13

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I have a 25 gallon all-in-one in the 3rd floor of my apartment building. I can't remember, but i believe my apartment has a 30gal (or is it 50gal) policy, which means you need to put a deposit down.

I don't know anything about how your freshwater tank is set up, but my tank was the biggest pain to move. Luckily, i only had to go down some stairs moving out, as the new apartment was right next to the service elevator. I don't think you'll be so lucky ( i grew up in Queens).
 

CNDReef

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I asked the maintenance guy if I could setup a small tank 29 biocube, he said no problem as long as it wasn’t too big
 

astraycat

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I have a 75G in my 1BDRM apartment. When I moved in I brought a 40G with me, and what a terror that was. I too dread moving again.
 

Mark SF

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Live in San Francisco and most recent landlord, as did the prior landlord, approved the aquarium.

Back in 2014 I had a 75G saltwater tank that weighed approximately 900lbs filled with equipment, tank and stand back in 2014, smack dab in the middle of the Marina district in San Francisco. This was on the second floor of a three story apartment building, wood construction, and in the "middle" of a 14' wide room, up against a wall but not an exterior, load bearing wall. When you would walk across the room, the tank would shake...It survived through the Napa 6.2mag earthquake, not a drop on the floor but that was also 50 miles north of me.

I probably won't be doing that again...most certainly in the future my aquarium will be right up against a load bearing wall. My biggest fear is earthquakes here in the Bay Area. My new aquarium will be 33" x 23" x 23" to fit perfectly in my tiny butt kitchen to accommodate my small, 600 sq.ft. apartment (that runs me $3500/month).

-Mark
 

Picesduh

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My condo has a no dog and no bird policy. I currently have a 45 gallon which I am upgrading to a 130 gallon. My floors are wood but underneath the wood are concrete slabs. I’m on the first floor so I didn’t bother asking my condo about the aquarium because it’s my home and no one lives below me (car garage). For those of you that have apartments with a no pet policy, corals are not pets ;). I would make sure that your floors can support at least 3 times the weight of your aquarium.
 

CNDReef

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My condo has a no dog and no bird policy. I currently have a 45 gallon which I am upgrading to a 130 gallon. My floors are wood but underneath the wood are concrete slabs. I didn’t bother getting permission for the old or new tank because it’s my home and no one lives below me (car garage). For those of your that have apartments with a no pet policy, corals are not pets.
I think that with aquarium’s , it’s more about water damage than noise :cool:
 

PaulK

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I have a Red Sea 525 in my condo. That’s about 110 gallons plus another 30 or so in the sump. But it’s a large building with concrete subfloors.
 

Picesduh

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I got a 75 in my apartment, manager said that max was 10 gallons. Good thing she doesn’t know the difference lol

Might as well ban them. I can’t understand the whole size limit. It either should be allowed or not...10 gallons of water dripping from the ceiling can still do damage.
 

Picesduh

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My condo has a no dog and no bird policy. I currently have a 45 gallon which I am upgrading to a 130 gallon. My floors are wood but underneath the wood are concrete slabs. I’m on the first floor so I didn’t bother asking my condo about the aquarium because it’s my home and no one lives below me (car garage). For those of you that have apartments with a no pet policy, corals are not pets ;). I would make sure that your floors can support at least 3 times the weight of your aquarium.

Edit: I’m haven’t received the 130 G yet and been thinking of ways to explain (to whichever nosy body that will ask) why a massive crate (will)arrive in front of the building in a few weeks.
 

Mark SF

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For those of you that have apartments with a no pet policy, corals are not pets ;).

We can get into the weeds on this, however, there is ubiquitous language in every lease that I have signed in San Francisco (over the last decade) that has explicitly stated that no "water filled furniture" is allowed. Now, this is designed to cover water beds, but it sure does a good job of including aquariums as well.
 
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PugsAndFish

PugsAndFish

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Live in San Francisco and most recent landlord, as did the prior landlord, approved the aquarium.

Back in 2014 I had a 75G saltwater tank that weighed approximately 900lbs filled with equipment, tank and stand back in 2014, smack dab in the middle of the Marina district in San Francisco. This was on the second floor of a three story apartment building, wood construction, and in the "middle" of a 14' wide room, up against a wall but not an exterior, load bearing wall. When you would walk across the room, the tank would shake...It survived through the Napa 6.2mag earthquake, not a drop on the floor but that was also 50 miles north of me.

I probably won't be doing that again...most certainly in the future my aquarium will be right up against a load bearing wall. My biggest fear is earthquakes here in the Bay Area. My new aquarium will be 33" x 23" x 23" to fit perfectly in my tiny *** kitchen to accommodate my small, 600 sq.ft. apartment (that runs me $3500/month).

-Mark
My NYC apartment is 500 sq. ft. and runs me $1575 a month. SF really did get "worse" in recent years.
 
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PugsAndFish

PugsAndFish

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I have a 25 gallon all-in-one in the 3rd floor of my apartment building. I can't remember, but i believe my apartment has a 30gal (or is it 50gal) policy, which means you need to put a deposit down.

I don't know anything about how your freshwater tank is set up, but my tank was the biggest pain to move. Luckily, i only had to go down some stairs moving out, as the new apartment was right next to the service elevator. I don't think you'll be so lucky ( i grew up in Queens).
I'm trying to sell off one of the freshwater tanks now so I don't have to rush moving it (or even move it at all) later on. But it's hard because it's my first tank ever and my fish population more than doubled as they bred so I have a connection. Nevertheless, I'm keeping my second freshwater tank since I dumped a lot more money into it.

Luckily, I live on the ground floor, so I hope moving won't be too bad. I want at least a 40 gallon tank with a sump later but I was also considering a Nuvo 25 as the "smallest" option if need be. Now that you mention how hard moving a 25 gallon was, I may start reconsidering the 40 + gallon setup and go with a Nuvo 25 as this is the "smallest" I'd probably want.
 

Medici

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I have a 90 gallon saltwater/20 gallon sump on my second floor apartment.

They made me write down what I was getting on paper and sign my name when I moved in.
 

LuizW13

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600 sq.ft. apartment (that runs me $3500/month).

-Mark

What in the f?!

Luckily, I live on the ground floor, so I hope moving won't be too bad. I want at least a 40 gallon tank with a sump later but I was also considering a Nuvo 25 as the "smallest" option if need be. Now that you mention how hard moving a 25 gallon was, I may start reconsidering the 40 + gallon setup and go with a Nuvo 25 as this is the "smallest" I'd probably want.

That thing was so heavy for no reason too.

Left the sand bed and just enough water to keep the sand covered- all that fragile weight with water sloshing around going down 3 flights of stairs and loading it into a truck. Then unloading and taking it up to the other apartment; just thinking about it gets me worked up lol.

Every once in a while i wish i would have gotten with a larger All-in-one because it's so dang hard to reach stability in just 17 gal of water (25gal with rock and sand gets me 17g of water), but at the same time, i feel like it's a great size for me. I'm going to move again sometime in the future at least one more time, it might be down the street, it might be an hour away or a few states away, and i definitely don't want to deal with moving a bigger tank.

Do you guys with proper big boy tank with sumps, do you ever get worried about a pump malfunctioning and overflowing the system? That's another thing i love about my AIO, peace of mind in that regard. I've woken up from naps on the couch to the sound of RODI water spilling on my laundry room lol.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 76 51.0%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 76 51.0%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 37 24.8%
  • None.

    Votes: 33 22.1%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.0%
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