My Dad Asked Me....

[GAB99]

my dad asked me to ask you guys if a 55 U.S. gallon on the second floor is ok. and how to tell if a stand can hold the weight (which ill assume has to be near 600 pounds.)

this is a big hint for christmas eh? he probably should've asked some one else.

 

[OldMan47]

I have often put a 55 on the second floor and have one there right now. It is indeed about 600 pounds or maybe even a little more. I have no idea what the specific strength of your home is so I will not say it is OK in your house. I considered what I was doing in my own home very seriously before being willing to put a 55 in my upper level. I ended up choosing to place it where the lower level; walls would help carry the weight and placed the tank stand such that the weight was distributed across several floor joists just to be sure.

 

[Truck]

Get it checked by a structural engineer, the cost of a structural engineer is cheaper than that of a new ceiling.

 

[meguro]

1 litre of water = ~1 kg

 

[GAB99]

ok ill tell him, i doubt he'll want to pay for the tank set it up and have it land in the kitchen.

 

[confusion]

I have numerous tanks on the second floor. In fact, I have a 125G tank on my second floor bedroom. My house is standard wood frame construction, but only about 5 years old. One think I have done is set my tanks on load bearing walls. This means that there isn't a lot of strain on the floor joists.

Think about it this way - would you be concerned with having 4 200 pound guys standing next to each other in a small spot on your floor?

 

[Truck]

Think about it this way - would you be concerned with having 4 200 pound guys standing next to each other in a small spot on your floor?

Thats not the same, the tank is a live load because its there for a long time, where as the two 200 pound men aren't

 

[rebrn]

You defiantly want to check out the specs for your specific home, one persons second floor may be stronger than another's depending on how it was built. But if it helps I have had a water bed on upper floors of several houses and never had an issue. I don't know if water beds weight distribution is the same as a tank, but I would image if I could have a queen size water bed on the upper levels in an older home then you could have a tank up there. But again, get the specific structure of your home checked out first.

 

[Amberleaf]

XD I'd get your floors checked out; I'm currently planning to buy another 10-gallon tank on Boxing Day but am pretty worried about my dresser supporting another 10-gallon tank.... xP Since I am getting a new hamster I can't put it anywhere on the floor of my room. But if you can have a bunk bed with, say.... a person or two in it on the second floor and not be worried, I'd say that that's fine.

 

[GAB99]

right now the spot is holding my 20 gallon with no problems, and thas around 250 so if i can test the area by finding more stuffthat weighs another 350 how long should i test it?

 

[Truck]

right now the spot is holding my 20 gallon with no problems, and thas around 250 so if i can test the area by finding more stuffthat weighs another 350 how long should i test it?

Your test isn't going to be accurate, you need to test the floor over a long period of time, not a few days, if you skimp out and it falls through the ceiling you're in trouble. Structural engineers really aren't that expensive compared to the cost of a new ceiling.

 

[GAB99]

he was pulling my leg all this time so there is no longer a need to to keep posting here.....im upset...

 

[Amberleaf]

That's awful! Though, maybe he just wanted to know for future reference? Did he just tell you, "No, we're not getting something like that right now," or did he laugh and say, "Ha! I fooled YOU!"?

 

[Knox213]

Dude i know what you mean my mom keep chanigng there mind about me getting and selling my tank.

Like they'd say no then 5 minutes later yes.
then no

then yes.



confusing.

but im 1005 getting one now cuz they said deffo after x-mas and promised

 

[GAB99]

my parents tend to go back on promises and yes he did say foole you