Need advice on crawl space support for 150G

[misolatte]

Hi all,


I am planning to set up a ~150-gallon aquarium system in my living room and wanted to sanity-check floor support.


Below is a photo of my crawl space directly under the area where the tank will be placed. The tank will sit very close to a main support post and beam, but it will not be directly centered over the post. It will be slightly offset.


The house has a crawl space, and the tank will be oriented parallel to the floor joists and close to a load-bearing wall. Estimated total system weight will be roughly 1,600–2,000 lbs when fully filled.


My questions are:

• Is this proximity to the existing beam and post generally sufficient?
• Would you recommend adding an additional support post or beam for safety and long-term peace of mind?
• If reinforcement is recommended, what is the most common or cost-effective approach in this situation?

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[jsmkmavity]

I cant tell from the photo if those joists are dimensional lumber or "i" joists with plywood centers? 1600 lbs total weight is just over 1 pound per square inch static load, and 2000 lbs is less than 1.5 lbs/□". How tall are the joists and how far to the right is the next beam or end of the joists?

 

[Aidanwave]

I’d brace the joists directly under the tank with a couple of jack posts and a beam. Being near the main post helps, but extra support spreads the load and keeps the floor steady.

 

[me & my baby]

Here is what I did for my 150. I used 4 4x4s , 4 solid concrete blocks and 2 2x10s. I screwed the 2x10s to the bottom of my joist under where the tank is located up above . I then placed the block cut the 4x4 to a little longer then what I needed . Tapped them into place and screwed the 4x4s into the 2x10s . The tank has been there since 2018 .

 

[Aidanwave]

I had a similar issue at my place, and getting the vents cleaned made a huge difference in airflow and dust. I ended up using Emerson Air Duct Dallas, and their techs were solid and didn’t rush the job. The pricing was fair, and they even had a discount running at the time, which helped. My system’s been running smoother and the air feels lighter since then.