Determining floor/joist weight capacity
 

Just wanting to know if any of you consulted an engineer or other 'knowing' person in determining the floor and/or joist weight capacity that will support my tank. Given that my 148 gallon tank will weigh I guess between 1600-2000 pounds, I woud like it to remain on my main floor as opposed to in the basement....lol.

I have talked with the home builder as well as an engineering firm, but they all pass it off to someone who doesn't return phone calls. Any advise appreciated.

Just do it... if it has to be in the basement it'll get there :)

Against a load bearing wall and perpendicular to floor joints and you should be fine. is it a 6 foot tank? The more joists you can line up under the tank the better, and avoid using a large sump or plumb it into the basement. You can also attach the stand to the wall for extra support but if the tank is on a softer floor fill the tank first prior to mounting.

It is about a foot from a load bearing beam and about 40% of it is riding over 3 perpendicular joists. Those two facts I like. Where my concern lies is the other 60% of the aquarium is over a single parallel joist that attaches to the perpendicular one. Kinda hard to describe. Can I scan a drawing and display it here?

Oh, and the tank is 2'x5' with sump already plumbed in under the tank.

So is the actual display tank 148g, or is the tank and sump 148g. For added support and weight distribution you can also put a plywood sheet under the stand. I am also assuming that since you talked to your builder your house is a newer home so it would probably have silent flooring which include I beams. (these beams take a lot more weight) My tank is 5 feet long and with sump it is around 150 g. My house is a newer home and the tank is a foot and a bit from the side weight bearing wall. The tank goes towards the center of the home, and is near the middle of the room. I have had the tank there with no problems for over 2 years, and I've had the house packed with people and no body or tank has gone through the floor, so I would guess you are alright). When I was trying to get an answer about what a Joist could take I was told that each joist (if I-joist) could take around 7-800 pounds. Hope this helps.

That's starting to sound a little risky and I can't give a professional opinion and you won't likely get one here. There's no doubt the floor will hold but what happens when you have a party and all your guests crowd around the one side?

The tank weight should be evenly distributed, lengthwise across a load bearing structure and perpendicular to floor joists. Other scenarios are harder to analyze and you'll likely need to send drawings in or have it professionally evaluated to get a correct answer.

My builder told me the floor is suppose to support a heavy load. But I got them to reenforce the joists under the tank just to be extra safe.
I have a 90Gal on Hardwood floors. I had a party last week and people were jumping around the tank. Playing some sort of pictionary type game. I saw the tank swaying. I had to stop them from jumping close to the tank cuz it probably would have tipped.

I am getting some great responses here. To answer Triggerman: The actual tank is 60X24X24, so without anything but water, it is 148 gallon PLUS a 56 gallon sump under it that would be half full I imagine at any given time. There is already a 3/4 " sheet of plywood under it and the joists are 12" I-Beams. There would not be any major partying around it as it is in a library type room and against one wall as well. I will attach a drawing.

Your 12" I-Beams, is that a steel beam I-beam or just a wood beam? If it's an I-beam do you know the designation? Same question for the "load bearing beam". For example W12x40.

I don't like the way it sits, I guess you can't have the tank sit centered over the two "I-joists"? As it stands you may get a titer-totter effect.

I'm not a structural engineer and I don't have the full picture but your floor support looks really strange to me, does that pass inspection these days?

The drawing I made is to scale, and no, I cannot move the tank any further so that the double joist is in the middle:(

What the drawing does not show is the 2 joists drawn that sit on the outside concrete wall actually extend about 2 feet farther out as the house juts out there - originally intended for a dining room.

The beams are wood and unsure of the designation, but could check.