Floor Joist Support
So I'm putting in a 135 gallon tank in a new house, since it's quite larger than the 50/60 gallons I've been used to, I'm wondering what others do for supporting the floor in the basement.
The tank will be against a supporting wall on the perimeter of the house, so only a few feet from the basement walls as well in terms of location. I was looking at getting a 4x4 going across the joists supported by a single house jack.
Overkill?
CR Member
Can never be to cautious, unless you like to clean up messes.
Figure 130 gallons times 8 lbs per gallon, plus tank weight, plus stand, is there a fug?, plus lights equipment, if you go 1 lbs per gallon of rock, plus probably the same in sand your looking at almost what 1500 pounds. I would do it.
You could use the excuse to build a fish room right under it in the basement to hid the support structure!!!
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
CR Member
I have a 180g sitting against an outside wall...with no additional support in the basement. If it ever goes through the floor, it's going to be a pretty spectacular fall! Which is another one of the reasons I'm downsizing it... kinda freaks me out. I don't know that there is such a thing as overkill in this hobby. I think underkill is worse.
...and yeah.... what Rob said!
dude...seriously fuge underneath? DUH!!! But it's going to be in the basement, with the long term goal of putting up a drywall divider in the basement to make it an official fish room...has a window for exhaust already.
I'm guessing the floor will have to support about 1300ish lbs on top, as I'm going to stuff the sump full of rock, and do something fun up top.
But anyways, just wondering what others might of done with such large tanks.
I know it would be fine for the short term, though I've read about the joists bowing under the constant weight of this size and would rather not have to fix an issue and have possible glass breakage down the line. After all the new hardwoods look good the way they are...
CR Member
the more support the better... when I did my 400 gallon I used floor jacks and added wood... was damm sure that I would not have that sort of mess to clean up.
What was your configuration for the extra wood support and jacks?Originally Posted by graphixx
CR Member
I used pressure treated lumber and went in betwwen the joists and reinforced and then there were 2 spots that I had about a foot gap at the crawl space and used floor jacks and then everywhere else I went from the floor where the tank set to underneath the house with lumber... I will have to try and dig the pictures out of it... alot easier to show than to explain. but when I was done you could have parked a bus there and would have been fine (but the tank almost weighed as much as a bus)
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