floor stress ? help!!!

[reef150]

Ok, someone told me to move the post here and i'll get more response. thanks everyone!


here is the link! plsssssss check it out.

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~tsv23/coralreef.html

[icebear]

My house was built in 1906.. instead of fretting about whether the floors could handle the weight, i just went ahead and took over the basement.
Is that an option for you at all?

The pros of keeping it all in the basement is that i get no complaints from the hubby about water noise, and if i buy something new he dosen't notice it for so long i can claim "honey, it just spontaneously generated itself! isn't that cool!".....but i think he's wiseing up to me
Also, there's not much natural light to mess with air temps or direct sunlight to encourage algae growth.

and nobody yells if i make a mess with salt water on the floor....it just soaks into the concrete


Also, since i took over the whole basement, its my personal den. my couch is down there and i just go into my cave and read or listen to music totally unbothered. This computer will be going down there once we've watersealed the concrete walls this summer....


i could dissappear for weeks!

[johnqx4]

sorry, i've had a couple glasses of wine (my disclaimer) and i'm not sure that I got everything in your link... But

are your joist 2+ by 2+ ? that would be odd as most joist are 8 to ten inches thick (e.g 2x8 or 2x10).

in any case i have two recommendations....

get a better stand (I assume you will), if you notice all of you existing weight is on 4 1 inch legs, i dont see pads or anything to cushion or distribute the weight. wooden stands that span joist are better.

second, for about 50 bucks, you can get a 4x6 pressure treated beam and a "jackpost" from home depot (you may have to order one that tall). put the beam under the joist spanning the distance under the tank and use the jack post to press the beam to the bottomside of the joist.

it is easy, cheap and will provide ample support for a ton or more.

please keep in mind, i do a lot of diy and remodeling, but i am not a builder or contractor. paying a couple of "boat dollars" (that is a hundred you and me dollars) could be a wise investment.

nothing like having your aquarium "fall" into the basement to make you say $#it!

[Doug1]

I noticed on your drawing and the explanation that the joists are listed as 2.5" thick. Do you know how tall the are?
I still vote location A, adding the brace below might not be a bad idea but I think I would go with 3 due to the length of the tank. And having the bottom of the stand contact the floor all around will spread the weight out even further

[reef150]

thanks guys, I have decided to add a joist (pressure treated) and 3 jackpost. Hopefully things will go well, each jackpost claim to hold 9000lbs each. The joist is 2 x 8 or 2 x 10 , I measured it last time couldnt remember. Does it matter? It's either one.

Sigh, getting this new tank has been extremely stressful with the remodeling of the basement to add these posts and stuff. My dad had to break the concrete just to get to the joist work. :-(

Anyways, wish me luck!

*PS: There are X braces right underneath the floor. I guess that is a good thing.