Structural Engineers Please Help

[DavidJTawil]

I have an Elos 160 that I'd like to put on the second floor of my house. Looking for a structural engineer that could do some basic calculations for me.
Info:
The house was built in 1920 but was fully renovated in 2015.

There are no load bearing walls. The beams span the full length of the house. 20ft. There are two layers of brick around the house.The wood beams are spaced 16 inches apart. The beams are 8 inches by 2.5 inches.
The tank will be placed 78 inches away from the structural wall running perpendicular to the beams.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated. If any other information is needed please let me know

 

[SaltwaterGuruNeeded]

I'm not sure a 160 will work on a 2nd floor without support/modification. I'm no structural engineer. I myself have a 125g on the 2nd floor above a load bearing wall and I still have a thought that there may be a problem one day.

 

[KStatefan]

I have an Elos 160 that I'd like to put on the second floor of my house. Looking for a structural engineer that could do some basic calculations for me.
Info:
The house was built in 1920 but was fully renovated in 2015.

There are no load bearing walls. The beams span the full length of the house. 20ft. There are two layers of brick around the house.The wood beams are spaced 16 inches apart. The beams are 8 inches by 2.5 inches.
The tank will be placed 78 inches away from the structural wall running perpendicular to the beams.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated. If any other information is needed please let me know

I would look for a local structural engineering firm to look at your house.

 

[jim_fitz]

sorry i dont know the tank

what is the depth of water ?

 

[DavidJTawil]

sorry i dont know the tank

what is the depth of water ?

This is the tank

Elos Diamond Series 160 Aquarium 145 Gallons

System160 In Diamond Glass As with the Elos Diamond Series 120, the Elos 160 aquarium has been in the ELOS catalogue for nearly 10 years. Through the years it is being updated continuously and Elos has many improvements to the accessories, as well. This Aquarium incorporates all technical...

www.aquariumspecialty.com

These are the dimensions:

• 62.99" x 22.44" x 23.62"
• 1/2 inch glass

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

You can't place the tank that far away from the joist attachment points. You are basically putting the tank a couple feet from the highest point of joint deflection (the middle). Catastrophic failure is not likely but a sagging and bouncing floor is almost assured.

Not a structural engineer but work at a structural engineering firm, am good with "math and stuff", have an 800 gallon system on joists. Cube mate says "Yeah, no".

 

[DavidJTawil]

What if I placed it 2 feet away from the joist attachment points.

 

[SaltwaterGuruNeeded]

What if I placed it 2 feet away from the joist attachment points.

Obviously better than the middle but, your on thin ice without supports my friend.

 

[mjh712]

The house was built in 1920 but was fully renovated in 2015.

Fully renovated doesn't mean the supports/beams were replaced. There's a possibility some wood was replaced, but probably not any main beams.

There are no load bearing walls. The beams span the full length of the house. 20ft. There are two layers of brick around the house.The wood beams are spaced 16 inches apart. The beams are 8 inches by 2.5 inches. The tank will be placed 78 inches away from the structural wall running perpendicular to the beams.

No load bearing interior walls will most likely be a problem. 20' spans aren't terrible, but you're really only looking at the 7'8" dimension. Since the tank is ~32" wide, the weight is going to be almost over the center of each of the joists. (~9'8" from the other wall). The deflection in the middle of the joists is going to be signficant.

I would assume the 2.5"x8" beams are old. Currently the longest span you use those for (according to the table I found) is 12'8", so the 20' spans would not be built today. Also, not a fan of brick supporting the joists. You also may want to check the floor levelness.

At 145 gallons (not including tank, stand, & equipment weight) you're looking at over 1200lbs. With just over a 5' span (best case scenario), you'll be over 3 joists with some load on a 4th (possibly a 5th). Ideal spacing would be 6"-16"-16"-16"-6" or over 4 joists it would be 14"-16-16"-14". So based on the load split 4 ways, each joist would be carruing 300 lbs of water. (Probably double with the equipment, sump, tank, stand, etc.)

Your best bet would be to get a local structural engineer to look at it. The fact it's an old home with small support joists makes this a really, really bad fit for a tank that size. I'm not even sure the engineer would recommend additional supports, he/she may recommend a completely new/seperate support system. On top of that, if you do have to use steel, the foundation/ground floor may need work as well.

Edit: As mentioned above, 2' away would be much better relatively, but I'd highly recommend a structural engineer take a look at the joists, connections, etc. There are a lot of variables even past the anticipated load.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

^ that. If you truly have 3x8 beams on 16" centers on a 20 foot span... dude that is on the very extremes of what is allowable. Basically someone said "What it the thinnest floor joist system I can get approved"

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

mjh712 nailed it right there ^. I was curious about the 3x8 joists and pulled up a couple joist span tables. Yikes. Sorry man. Plus.. the brick supporting structure. I hope you don't live in a area of seismic activity.​

 

[outhouse]

Without bracing underneath. You will sag the floor. My 210 sits partially on support beams and just having a lip hanging off without support has dropped the floor a hair more than 1/4 inch in 10 years. And your joice support better then mine

 

[tehmadreefer]

Nobody here can give you advice. You NEED to hire someone to come to your home and do the inspection.

 

[Catskiller]

I also live in a house built in the 1920’s. I am putting a 72” 120g with 30 sump and heavy homemade stand on original frame work. My 2x8 joists span 11’. One end on poured concrete, other end on double 2x8 beam that was 8’ between posts. I am handy enough to get into trouble so I sistered the joists, added another 2x8 to the main beam and bolted/nailed together. Then put a 6x6 so to the now triple 2x8 beam only spans 4’ where tank load will be. I will sleep better knowing I’m good under the tank load wise.
Here is what I used Load chart

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

II am handy enough to get into trouble so I sistered the joists, added another 2x8 to the main beam and bolted/nailed together. Then put a 6x6 so to the now triple 2x8 beam only spans 4’ where tank load will be. I will sleep better knowing I’m good under the tank load wise.
Here is what I used Load chart

And if ever need to park a fully loaded tundra next to your tank you will be covered

 

[dennis romano]

Allow me to be the voice of doom. I have done a lot of home repairs over the decades. One of the worse culprits are water leaks on the second floor, primarily from the laundry but also from fish tanks. A five gallon spill can cause hundreds of dollars in damage. Besides wrecking hardwood floors, there is water damage to the first floor ceiling. So that means repairing drywall, new paint and possible electric. One incident was my fault. I rented a second floor apartment and had a 29 gallon tank. Three in the morning the seam split and the water came through the first floor ceiling. The downstairs tenant and landlord were not happy. What would your spouse say if that happened?