Will My Tank Go Through The Floor?

[mp3]

Hi all, i know this may seem a strange question but any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm about to buy either a Rio 125 or Rio 180 Juwel aquarium and live in a fourth floor flat in a newbuild block in London. Its one of them places where the walls are paper thin etc etc (not exactly built to last!) Does anyone have a rough idea of how much such tanks would weigh? Would the floorboards hold it? Has anyone ever heard of tanks going through floors?

I'm not going to buy a stand (as they are too high for the flat..its all very "low deco" so to speak) and was instead thinking of using breeze blocks with a sheet of plywood on top to support the tank..would this work?

Is it a good idea to put a layer of polystyrene or cork tiles under the tank or will just plywood be ok?

Last but not least, any opinions on the Juwel tanks mentioned..good for newbies like me???

thanks so much for any thoughts on the matter

Keep Smilin', Sam

 

[dwarfgourami]

If you go to the Juwel website or the website of a shop that sells the tank (like Trimar or Aquaticsonline), they'll probably tell you how much they weigh. But even without that, you can do a rough estimate- 1 liter of water weighs exactly 1 kg, so it's going to be either 125 kilos or 180- the latter being about the same as 2 somewhat podgy gentlemen. My husband who is a slim man of average height weighs about 70 kgs, so two of him would be about the same as the smaller tank with gravel in it.
And then there is the weight of the tank- maybe another 20-30 kgs or so (wild guess). And the gravel.

Can't help you with the supporting bits I'm afraid, as I'm totally technologically challenged. Which is why I like the Juwel tanks. They are really quite easy to set up and run.

 

[cheeky_chappie]

hi, dwarfgourami has touched on the answer. look at it this way:

1 litre = 1 kg

so a rio 180 will weigh approx 200 kg in total when loaded with water. let's say you then load it with loads of gravel, rocks etc, maybe another 40 kg, so we have a working total of 240 kg, let's say 250 kg to round things off.

to give you a guide to work with, a 15 stone man (or woman ) weighs approx 95 kgs, so 3 of them would come in at approx 285 kgs, more than your tank is probably going to weigh. if these 3 people stood side by side where you're intending to put your tank, would they fall through the floor? i doubt it, unless your place was built by 'dodgey homes inc.'

so, in my humble opinion you'll be fine, even though houses / flats are paper thin these days they still have to accomodate relatively heavy furniture, and people! also remember the strongest area is usually where the floor meets a wall.

as for not buying the stand, your choice i suppose. i have the rio 180 on the proper stand. suppose you could go with bricks and ply, although high density mdf would probably be better and would look nicer around the edge. would have to be at least 20mm thick and supported both ends and in the middle. no need for poly.

 

[mp3]

If you go to the Juwel website or the website of a shop that sells the tank (like Trimar or Aquaticsonline), they'll probably tell you how much they weigh. But even without that, you can do a rough estimate- 1 liter of water weighs exactly 1 kg, so it's going to be either 125 kilos or 180- the latter being about the same as 2 somewhat podgy gentlemen. My husband who is a slim man of average height weighs about 70 kgs, so two of him would be about the same as the smaller tank with gravel in it.
And then there is the weight of the tank- maybe another 20-30 kgs or so (wild guess). And the gravel.

Can't help you with the supporting bits I'm afraid, as I'm totally technologically challenged. Which is why I like the Juwel tanks. They are really quite easy to set up and run.

 

[king72]

cheeky chappy that was a great explanation....can you do the same in quanities of ducks

 

[samyboy]

im liking the breeze block and plywood stand idea, remember to include these in the weight and support it in the middle too! and yes i would use some matting under the tank it distributes the weight evenly or something so the glass doesnt flex and break the seals, also prevents scratching

 

[mp3]

hi, dwarfgourami has touched on the answer. look at it this way:

1 litre = 1 kg

so a rio 180 will weigh approx 200 kg in total when loaded with water. let's say you then load it with loads of gravel, rocks etc, maybe another 40 kg, so we have a working total of 240 kg, let's say 250 kg to round things off.

to give you a guide to work with, a 15 stone man (or woman ) weighs approx 95 kgs, so 3 of them would come in at approx 285 kgs, more than your tank is probably going to weigh. if these 3 people stood side by side where you're intending to put your tank, would they fall through the floor? i doubt it, unless your place was built by 'dodgey homes inc.'

so, in my humble opinion you'll be fine, even though houses / flats are paper thin these days they still have to accomodate relatively heavy furniture, and people! also remember the strongest area is usually where the floor meets a wall.

as for not buying the stand, your choice i suppose. i have the rio 180 on the proper stand. suppose you could go with bricks and ply, although high density mdf would probably be better and would look nicer around the edge. would have to be at least 20mm thick and supported both ends and in the middle. no need for poly.

Hahaha well lets hope the flat weren't built by Dodgey Homes n Co! Me neighbors wont be too pleased. thanks so much for ur reply. Sam

 

[The Stig]

I have a Rio 125 upstairs, in the same room as the huge 450L tank, and also a 28 inch TV. I have (obviously) no problems, touch wood. As long as the tanks are positioned accross the struts properly you should be fine mate.

Carl.

 

[Chri$]

I've never heard of a tank going through a floor.....yet I think you would be fine with either tank

 

[carrera]

if these 3 people stood side by side where you're intending to put your tank, would they fall through the floor? i doubt it

this a bad analagy as that section of the floor is going to have 1/5 of a tonne of water (plus other weights) sitting on it for more than a few seconds.

unfortunatley, there is no real answer, no one can say "its fine on my floor, it will be fine on yours" and no amount of people standing about on your floor will tell you if it will hold a fish tank for years to come. there are just too many factors to take into consideration.

i myself have just over 500l (half a tonne) of water in my 1st floor bedroom in a 100 year old house. but that doesnt mean you can too.

probably not the answer you are looking for, but the only real answer is "try it and see".

 

[Chri$]

And if it falls through the floor so be it

 

[The Stig]

But with either the Rio 125 or 180 you should be fine. Good choice of tank by the way.

 

[cheeky_chappie]

if these 3 people stood side by side where you're intending to put your tank, would they fall through the floor? i doubt it

this a bad analagy as that section of the floor is going to have 1/5 of a tonne of water (plus other weights) sitting on it for more than a few seconds...

no it's not a bad analogy ... did i say the 3 15 stone people were only going to stand there for a few secs? they could stand there for a minute, hour, day, week, month, year ... they still ain't gonna fall through the floor

 

[carrera]

did i say the 3 15 stone people were only going to stand there for a few secs?

theres no need to get defensive, but, regardless, you implied it. you put forward a *test* to have three people stand in a spot in a house to see if the floor collapses, somehow i dont see that test lasting more than a few minutes.

they could stand there for a minute, hour, day, week, month, year ... they still ain't gonna fall through the floor

the longer the weight is on the floor, the more chance the floorboards have of buckling. i would agree if you said 'probably aint gonna fall through the floor', but even still, like i said, it depends on a lot of factors. for example if you placed that quarter tonne weight in the middle of the floor in a large room in an old house where there is likely to be rotten wood or perhaps termites, it may not hold for long.

 

[Tolak]

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