I recently obtained a very large tank.
47in x 16in x 34in. 14.8 cubic feet.
111 gallons, when I round up.
935lbs of water.
300 lbs for the tank and base.
150 lbs for substrate and decor (overestimating).
1,385 lbs total.
Plan on placing it against the wall near the front door. Other side of wall is a bedroom.
My biggest concern is that it’s only a 5.2sq ft base area. But it’s not flat against the ground, as it has 10 “legs” that hold it up (see photos).
Ground floor, crawl space underneath. Place was built in 1959.
Do you think the floor will be able to support 1,385 lbs on a 5.2sq ft area?
Posted by AffectionateView7046
5 Comments
I would put 1 in plywood under the legs to help evenly distribute the weight. At current that thing is designed to sit on concrete and with those 10 legs on carpet it could warp the entire tank because of how wood flexes. The plywood will help with the whole thing being evened out, HOWEVER, I think there should have been some considerations prior to such a beautiful purchase because I don’t think that house with 2×10 on 16 joists can handle that much weight without reinforcement.
Most people will get under the house and put some supports in directly below the tank. That usually does the trick.
We need to see what is under the floor… what do you have for joists? Also what is your subfloor made of? 1/4” plywood will not be as strong as 5/8”. In 1959 anything could have been used!! To be safe you might want to put a larger piece of plywood 3/4”-5/8” underneath the tank to help spread out the weight.
Absolutely reinforce the floor under the crawl space, and consider potentially changing your tank placement so it sits across a main beam or at least isn’t parallel with the joists underneath. My research led me to understand that you don’t want more than about 600lbs on pier and beam type flooring (i maxed myself out at a 55 gal tank because of this).
This is definitely not something to do without getting someone with good engineering background to help you with placement and reinforcement. That’s a lot of weight and a lot of water
Are you on ground floor or on upper floor?