Placing a Tank on the 2nd Floor

[reefmandan]

Hey all,

I was recently gifted a collaborative effort for my birthday, a GC for a local tank builder. This is going to be my "reasonable dream" tank, as I'm still paying off student loans and have a baby on the way.

What I REALLY want to do is a peninsula style (either standard rectangle or a drop down) that will be approximately 125 gallons. Foot print will be 60"x24".

So we live in a brand new townhouse ("carriage home"), which are standard row houses. We do live on an outside wall (which is where the tank will be placed), and the floor joists (which appear to me ~19" OC) run between units which are 22'8" wide.

This is the layout: http://rdccanada.com/carriage/floorplans/
We are a 2nd floor, 2BR + Den. I would like to place the tank in the living room, about 5-6' from the kitchen counter.

Reinforcing the floor from below isn't an option, so I posit this question: if the tank run 60" out from an outside wall, and it sitting across two of these floor joists (I believe they are I-beams), do you think I'll be safe? I am aware that placing the tank across multiple joists is ideal, but that doesn't work for these plans.

Thanks for your help!

[Myka]

Just tossing out an idea...how about building the stand an extra 6" oversize length and width (or whatever is needed) for a "drink ledge" and cover 3 joists? I really like this style of stand as it makes the tank look much grander imo.

[shiftline]

If you know which way the joists Run try and plan it so you hit as many as possible to distribute the load

I have been debating doing s similar thing at the top
Of my stairs


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[WarDog]

I work on these homes all the time. 125 gallon tank is going to weigh 1500lbs with extra goodies. No problem at all. If in doubt, gather 8 grown men and stand them on the spot in question. Betcha the floor doesn't collapse.

[reefmandan]

It's not so much the floor collapsing that I'm concerned about, more the floor/tank shifting and popping a seam or cracking.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by reefmandan

It's not so much the floor collapsing that I'm concerned about, more the floor/tank shifting and popping a seam or cracking.

Popping a seam? Tile floor?

Here's one of my fav oversize stands:

[reefmandan]

I certainly don't mind the look, but I think if I go with the step down tank, I'd rather have it roughly the same width as the tank. I figure that if a tank can be safely supported by three joists, then it can be by two as well, as the subfloor will be spreading out a lot of the weight as well

[DKoKoMan]

TBH... If you are looking at a custom tank, I would make a copy of the building plans and build the tank size to your location. This way the stand can be manufactured to fit the space the best it can

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by Myka

Popping a seam? Tile floor?

Here's one of my fav oversize stands:

Myka is this a client tank? I love the look of this stand as it has that rustic touch! Very nice.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by DKoKoMan

Myka is this a client tank? I love the look of this stand as it has that rustic touch! Very nice.

No, one of my fav though.

Originally Posted by reefmandan

I certainly don't mind the look, but I think if I go with the step down tank, I'd rather have it roughly the same width as the tank. I figure that if a tank can be safely supported by three joists, then it can be by two as well, as the subfloor will be spreading out a lot of the weight as well

Step down? Drop off tank? Yeah that might look funny on an oversize stand. It was just an idea since you were concerned with the load being on two joists.