# [Need Advice] 300g tank upstairs



## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

A friend of mine recently moved to a house and is now looking at putting a 300 gallon tank (saltwater) in their living room upstairs.

The problem is that she is worried about the weight and wants to know the following:
1. How do I make sure that my floor will support the weight?
2. What can I do to re-enforce the area to ensure that the weight is supported?

Any advice on this would be very helpful.

Thanks


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## hillmar (Sep 25, 2010)

300 gallons , I would have a contractor look into this. Off my head, you would need to move it close to a structural beam, and get that fish tank as level as possible.


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## Plumberboy (Jun 2, 2014)

I might take it a step further, and have an engineer look at it. And they will tell u what may need, or not need to be done. I work for a couple of contractors that don't have red seal tickets, in any trade. Engineers tell them what needs to be done, and they, or a building inspector, sign off on the work. Could be important for insurance purposes. 300 gallons is not your average tank!


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

I'd probably go the engineer route as well. Having a fish tank fall through the floor would not be a cheap clean up. Better to invest some money up front and make sure it's done 100% correctly.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Personally never heard of a case of a large fish tank "falling through" the floor but if its not properly supported, you could damage the house's structure and warp your floors. Engineer = good idea.


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## randylahey (Jun 25, 2013)

Would there be any supporting structure underneath or will it be sitting on an open span?

For example:
I just finished a new bathroom on the top floor of a 100 year old house. The new 125g claw foot tub is in the centre of an open span. The floor joists are 2x6 full dimension fir. That is not nearly enough to support a full tub . We "sistered" both sides of the existing joists under the tub and another 4 feet out with microllam structural lumber. They were glued with construction adhesive and nailed with 4 nails every 6 inches. We built it and then our engineer inspected and provided an engineering letter for the city inspector.


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

I had the same concerns before. Did alot of research.
Mine was a 60 gallon tank + 55 gallon tank sitting side by side. Spoke to ALOT of people before I did this.

It also depends on your stand, is it on four foot? or is it on a flat where the weight it distributed evenly? How wide sqft are you spreading the weight? Everything plays into factor. All your side walls of the house and main support are where you will place your tank. If you decide to place it in the middle of the floor, your chances will be slim with a 300 gallon.

Anyhow, that's just my 2cents that I thought I share when I did mine. But like others said, do your research and best to ask a professional engineer~

Here's a pic of two tanks of 110 gallon plus 2-3 inches of gravel in it with rocks and wood, and 4x canister filter with a 10lb co2 system all lined up in 10ft x 2ft of space. They are against the main structure of the house (the wall goes straight down to the foundation) It's over a ton of weight. Yes, it's far from 3 ton of weight which you want, but I thought I share my experience with you


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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

I can't remember the numbers per square foot off the top of my head but even a 90 gallon tank next to the wall and sitting perpendicular to 2x10 joists will exceed the load limit. It's prudent to take it seriously if she wants to do it because an accident isn't worth it and there is potential to run into problems with the home insurance.


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## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks for all the feedback guys.
I will get her to go the engineer route.

I havent seen the tank in person yet, but I think its an 8 footer


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Smiladon said:


> Awesome! Thanks for all the feedback guys.
> I will get her to go the engineer route.
> 
> I havent seen the tank in person yet, but I think its an 8 footer


Lets say it was 8ft x 2ft, I would get a large piece of flat wood at 10ft x 3ft to sit underneath. Better weight distribution. But that's just what I would do.

Good luck and share us the pics =)

I live in a 20year old town house (Structure is not as strong as nowadays). And on the third floor with 110gallons (Before I sold my tank)
=) Do all your research~ and pics pics pics


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## AccidentalAquarist (Sep 11, 2013)

My 90g is sitting in an exterior corner, perpendicular to the joists. House is 15 years old.
Since I set it up 9(?) months ago the front edge farthest from the corner of the house has settled about 3/8". I ended up having to go into the crawlspace to jack up and build a frame 2' from the exterior wall to level it out. I'm sure it would have been fine after the initial settling but I didn't want to take chances.

300g is a lot of weight, especially if it's got a sump, which most salt tanks do.


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## hondas3000 (Apr 22, 2010)

For your safety and house insurance purpose, I said no to big tank unless you custom build the house to fit tank that size at first place other wise please don't, even with engineer involve the cost of repair to fit tank that size and up to building code is in a thousands. Not to mention it is a reef setup not fresh water so all the live rock and equipment. Most house build with 2x4 frame only a few custom house will build with 2x6.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Rough estimate of weight involved:

Tank & sump = 7-800 lbs
Stand = 200 lbs
Live Rock = 300 lbs
Sand = 200-250 lbs
Water = Say 300g total volume x 9 lbs = 2700 lbs
Lights & other Equipment = 30 lbs

So she'd be looking at well over 4000 lbs distributed over a floor area of 8' x 2' and NOT on a concrete ground floor. this is a very conservative weight estimate.

BTW, this is roughly equivalent to parking the weight of a large SUV but on less than half the area.

Anthony


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## stratos (Apr 21, 2010)

Forget 2 X 6 joists, you need 2 X 8's; place tank along load bearing wall. If you can access the joists to upgrade them, as part of a renovation you have already planned, then it might make sense. Otherwise, too expensive I think.


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## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

She has been looking for an engineer who can look into this, but has been unsuccessful so far.

Do you guys know of any reliable engineer (hopefully also a fish guy who knows fish and fish tanks) who would be available?
If you know of anyone, please PM me their contact details and I will forward them to my friend.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I wouldn't risk this. It's going to be an insurance nightmare if anything happens, even with the engineer. At the very least, she needs to have the insurance company sign off or provide a waiver that they accept the engineer's fix and will provide coverage.

Is there any option to place it downstairs on slab somewhere?


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