Hi, we're looking at putting a 300 litre tank in our dining room (it will be our first tank), but how do we find out if our floor is strong enough to support the weight?
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Have a basement? As long as the tank is going across your supports and not with them you should be fine. I have a 90 gallon with basement and didn't have to do anything specialHi, we're looking at putting a 300 litre tank in our dining room (it will be our first tank), but how do we find out if our floor is strong enough to support the weight?
We don't have a basement, we're in a UK Victorian style terrace, but it does have a suspended floor.Have a basement? As long as the tank is going across your supports and not with them you should be fine. I have a 90 gallon with basement and didn't have to do anything special
I think you meant perpendicular to the floor joints. You want to spread the tanks weight across as many joints as possible. Preferably being close the a load bearing wall at the same time.Unfortunately as far as I know there really isn't a good way short of hiring a structural engineer to look at it, which I assume almost no one would do. From my experience as long as the tank is running parallel to the floor joists then most floors will easily support the weight of any reasonable sized tank. I once lived in an apartment that every time I'd walk through the living room the floors would shake horribly, but it still held a 75g and 55g tank without collapsing.
ThisI think you meant perpendicular to the floor joints. You want to spread the tanks weight across as many joints as possible. Preferably being close the a load bearing wall at the same time.
I did indeed. Thanks for catching that.I think you meant perpendicular to the floor joints. You want to spread the tanks weight across as many joints as possible. Preferably being close the a load bearing wall at the same time.
If over a steel beam you have nothing to worry aboutI was considering perpendicular to floor joists as well (parallel to the exterior wall). However, directly under where I want to place my tank is a steel i-beam (perpendicular to the exterior wall). I want to place my peninsula as a room divider perpendicular to the exterior wall. If I do this, its placement will be directly over the i-beam. What are your thoughts on this scenario?
What about in a reasonably built 120 year old home?The short answer is an 80 gallon tank should be fine pretty much anywhere you put it 99.9% of the time.
The problem is without an expert (or those of us pretending to be) cant say with certainty without more details. Things like termite damage, etc you wont even know without an inspection.
As others said though the safest spots are near exterior walls or interior load bearing walls and perpendicular to the joists, but an 80gallon should be fine on any reasonably built modern home no matter where it goes unless there are extenuating circumstances(termite,etc)
Suspended floor basically means that the floor is on joists, but the joists are about 1-2 feet above the ground. There is a layer of insulation under the floor. It's an old method of building (as someone said any modern home should be fine, but this isn't a modern home it's 120 years old)The tank should run perpendicular to floor joists for best support. Not sure what a suspended floor is but to be safe you should ask a qualified structural engineer or a reliable building contractor. A lot more needs to be considered besides the tank.
I am going to build a 180 gallon, my only option is parallel with the joists AND I AM hiring a structural engineer so the floor gets beefed up correctly.
What about in a reasonably built 120 year old home?
How do I know if they're spaced appropriately?Well i imagine in many cases maybe even safer, but a lot less codes and standards back then so probably more variable. I would expect it to be fine, but would be taking a look and making sure joists are spaced appropriately, etc.
How do I know if they're spaced appropriately?