125L 3Ft Tank On Wooden Joists

[jenjen_82]

Im after a little advice please. I currently have a 2ft 60l tank and Im wanting to upgrade to a Rio 125 which is double the capacity of my current tank.

My floor is wooden joints and they run parallel to the tank so it will be sat over 2 joints. My house is quite a old house so Im a little worried it won't hold and i keep having visions of it crashing through my floor into my cellar kitchen. The flooring the tank is sat on is laminate. the tank will be in a alcove next to the chimney breast and is next to the wall joining on to my neighbour.

My question is will it be ok as i really don't wanna strengthen the floor.

Would putting a piece of plywood on top of laminate and under tank strengthen it?

Thanks

 

[webbie]

Im after a little advice please. I currently have a 2ft 60l tank and Im wanting to upgrade to a Rio 125 which is double the capacity of my current tank.

My floor is wooden joints and they run parallel to the tank so it will be sat over 2 joints. My house is quite a old house so Im a little worried it won't hold and i keep having visions of it crashing through my floor into my cellar kitchen. The flooring the tank is sat on is laminate. the tank will be in a alcove next to the chimney breast and is next to the wall joining on to my neighbour.

My question is will it be ok as i really don't wanna strengthen the floor.

Would putting a piece of plywood on top of laminate and under tank strengthen it?

Thanks

Wouldnt think it will be a problem myself not that big a tank is it,I,ve got a 200 ltr tank with loads of rockwork in ,it sits in a 1st floor flat,but unlike yours mine is not parallel to the joists,at least I dont think it is we didnt get the new carpet up when we put the tank in,what sort of base is it going to sit on does the stand have feet on it? or does it come with the custom juwel stand?if it does I think that has got some small feet on it if you removed the feet you would increase the footprint of the stand and therefore spread the load better that would avoid having to put a sheet of plywood down,but if its next to a chimney breast and a wall that is a pretty strong part of your house ,honestly I think you are worrying unduly,I know I did the same,I even booked a week off work after we put the tank in so I could watch it falling into my downstair neighbours flat,but eight months later it hasnt

 

[ShinySideUp]

Im after a little advice please. I currently have a 2ft 60l tank and Im wanting to upgrade to a Rio 125 which is double the capacity of my current tank.

My floor is wooden joints and they run parallel to the tank so it will be sat over 2 joints. My house is quite a old house so Im a little worried it won't hold and i keep having visions of it crashing through my floor into my cellar kitchen. The flooring the tank is sat on is laminate. the tank will be in a alcove next to the chimney breast and is next to the wall joining on to my neighbour.

My question is will it be ok as i really don't wanna strengthen the floor.

Would putting a piece of plywood on top of laminate and under tank strengthen it?

Thanks

As has been said regarding the small feet that Juwel have on some of their stands you could either take them off or as you yourself suggest, put some plywood under the stand.

Weight of water is 120kg plus glass, let's say 25kg, stand 10kg plus a bit for the decorations (which will be offset to some extent by water replacement; total weight about 160kg or the equivalent of two men standing side by side (men a little lighter than I!). Use the plywood and go fish, should all be fine.

 

[jenjen_82]

Cool thanks the stand im getting is the cabinet that comes with the tank. If i take the feet off what will happen if my floor is a little un even?

 

[webbie]

I think the weight of the water pressure pushing down onto the stand will sort of mould the bottom of the stand to suit the floor ,I think this will happen with the feet on aswell ,taking the feet off transfers the presure points from 4 small areas to 1 larger area,unless your floor is really uneven you should not have a prob

 

[jenjen_82]

http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquariums/fluval/fluval-roma-aquariums/fluval-roma-125-aquarium-and-cabinet-oak-and-wenge.html

Would this distribute the weight better please?

 

[webbie]

Certainly would JenJen ,thats the same stand that my 200 ltr sits on no problems at all,its a nice piece of furniture too,plenty of room for an external filter and bits and bobs!!

 

[psp83]

I've got a Fluval Roma 125 in my office upstairs on wooden joists and it's fine.

My stand is the new design, one with the legs (http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquariums/fluval/fluval-roma-aquariums/fluval-roma-125-aquarium-and-cabinet-oak-with-black-inserts.html)

So I put some thick ply on the floor and put the stand & tank on top.

 

[jenjen_82]

Good I measured my bath last night which also sits parallel to the joists and there's more water in that lol

I love the new stand but I'm on a budget and its out of that budget

I've decided I'm gonna try order it so it comes on my week off so when I wake up in the middle of the night imagining its fallen through the floor like I did with my other tank I don't have to get up for work in the morning

My current tank is on a slight slant so on 1 front corner the water is a few mm higher will this matter? Will this even out with a bigger tank as it will cover more floor space (the lower bit is next to the wall)

I've got a Fluval Roma 125 in my office upstairs on wooden joists and it's fine.

My stand is the new design, one with the legs (http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquariums/fluval/fluval-roma-aquariums/fluval-roma-125-aquarium-and-cabinet-oak-with-black-inserts.html)

So I put some thick ply on the floor and put the stand & tank on top.

Which way do your joists run? Would the laminate add a bit of extra support?

 

[webbie]

JenJen I really think you are worrying far too much,sorry to say your theory about the bath doesn,t hold water!sorry,your tank will be sitting in situ permanantly whereas your bath(I know some people spend hrs in theirs),is only full for a short while,but again I dont think it is a problem,do you know what is under your laminate floor is it laid directly onto the joists or laid on sheets of plywood? you could get yourslf a sheet of plywood slightly bigger than the stand to sit the stand on spreading the weight,bit of packing under the stand to get it level do this as you fill it with water dont wait till its full before trying to put some packing under get a spirit level on it as you fill it and adjust packing as you fill it,here,s a thought for you when you stand next to your old tank working on it or watching your fish has it ever fallen through the floor? ,old tank plus yourself and it hasn,t gone through the floor has it?,I,m not sure which way the joists run in my flat I,d just laid new carpet just before the tank went in so I wasnt about to get it up so took a guess that the joists ran from front to back of the flat,as you say its going to be sitting on two joists even tho they run parallel I think it will be fine ,at least you havnt got neighbours below you to worry about.

 

[jenjen_82]

No there's floorboards under the laminate. Sorry natural worrier lol

 

[webbie]

That makes two of us !!,at one point I even thought of getting a structual engineer in,saved £200 there, hope you get your tank up and running soon and I,m sure it will be fine

 

[psp83]

Which way do your joists run? Would the laminate add a bit of extra support?

Here's how mine is currently

The ply on the floor is about 4 inches wider than the stand.

The house is old as well, floors creak & groan when walked on

You will be fine, you can stop worrying

 

[Bugdozer]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: if a house floor can't support less than 200kg of weight at any point, it would be unfit for human habitation. Take a double bed: commonly right in the midline of the floor, weighs more than a person by itself and supports the weight of two people for hours at a time every night. Yet you don't worry about your floor falling through because of it, do you? Your fishtank will be putting far less strain on the floor than that.

 

[psp83]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: if a house floor can't support less than 200kg of weight at any point, it would be unfit for human habitation. Take a double bed: commonly right in the midline of the floor, weighs more than a person by itself and supports the weight of two people for hours at a time every night. Yet you don't worry about your floor falling through because of it, do you? Your fishtank will be putting far less strain on the floor than that.

I agree.

Before going freelance & changing this room into an office it was a mini gym.

I had a multigym over 160kg on its own, a treadmill, bike & weight bench with weights around 150kg stacked up next to the bench.

I didn't even think twice about the weight in the room.