# Fishtank on second floor with floorboards.



## Japtastic (Jan 21, 2008)

I have just purchased a Rena 600 which when fully loaded weighs around the 750kg mark to be safe!!

I have layed down some polystyrene and taken off the casters from the base so the cabinet lays flat on the floor and the weight is distributed evenly.

If I have worked it out correctly then this is a pressure of 71.8 kg's per sq ft.

The base of the cabinet is 192cm x 50.5cm

Can the floor take it? Originally I wanted it on the overhang but I can see this isn't a sensible idea and only have it 1/4 full to be safe, so I want to move it to where the headboard is now which is the side of house/supporting wall.

I have the architects plans and have attached some images, can any one advise? I have more on this A1 page and can take more pics if needed, there is also lots of notes of which I have written some at the bottom of this post, thanks for your help 






















































3/4" T&G boarding on 8'x2' Joists at 18" C/S -see joist plan - 2 layers 1/2" plaster board Artex finish (1/2 hour F.R.)

Any more info needed please just shout, I'm desperate to know how much I can fill this tank in the new position...

Cheers


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## knotty dreadlocks (Oct 31, 2008)

i would like to no more as well. looks like it to me youll be fine


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## Ssssssspit_Fire (May 30, 2005)

I'm not architect but it seems perfectly fine to me.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

My house could take it and believe me, it's floorboards are older and more ghetto than yours (you shoulda seen it when I moved in, oh man did it need some work on those boards).

Against where the headboard is, no issue, if you have 6 friends over, do you worry about them falling through the floor? If you want some peace of mind, get a bunch of friends over, stand close together and jump up and down, if you don't fall through.... :lol:.


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## Rockydog (Oct 21, 2007)

It is actually better where it is placed now because it sits across several floor joists that run opposite to your floor boards. By having the base directly on the floor the weight will travel out to the outside wall supports and down and also to the overhang uprights and down. However you may want to rearrange your room so you have a better viewing of the tank and out over the overhang in which case put the tank on the outside wall and space out from the wall enough so that the base rests on two floor joists. The weight will transfer the same in either situation.

Nice looking setup.


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## sjlchgo (Mar 2, 2008)

I would think you'd be ok. The walls and floors are desinged to hold a lot of weight. Let's not forget....they are holding the house up! You should be fine where it is now. Fill'er up!


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

The only thing I'd be worried about is all those little eyes watching while *cough* 'games' are being played on the bed :wink: :lol:


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I agree that you should be fine. Its almost always fine with regards to the weight issue on floors. The lumber in the aquarium stand is likely 1x4's or smaller and your floor joists are 2x10's most likely. If the stand can hold it up, so can your floors.

That's my 'common sense' approach, but here is the engineering approach, a very good article.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/a ... weight.php


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## Japtastic (Jan 21, 2008)

Thanks for all the replys, in the end I got a structural engineer round and he produced a report, good news is it can take it


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

=D>

That's awesome. I've never heard of anyone bringing over an engineer


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

:lol: Very cool.

Well, you'll sleep soundly.


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## Japtastic (Jan 21, 2008)

In the end it was just the right thing to do, there is a guy below me and the sofa is also pretty much below there, there was so many different opinions on the internet that I had to bite the bullet and get some one round, I nearly binned the whole thing off when I rung a few and they all said the minimum fee was Â£395+VAT.

He did me a super great deal as the office's are only 2 minutes walk from me  He said that you would be surprised how much these floors can take! Personally I was lost after the first page!


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

Japtastic said:


> He said that you would be surprised how much these floors can take!


True that; I use to have my 125 sitting next to my Volkswagen in the living room. :lol:


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## kingdave (Mar 9, 2007)

That's a great analysis by the structural engineer. I actually am an architect and I really appreciate that you have shared the engineer's report with the forum. I understand everyone's "common sense" approaches contain both valid and invalid points, but your post points out that it all comes down to looking at EXACTLY how the structure is built and where the tank is proposed to go and then checking the NUMBERS in a scientific and methodical manner. I do this all the time when designing decks to support hot tubs and so forth. For me, as a professional, it's not good enough to say "you'll be fine"... I need to show numbers that prove the adequacy of the structure.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

*kingdave*
Where were you pre-engineer, you could have beaten his quote and made some money :lol:.


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