# new house with pier & beam flooring. How large a tank?



## dalcwbysfan (Feb 24, 2007)

just recently bought a house and it is pier & beam flooring. How large of a tank can I put on this flooring? Don't want my tank to fall through!! Anybody out there with pier & beam houses with large tanks (55gal or larger)? Thanks for any help.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

Thats a tough one. Post and beam construction can vay greatly with spans between joists of 4' and greater. Then the sub flooring can be 1" to 1-1/2" tongue and groove. You might want to inquire from the builder what is allowable with your particular design and weight loads.

Mebbe someone else might have better info for you.


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## ksk_che_che (Sep 26, 2007)

Are the floor joists on 12" or 16" centers? what is the joist span and size(2x6,2x8,2x10)?
What size is the beam? metal or wood? How far apart are the piers/ support columns?

The closer the tank sits to a support column the better, and you also want it to sit across the joists below. It might not be possible but it would also be better for the tank to not sit near a load bearing wall. Getting all 3 would be ideal but "2 out of 3 aint bad" - Meat Loaf.
Even then with having all that, that still might not be enough. All depends on the size of the tank.
There can always be more support beams and columns added if the space below is unfinished.

How big of tank?


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

Up to 100 gallons you need not worry too much about structure, just put the tank close to a load bearing wall or beam and distribute the weight over the whole footprint of the tank. Larger than that, bet a professional to have a look.

Post and beam houses tend to be more sturdy than framing, but no one can give you good advice without a lot of detail about subfloor type, spans, type of joinery and wood species.


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## redblufffishguy (Jul 16, 2009)

My house is post and beam as well. My sub floor is 1" T&G plywood. I crawled under the house and put 2- 2x4's with joist hangers across the 4' span between beams where the tanks sits. It is an 80 gallon 4' tank. I have never had a problem, it's been up about 6 years.

More recently, I decided to add a rack of tanks in my office. I was a bit more worried about the load because it is about 110 gallons (917 pounds of water) on the four 1" diameter steel legs. I again crawled under the house and added joists. This time is was 2x6 and joist hangers spanning the 4' between beams, and they went on a 24" center. I added 3 of them for the rack. Worked like a charm!

Hope that helps,

RBFG


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## howmany (Jul 1, 2009)

My house is on pier and beam, and i have a 100 gallon that has been set up for almost a year. I haven't had any problems at all.


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## dalcwbysfan (Feb 24, 2007)

ooops, didn't realize I was getting replies, sorry for the dealy.

I have no idea the layout underneath the house and the crawl hole is much to tight for anyone to get under. During inspection they brought in a tiny, skinny dude to get under and it was all that he could do to get in/out. With that said any kind of bracing is out of the question.

I do know the house is on wood and the joists are 2x6's.

I'm was hoping for a 50-55 gallon tank, not looking for a monster tank. I think it would work I just hate to find out the hard way. Thanks for all the replies and I'll keep on researching this one out.


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## ksk_che_che (Sep 26, 2007)

You should be fine if the tank is sitting next to an outside wall. One that small shouldnt be a problem.


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## PauloSilva (Apr 17, 2006)

55g? No worries man. Regardless of joist spacing your likely going to hit atleast 3 joists. Best to put it on a outside wall. 8 cubic feet of water in the 55g or something like that... 500 lbs? No worries.


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