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Very true sam lol. really would have prefered getting it though... :-(

Have PMed you Cane :good:

I feel really bad, cos i have let down the person selling it...i feel harsh on her... :(

Mikey
 
Hi Mikey
CFC was right to recomend that you check with a Structural Engineer about your floor. :nod:

It just so happens thats what I do for a living :hey:

I would normally charge for this advice, but seeing as though you are a fellow fish keeper...here goes:

- All domestic houses are designed for an imposed floor load of 1.5 KN/m2. This is under building Regulations and British Design standards.

- Your tank in metric sizes is 2.13m x 0.61m x 0.61m = 0.792 m3 of water which weighs 7.92 KN

- The footprint of your tank base or stand is the same as the tank? Therefore 2.13m x 0.61m = 1.299 m2

- Therefore load imposed by your tank is 7.92KN divided by 1.299 m2 = 6 KN/m2

- Your floor is designed to carry 1.5 KN/m2, you are going to impose 6.0 KN/m2

- Ahhhhhhhh there goes the floor !!!!! :fun:

There are exceptions to this, if you put nothing else in the room on the floor and the floor is big enough, and you can spread the load further then you may be Ok, but this would be a long shot.

With regard to your ground floor, if its concrete ground bearing (not suspended) then you will be Ok. If its timber and suspended then the same applies as above.

Hopefullly you could follow the above, I tried to make it simple to follow.

Any other queries dont hesitate to PM me. :good:

Regards

Brian

well if all that is true then my floor should have colapsed years ago

i have a 84inch long x 32wide x 30 deep tank on 1st floor woodern boards and it has been like that for 10yrs
 
Hi Mikey
CFC was right to recomend that you check with a Structural Engineer about your floor. :nod:

It just so happens thats what I do for a living :hey:

I would normally charge for this advice, but seeing as though you are a fellow fish keeper...here goes:

- All domestic houses are designed for an imposed floor load of 1.5 KN/m2. This is under building Regulations and British Design standards.

- Your tank in metric sizes is 2.13m x 0.61m x 0.61m = 0.792 m3 of water which weighs 7.92 KN

- The footprint of your tank base or stand is the same as the tank? Therefore 2.13m x 0.61m = 1.299 m2

- Therefore load imposed by your tank is 7.92KN divided by 1.299 m2 = 6 KN/m2

- Your floor is designed to carry 1.5 KN/m2, you are going to impose 6.0 KN/m2

- Ahhhhhhhh there goes the floor !!!!! :fun:

There are exceptions to this, if you put nothing else in the room on the floor and the floor is big enough, and you can spread the load further then you may be Ok, but this would be a long shot.

With regard to your ground floor, if its concrete ground bearing (not suspended) then you will be Ok. If its timber and suspended then the same applies as above.

Hopefullly you could follow the above, I tried to make it simple to follow.

Any other queries dont hesitate to PM me. :good:

Regards

Brian

well if all that is true then my floor should have colapsed years ago

i have a 84inch long x 32wide x 30 deep tank on 1st floor woodern boards and it has been like that for 10yrs
Really?
Maybe i should get someone in to just have a look...
maybe some floors are stronger than others?

Mikey
 
i think tikarmans is still downstairs tho.

nope my tank is upstairs in the living room above my bedroom

i just look at it this way a big tank is like the same size a 2 baths so a bath with water and a fat bloke in it is the same as my tank you wont have any problems if you put the tank close to a solid brick wall with the joist running the right way
 
i think tikarmans is still downstairs tho.

nope my tank is upstairs in the living room above my bedroom

i just look at it this way a big tank is like the same size a 2 baths so a bath with water and a fat bloke in it is the same as my tank you wont have any problems if you put the tank close to a solid brick wall with the joist running the right way


As I said T1KARMANN there are exceptions depending on the setup in the room. It does not mean to say however that your floor is not overstressed and exceeding its design load. If you ever did have a problem with your floor I would be very interested to see the response from your insurers when they find out what you have done with the loading (not covered me thinks !!).
Also your comment about bathrooms - you will find in domestic properties that Building regulations and good design practice suggests that floor joists are doubled up in the bathroom, and most of the time that is the case, especially under the bath feet. With regard to the fat bloke in the bath - dont forget the water dispacement by the fat bloke !! so you cant add a full bath of water onto the blokes weight!!
Is your property an old one? If so the joists will have been 'eyed in' years ago before the advent of Building Regulations and are probably oversized, hence they work. I would suggest in a newer property this will not be the case. We all know how flexy and creaky modern floors are because they are designed to the limit.
I think your suggestions that Mikey should just go ahead is a dangerous one without knowing all the facts! -_-
 
i think tikarmans is still downstairs tho.

nope my tank is upstairs in the living room above my bedroom

i just look at it this way a big tank is like the same size a 2 baths so a bath with water and a fat bloke in it is the same as my tank you wont have any problems if you put the tank close to a solid brick wall with the joist running the right way


