Red Sea reefer 525 good or bad idea?

[Zbutcher]

Hey everyone,

I have been contemplating the idea of upgrading to a red sea reefer 525. But my problem is in my house I have a renter in my basement meaning that I am on the second floor (bungalow house) and I am curious if the floor could hold the weight of that tank full and sitting in one place?

For the record I do know which way my floor joists run meaning I can set the tank perpendicular to them. Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Shanel]

I think it's a great idea. I would definitely be concerned about the weight of the tank. There are a lot of factors involved in how much weight a floor can handle. If it was me I would consider hiring a Residential Structural Engineer to evaluate the floor. Might add some additional cost but would ease any doubts I had. I hope your able to upgrade. I really like the reefer tanks. I looked at the 525 when purchasing mine and considered the cost difference. So I decided on the 625. One of the main reasons was you could house more species of fish. Check out the tank requirements for your fish before purchasing them. Good Luck!

 

[Zbutcher]

I think it's a great idea. I would definitely be concerned about the weight of the tank. There are a lot of factors involved in how much weight a floor can handle. If it was me I would consider hiring a Residential Structural Engineer to evaluate the floor. Might add some additional cost but would ease any doubts I had. I hope your able to upgrade. I really like the reefer tanks. I looked at the 525 when purchasing mine and considered the cost difference. So I decided on the 625. One of the main reasons was you could house more species of fish. Check out the tank requirements for your fish before purchasing them. Good Luck!

Yeah I already know what fish and everything I want. It is just the weight that I am curious about. Idk I think if it was spanning over a few joists which it would be I think it would be fine but I'm not sure. One person did make a good point, which was if the stand can hold the tank my floor should. But idk if that makes sense

 

[Shanel]

Thats a very good point to consider. The difference i would be concerned about is a stand has more vertical sections holding it up. The sides of a stand could be 29 to 36 inch in height. This gives it strength vertically as opposed to floor joists that may only be 6 inch in height. Although the joists are wider. The main concern of mine would be the size of floor joists and the way it is attached and/or supported. In reality there is a weight limit on anything built, just cause the stand can hold up the weight of the tank doesn't mean the floor is rated for the weight.

 

[Zbutcher]

Thats a very good point to consider. The difference i would be concerned about is a stand has more vertical sections holding it up. The sides of a stand could be 29 to 36 inch in height. This gives it strength vertically as opposed to floor joists that may only be 6 inch in height. Although the joists are wider. The main concern of mine would be the size of floor joists and the way it is attached and/or supported. In reality there is a weight limit on anything built, just cause the stand can hold up the weight of the tank doesn't mean the floor is rated for the weight.

That's fair. Hmm I'm not sure what to do. Essentially I'd love to have a purple tang and I currently have a 75 gallon and I don't know or think it would do well in anything less then 5 feet. Thoughts?

 

[Shanel]

I'm just thinking here. Is there some sort of permitting specs on floors. Maybe giving the city inspectors office (Code Inforcement) a call and check with them on codes for your building. Hopefully that would get you somewhere.

 

[Forfoj]

Hey everyone,

I have been contemplating the idea of upgrading to a red sea reefer 525. But my problem is in my house I have a renter in my basement meaning that I am on the second floor (bungalow house) and I am curious if the floor could hold the weight of that tank full and sitting in one place?

For the record I do know which way my floor joists run meaning I can set the tank perpendicular to them. Thoughts?

Thanks.

Second floors can usually hold 40 lbs per square foot. It's more near the wooden wall studs. The red sea reefer 525 system is about 1,400 pounds. Personally, I wouldn't place that much weight on a second floor without reinforcing the floor underneath but, definitely consult a structural engineer.

 

[Zbutcher]

I'm just thinking here. Is there some sort of permitting specs on floors. Maybe giving the city inspectors office (Code Inforcement) a call and check with them on codes for your building. Hopefully that would get you somewhere.

Well it's my house so I think I have a blueprint in the legal docs of the house inspection and stuff. So I could check that I suppose

 

[Zbutcher]

Second floors can usually hold 40 lbs per square foot. It's more near the wooden wall studs. The red sea reefer 525 system is about 1,400 pounds. Personally, I wouldn't place that much weight on a second floor without reinforcing the floor underneath but, definitely consult a structural engineer.

That's fair. Currently I have a 75 gallon with a 20 gallon sump in my office with my computer desk and I guess me sitting in it for a bit at a time (I'm a ****** lol. So add a good 280 lbs on top of that. And I haven't had issues now for 8 months. So that's pushing probably a serious amount of weight. House was built in the 50s and from the tradesmen I have talked to the structures back then were built better then they are now apparently?

 

[Shanel]

I've heard the same. Good luck. Hope you find your answer.

 

[Zbutcher]

I've heard the same. Good luck. Hope you find your answer.

Thanks!

 

[xtremethings]

I’m relatively new to the hobby, but not new to putting some crazy heavy stuff in my house. The main thing you want to do is place the tank against a bearing wall while spanning the joists perpendicularly.

I’m not saying that you’re 100% good to go, but you’d be surprised how much weight you’re able to have with next to no deflection on a floor built to code. It’s just that the 40# per sq/ft thing isn’t that straight forward or we’d all be walking around the house in snow shoes in fear of falling through.

 

[Zbutcher]

I’m relatively new to the hobby, but not new to putting some crazy heavy stuff in my house. The main thing you want to do is place the tank against a bearing wall while spanning the joists perpendicularly.

I’m not saying that you’re 100% good to go, but you’d be surprised how much weight you’re able to have with next to no deflection on a floor built to code. It’s just that the 40# per sq/ft thing isn’t that straight forward or we’d all be walking around the house in snow shoes in fear of falling through.

Awesome. When you say a bearing wall, I'm assuming if I put it up against a wall that on the other side is outside of my house, that counts as a bearing wall? Sorry I'm not sure what qualifies as a bearing wall. But I was going to put it perpendicular to my joists for sure!

lol yeah that's kind of what I figured glad we are on the same page

 

[xtremethings]

Awesome. When you say a bearing wall, I'm assuming if I put it up against a wall that on the other side is outside of my house, that counts as a bearing wall? Sorry I'm not sure what qualifies as a bearing wall. But I was going to put it perpendicular to my joists for sure!

lol yeah that's kind of what I figured glad we are on the same page

Outside walls aren’t always bearing the weight of the floor joists. You need to see that the ends of the joists land on the foundation system. That means the joists need to be run perpendicular to the wall you’re looking at.

The marked up picture is a good visual of what I’m talking about. You could see how many joists would be supporting the green area. The red area only has one hoist bearing the full weight in mid span.

 

[Zbutcher]

Outside walls aren’t always bearing the weight of the floor joists. You need to see that the ends of the joists land on the foundation system. That means the joists need to be run perpendicular to the wall you’re looking at.

The marked up picture is a good visual of what I’m talking about. You could see how many joists would be supporting the green area. The red area only has one hoist bearing the full weight in mid span.

Awesome man that helps a ton!