Is My Tank Too Heavy For The Floor?

[Mackenzilynn]

Hello all!
 
I just bought a 55 gallon fish tank, time to expand!
I'm looking forward to filling it up and getting it cycling, but I'm worried that it might be too heavy for the floors.
 
Here is a picture: http/instagram.com/p/XS0VETD2nd/
 
I'm just concerned because I'm renting the house, the floors are creaky and if anything happened it could be really bad.
 
 
Has anyone ever had trouble with this sort of thing? What do I have to look out for? 
 
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[az9]

i don't know if this will help or not but 55 gallons weighs about 460 lbs.

 

[Mackenzilynn]

That actually doesn't seem too much once you think about it. I guess I could fit like four people in that area and we wouldn't fall through the floor. 
I guess plus the stand, filters, gravel, fish, ect... Might add up?
 
Puts it into perspective but I'm still a bit skeptical

 

[attibones]

A 55 gallon would weigh much more that 460 pounds once full of only water. Water weighs about 10-12 pounds per gallon. My 55 weighs about 650 pounds, on top of a 100 pound stand. I rent a very old house, and I haven't had any issues. The only way to be sure is to contact somebody in contstruction. I'm totally blanking on the specific type of person... Perhaps someone who builds houses or something? I dunno, maybe someone can assist with the word I'm thinking of.

 

[Chad]

1 US gallon is 8.35 pounds according to Google which gives you 459.25 pounds of water weight an empty 55 gallon tanks weighs 78 pounds according to All-Glass. That's 537.25 pounds. Now things get tricky once you start dealing with gravel and décor. They have their own weight but also displace water so while they do add weight they will also take some away in the form of water displacement. It's a good idea to put the tank over a joist if you can. Most floors can handle that much weight as many beds, dressers, pianos etc. weight more.

 

[az9]

i just meant 55 gallons of water.

 

[dgwebster]

First off it looks like your tank is perpendicular to your joists going by the direction of your flooring. This can be completely off though by laminate laying etc in opposite direction to floor joists. Crossing multiple joists is much safer.

I have a 47 gallon running parallel to joists in a 100 year old building. Our walls shake and lights swing with neighbours movement but in 7 years the tank has not went through the floor.

Your tank size is roughly bath tub size if you also want another comparison. Would you trust a bathtub?

And lastly, if really worried get in touch with a structural engineer. They will want to see the joists etc to make a good observation and to be able to calculate accurate stresses your structure can take.

 

[frapadoodle]

Short answer, maybe.
Consulting a strucural engineer is safest, but not cheap.
Running the tank over several joists is best. Also wise to do so next to a load bearing wall.
The bathtub analogy doesn't hold water. One bathrooms are smaller rooms with more load bearing areas. And most folks don't leave the tub full of water for years at a time.
As for floors creaking, that is generally the subfloor. The nails work loose and creak. Nothing to worry about, just annoying.

As for a building with walls shaking and light fixtures swinging, well I wouldn't live there.

 

[Mikey1]

impossible for anybody here to answer, too many variables come into play,
 
is the tank parallel or perpendicular to the floor beams?
 
how thick are the floor beams?
 
is the tank placed beside a load bearing wall?
 
etc etc etc