As I said T1KARMANN there are exceptions depending on the setup in the room. It does not mean to say however that your floor is not overstressed and exceeding its design load. If you ever did have a problem with your floor I would be very interested to see the response from your insurers when they find out what you have done with the loading (not covered me thinks !!).
Also your comment about bathrooms - you will find in domestic properties that Building regulations and good design practice suggests that floor joists are doubled up in the bathroom, and most of the time that is the case, especially under the bath feet. With regard to the fat bloke in the bath - dont forget the water dispacement by the fat bloke !! so you cant add a full bath of water onto the blokes weight!!
Is your property an old one? If so the joists will have been 'eyed in' years ago before the advent of Building Regulations and are probably oversized, hence they work. I would suggest in a newer property this will not be the case. We all know how flexy and creaky modern floors are because they are designed to the limit.
I think your suggestions that Mikey should just go ahead is a dangerous one without knowing all the facts! -_-

it all depends how badly you want the tank at the end of the day :D
 
i think tikarmans is still downstairs tho.

nope my tank is upstairs in the living room above my bedroom

i just look at it this way a big tank is like the same size a 2 baths so a bath with water and a fat bloke in it is the same as my tank you wont have any problems if you put the tank close to a solid brick wall with the joist running the right way


As I said T1KARMANN there are exceptions depending on the setup in the room. It does not mean to say however that your floor is not overstressed and exceeding its design load. If you ever did have a problem with your floor I would be very interested to see the response from your insurers when they find out what you have done with the loading (not covered me thinks !!).
Also your comment about bathrooms - you will find in domestic properties that Building regulations and good design practice suggests that floor joists are doubled up in the bathroom, and most of the time that is the case, especially under the bath feet. With regard to the fat bloke in the bath - dont forget the water dispacement by the fat bloke !! so you cant add a full bath of water onto the blokes weight!!
Is your property an old one? If so the joists will have been 'eyed in' years ago before the advent of Building Regulations and are probably oversized, hence they work. I would suggest in a newer property this will not be the case. We all know how flexy and creaky modern floors are because they are designed to the limit.
I think your suggestions that Mikey should just go ahead is a dangerous one without knowing all the facts! -_-

it all depends how badly you want the tank at the end of the day :D
And how fast you can run away from your parents... :p

Neal
 
What fillet o fish says about the age of the house being a factor is very true, older pre building regulation houses are likely to have 7x2" or 9x2" solid timber joists placed at 12" spaces with 4x1" solid timber floor boards nailed over the top, where these sit on the supporting wall they have enough strength to hold a couple of elephants up without sagging or breaking :lol:
More modern houses which have been built in the last 30 years are likely to have been built with 4x2" joists with tounge and grooved chipboard nailed over them or if the house is very new then it may not have solid timber joists at all but instead have these horrible new I shaped joists built from stirling board and 2x1" :crazy:, i'd be frightened to have friends around on new floors let alone a fish tank sitting on one :lol:
 
All I gotta say is that make sure you follow these boys instructions!!!!
With my 230 gallon, plus 50 gallon overflow tank, plus the sand, plus the water, I think this place is soooooo secure we could drive my SUV into my dinning room. I still have insurance incase the horrible (*Earthgirl knocks on wood) goes through.

If you do an overflow, just make sure you have a way of keeping those eels and bichir from gowing through!
I would also agree with CFC that rays are much happier with companions......
Though starting out with a scobina....... :unsure: ....... Bon Chance mon ami (that is my opinion).
Good luck with the bigger tank, cause bigger is better!
I am looking into a 400-450 gallon (not in this house though, will be a basement thingy) and are not looking forward to bringing that in. Make sure you have beer and pizza for those who help you with the floor and bring in it. That is what I did... :good:
 
I tell you what, if I had T1karmann's tank on a floor with just wooden joists, I'd sleep under it too. I don't think I would want to live if that tank ever fell through--those are some really nice fish in there!
 
I tell you what, if I had T1karmann's tank on a floor with just wooden joists, I'd sleep under it too. I don't think I would want to live if that tank ever fell through--those are some really nice fish in there!

if the floor does give way it should be OK the tank is acrylic so it should bounce :D

if the cab and hood killed me they chould bury me in it then fill the tank back up to save the fish :S
 
I'm a builder, and nowadays we are using 6"x2" (sometimes 7"x2") joists, sometimes doubled and screwed together, depending on the load required. We are installing them about 350mm apart. Normally, we use tongue and groove chipboard, or plyboard instead of floor boards.

In my professional opinion, like "Fillet-O-Fish" says, do not put that tank on a wooden floor without a garuantee from a certified structual engineer that it will hold the weight. This advice will be costly. I would pull out of the sale unless you can put it downstairs on a concrete floor.
 

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