Worried About Weight Of Tank

[Far_King]

 
I agree,  The water alone will be 600-700 KG then add the weight of the tank and  substrate and that is some serious weight.

 
That's the ratio I always go with - 1 litre = 1kg   

 

[Akasha72]

I've always thought of it as the weight of the bath full of water (which is about 80 litres dependent on bath size) plus the person sat in it. I'm sure my tank can't weigh much more than that would

 

[ricbea]

Hi All, 
 
Coming to the party a little late here but if may throw tuppence ha'penny in the pot. I recently set up a tank that is 780 litres. The weight of the tank alone was 160kg, i put into that just shy of 200kg of rock, 54kg of sand and of course water, allowing for displacement i reckon around 700kg. I was very worried about having something strong enough to support all that weight so in the end I ended using building blocks that weighed 20kg's each (12 in total) this was so I could really spread the weight across the entire base total weight on the floor is around 1350kg or 3000lbs. Now I guess I could have gone way less on the base but I really didn't want to have a mini tidal wave in my house.
 
I am not sure if I am allowed to post a link but I will try and hopefully it will be ok, if not I apologize in advance and will not do so again. http/www.bedroom-workshop.com/workshop-floorloading/0workshop-floorloading.html
 
There is some "interesting" calculations in there that may assist you in your search for answers.
 
Richard.

I've always thought of it as the weight of the bath full of water (which is about 80 litres dependent on bath size) plus the person sat in it. I'm sure my tank can't weigh much more than that would

Akasha, this is a brilliant thought and if I may expand it a little. I have a wooden house (concrete base) with only 1 piece of metal adding to the frame construction and that runs through the ceiling from the top of the stairs across to the other side of the house. In my upstairs bathroom I have a corner bath that holds 150 litres of water and 2 adults comfortably now I am not the smallest person 111kg's and with my wife (well that's nobodies business

 ) together there is in excess of 325kg and so far we have not turned the bath into a water slide from one floor to another. 
 
I think that it is imperative the weight is evenly distributed as CSnyder stated earlier, hence my using concrete blocks to build my base.

 

[Akasha72]

I guess we also have to consider the heaviest thing used in building construction too --- the roof. I don't know exactly how much a roof weighs but I do know it's the heaviest part of a home. The reason the rood spars are braced the way that they are is to take the weight. 
 
This is where structural engineering comes in to play. I believe I read some time back that if you have the tank running across several floor joists and up against the wall where the full strength of construction is it will be okay but I'd never just say 'it'll be fine' ... I'm not qualified to do that

 

[Jeremy180]

A rule of thumb I hear quoted a lot for glass tanks with substrate over here in the US is to estimate 10 pounds per gallon(About 4.5 kilos per 3.8 Litres) for a set up tank, and that's not including the weight of the stand.
Also an important consideration here is the weight per linear foot/metre
With some of the largest tanks, this can be like putting a car on the second floor an tipping it onto it's two side wheels.

 

[Phillysailor]

Old tank: estimate about 800 lbs over 6 sq ft is about 133 lbs/sq ft
New tank at least 2200 lbs over 6x2 or 12 sq ft is about 183 lbs/sq ft
 
That's a significant increase in loading.
 
This link helps a lot. Nice discussion of the principles involved. The questions you'll want to answer are:
 
1  Does the aquarium span several joists, thereby distributing the weight, or does it run parallel to the joists, focusing the weight on just one or two joists?
2  Is a load bearing wall very close?
3  Is there cross-bracing of the joists beneath the weight?
4  Can you spread out the weight any more? Not by using a sheet of plywood underneath (too flexible), but by running stringers (boards on end) to increase the square footage of the base.
5  How long is the span of the joists? 
 
If the aquarium's weight is against a load bearing wall perpendicular to joists which span a distance of less than 10 feet and are cross braced, then you're probably just ducky. If no to all the above, get an engineer. In between will be a judgement call.
 
The floor made of concrete will have a maximum safe working load just like any other residential floor, but will simply be inflexible up to that point. A wooden floor might have the same safe working load, but would likely sag before breaking. Don't confuse strength with inflexibility.