Structural question?

Question

What information do I need to know if I want to put a new 180 gallon fish tank in my second floor apartment? Who could I talk to about the load bearing capabilities and if this might collapse the floor before I put this tank in? How could I determine if the floor can support the weight?

JV

Great input here and ty all!!
It'll span across 6 ft. Tank dimensions are 72 x 24 x 24, but in terms of stress on the floor, it's spread out over 6 ft, on a four legged metal stand. I don't know if that helps. I've called around to find some P.E.'s here but noone is available. The tank and stand are going to be delivered on Monday and I'll be setting it up myself. I was told by one of my engineers here who just finished up his certifications in structural analysis that I'd need to put it on a load bearing wall. I don't have him available right now, and was wondering for him to give a better analysis, what would I need to provide him with outside of that information.

Answer 1

One factor to consider is how old in the building and what is it made of.

If it is a modern steel and concrete high rise, with two way slabs, you are probably fine putting it any where in the room except right next to your grand piano, try to keep the two at opposite ends of the room. It is the total load on the floor that is the main issue, the weight on a small area may exceed (within reason) the per/square foot load rating of the floor as long as the average is below the rating. If it is a wood framed building, there may be some cause for concern, As others have said, I also would recommend placing the tank next to bearing wall, specifically a wall bearing the floor in question (perpendicular to the floor joists) this would probably, but not necessarily be one of the longer walls in the room (if not square)
The point load if the legs of the stand might also be a concern, without knowing how the stand is built and what your floor covering is, it is hard to give recommendations. But one might consider placing something under the legs to spread the load, I think some one recommended 2x12s, that would be an option, but a piece of plywood a bit larger than the footprint of the stand might do as well. If you have carpet, you might not want to count on getting your damage deposit back, the crushed spots may be permanent, but if you are buying 180 gallon fish tank, you probably are not planning on moving next month.

Answer 2

So that's 1501 pounds of water. + another 100 of misc

1600ish Find out how many square feet it would be setting on the floor.


List below is the codes in pounds a foot. If you start getting close to the max put it by a wall not in the middle of the floor.

Attics - non-accessible (1) 0
Attics - accessible (2) 10
Attics - uninhabitable (3) 20
Attics - inhabitable (4) 30 (5)
Balconies - exterior 60
Decks 40
Rooms - other than sleeping rooms 40
Fire escapes 40
Garages (6), (8) 50
Guards and Handrails (9) 200
Sleeping Rooms 30
Stairs 40/300 (7)

so in a " inhabitable room" you would need it to be at least 10feet by 4 feet.





*addon
That's 65 pounds a foot. That is almost 2 times over code. Not a good idea in the middle of the floor. If it was me and i was still going to do it anyway. Put it by the wall get two 2"x12",9' boards put under the legs. Don't put it over someone bed below you. They're going to spend 9 hours of the day there so the odds would be you could kill them if something happen.(earth quakes,fires etc)

Answer 3

1 gal water weighs 8.5 lb, 180 gal weighs 1530 lb. You need to spread that weight over the area of the floor as much as possible and across floor joist as much as possible. I recommend you have a professional engineer resolve how the tank should be installed in your apartment because he'd be familiar with standard design loads for apartments and residential housing. I'd start by asking an architechture for contact info or he may be able to answer the question. Your place may require an extensive support system to prevent long term damage to a continous overload on your floor.

Answer 4

Water actually weighs 8.8 lbs per gallon so just the water alone weighs 1564 lbs. An all glass 180 gallon tank is probably close to 200 lbs. Rock, decorations and enough sand or gravel to make it look nice will also be in the neighborhood of 200 lbs. A nice wrought iron stand will top the whole thing out at over a ton.

I do agree with tinker, though. Do what he says and you should be OK.

Answer 5

That fish tank weighs in at just under 1,500 Lbs. I dont think that it would be wise to put this on the second floor. Its hevier than a water bed, and most places advise against water beds on the second floor becuse its just to heavy. If I were you I would look into a smaller tank or put it on the first floor where you know everything will be safe. Good Luck!

Answer 6

call your building inspector's office and find out what the total load in the room can be, according to the building code.

also, the pressure on the floor, usually specified in USA in pounds per square foot.

use google to convert the 180 gallons to pounds. its a little less than 8.5 lb/gal
measure the area around the aquarium to find the square feet it will be sitting on. divide the weight by the area to get pounds/square foot.

Answer 7

Total mass of water = 180 x 8.3 (lbs/US gal)
= 1,494lbs (1,800 lbs (in UK gallons).
(Plus the weight of the tank and stand...Assume 50 lbs).

The area covered is 72in x 24in = 1,728in².
If you purchase a piece of ½" plywood, measuring 6' 2" x 2' 2" and stand the tank on it the area will be 74in x 26" = 1,924in²
The total mass acting on the total area will be 1,544 lb acting on the area of 1,924 in²
= 1,544 ÷ 1,924 = 0.8 lbs/in² (less than 1.0psi)

This is less than half the pressure exerted by a 180 lb person standing on the floor.
There should be no problem.

Answer 8

it rather is not too complicated, yet you will could choose to envision that there at the instant are not any electrics or pipework contained indoors the wall. an worry-unfastened gadget attainable from optimal hardware shops would have the potential to locate some thing contained indoors the brickwork.

Answer 9

1 Cubic ft. weighed 62.49 lb.