75 gallon too heavy?

[msk100]

I had my shopping list in hand for a complete new 75 gallon tank, stand, hood, sump, skimmer and power heads. Went down to my lfs to discuss delivery options etc and we started talking about the space my tank would occupy. ( i think he was going to try and get me to upgrade to a 90 gal hehe) anyway... I mentioned I live on second floor appartmnet. His eyes bugged out of his head and he asked me if i had considered the weight of the tank. To be honest, no i didn't.

75 Gallon Tank + Stand appx 60lbs
75 gallons water 8.3 x 75 = 622 lbs (- salinity)
Live Rock = 75 lbs
Live Sand = 40 lbs
+
Hood, skimmer, sump and all the trimmings = extra 100 lbs maybe
Thats just under 900 lbs

Is my tank doomed?
Do i have to go for maybe a 40 gallon "Hang on" tank?

Im so bummin right now.

[VWD]

I lived in a 2 floor apartment and put in a 125 g with some and never had a proble with it. I really don't think that it will be a problem for You, If the floor can't hold it up. Then I don't think I would want to live there. I think You will be ok

[msk100]

YAY!
thats exactly what i wanted to hear..
Exactly!
Thank you

[VWD]

Anyway , If it don't You will only have a hold in your floor, The people down stairs will have a bigger problem LOL. I really think You will be ok.

[cornetet]

SOLUTION =

Go to your Property Maintenance Mgr and ask him about the floor construction......concrete, rebar, metal or wood joists?

Remember.... total weight is NOT the concern here... its weight per square foot that is.

Find out how many square feet your fishtank base is by this example:

> fishtank base measures 3.5ft wide X 2ft deep = 7 total square feet of fishtank base coverage

> now take your total weight (1,000lbs) and divide by 7 square feet = approx 143lbs per square foot.

Now the TRICK is to get that 143lbs per square foot over as many floor joists as possible.

Also consider this.....other residence maybe putting in WATERBEDS on the 2nd floor that are like 1,000 to 2,000 lbs. But remember, its all about lbs per square foot. A 1,500 lbs waterbed is spreadout over a certain amount of square feet. The larger the waterbed base the lower the lbs per square foot. Just check it all out with the Prop Maintenance guy for reassurance.

Best place for a heavy object like your tank is in the CORNER of a room where one wall that makes up the corner is an OUTSIDE wall. (an "outside-wall" is where the other side of the wall forms the outside of the building). This corner have joists that tie directly into the load-bearing outside wall (that transfers weight straight down into the building's foundation). A corner (with one outside wall) is the sturdiest part of a room in your place for a fishtank.

Good luck...

[VWD]

Good point

Originally Posted by cornetet

SOLUTION =

Go to your Property Maintenance Mgr and ask him about the floor construction......concrete, rebar, steel struts?

Remember.... other residence also put in WATERBEDS that are many times heavier than you fish tank.

Ask the Property Maintenance guy if people have WATERBEDS on the 2nd floor.

Best place for a heavy object like your tank is in the CORNER of a room where struts tie into the foundation. The corner is the sturdiest part of a room.

Good luck...

[msk100]

Its funny you should mention that.
Right after i posted, my wife came in and said the same thing about waterbeds lol.

[whatevva]

Is the Apartment wood or concrete construction? If it's concrete floors, I wouldn't worry. If it's wood, make sure you're perpendicular to the floor joists. 60# for tank and stand sounds a little low to me.

[cornetet]

Also....!DONT! go asking questiosn to your Property Mgr.... which is probably a women. Her job is to enforce rules and regulations and there maybe a contract-clause somewhere that says "no fishtanks, no waterbeds" because if they LEAK the Property Mgr doesnt want to be liable for water damage. She is likely to be a b*tch about the whole fishtank idea.... and flatout so NO! to your fishtank. (sorry I'm not slamming women...just Property Mgrs)

Instead, go to your Property Maintenance Mgr...who is likely to be a guy... and ask him all the questions. If there are rules&regs, he likely to just to warn you but not say anything to anyone else...

More than likely he doesnt really give a crap what you do......unless what you are doing is a danger to you or other residence (like floor breakage/damage)

But as far as the Prop Mgr...she will care and enforce rules....and likely to followup on her next "walk-thru"...... which brings me back to my original point: dont mention anything to her, what she doesnt know wont hurt her....and it wont screw up your hobby.

Tread lightly....

[msk100]

Originally Posted by cornetet

Also....!DONT! go asking questiosn to your Property Mgr.... which is probably a women. Her job is to enforce rules and regulations and there maybe a contract-clause somewhere that says "no fishtanks, no waterbeds" because if they LEAK the Property Mgr doesnt want to be liable for water damage. She is likely to be a b*tch about the whole fishtank idea.... and flatout so NO! to your fishtank. (sorry I'm not slamming women...just Property Mgrs)

Instead, go to your Property Maintenance Mgr...who is likely to be a guy... and ask him all the questions. If there are rules&regs, he likely to just to warn you but not say anything to anyone else...

More than likely he doesnt really give a crap what you do......unless what you are doing is a danger to you or other residence (like floor breakage/damage)

But as far as the Prop Mgr...she will care and enforce rules....and likely to followup on her next "walk-thru"...... which brings me back to my original point: dont mention anything to her, what she doesnt know wont hurt her....and it wont screw up your hobby.

Tread lightly....

oh my god... you've met her? Geez you sound like you live in my building.

the floors are wooden. The building is brick. It seems like a solid building but what do i know right?

I'm starting to wonder if i shouldnt go with something like a 45 gallon bowfront just to be safe now.
Yea 60 lbs for the tank + stand does sound low.

[cornetet]

go to my 1st post inside this thread because i've changed it.... it talks about lbs-per-square-foot.

you can put in a 500gal tank in your apartment as long as it's base covers a certain amount of square feet LENGTH-WISE.....

!DONT! go down in size if you can afford the 75gal one. that LFS salesperson is a idiot for even getting you all stirred up about this. you will be fine!!

again, if you put your tank in a corner that has atleast one outside wall you are more than safe with the floor joists being butted to a load-bearing wall.

your floor joists are prob 16inches apart. if your fishtank covers atleast two floor joists you are PERFECTLY safe with it in the corner.

pic of floor joist construction= http://www.hamrickcarriage.com/newhouseCrafter.JPG

[kappaknight]

I personally think you'll be fine... here's how I figure. 900lb is about the weight of 4 guys at about 225lbs each. Having a tank is basically having the four guys line up against the wall right next to each other standing for however long you feel like having the four guys stand there. If your floor can't hold the weight of four guys in a 4' by 18" space... there are some serious issues.

[msk100]

I'm attaching a "very rough" layout of my appartment with potential sites for the tank. After looking at it from this perspective, i'm feeling less confident.

[ScruffyRubicon]

Remeber that you will not have 75 gallons of water. Your rock, sand and anything else you put in the tank will displace some of the water. It will be lighter than your orignal estimate.

[Doug1]

60 lbs for tank and stand sounds right for an acrylic tank and one of them cheezy minimal stand they sell in shops.
I forget the weight of my 75g AGA but its well over 60 tank alone, I am pretty sure my overbuild stand weighs close to 100# on its own, never mind the 55g sump inside
Whether or not the maint person is a non fan of aquariums, you want to check for restrictions, if it goes badly and you snuck it in, you will be liable for all sorts of things. Also after spending the $$$$ getting caught at the staircase and told NO you can't do that will suck big time.
Do you have renters insurance? You may want to look into a rider on the policy that cover the tank and possibilities, that may give you leverage if you meet with resistance from the Property owner, put yourself in their shoes and imagine worse case scenario