pink_fish Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Hi all, Not sure if this is a correct section for this to go in, but seemed the most fitting, I hope! I recently bought an AquaOne AR980 (yay!) & finally got to set it up this past weekend. (Its roughly 3ft long - about 100cm I think.) 'Course, I didn't (stupidly, I know) give a heap of thought to what would be holding this big 215lt (I know it's small compared to what some of you must have, but it's big to me, lol!) above ground. Now, the stand its on is perfectly fine - a big, heavy sideboard that's about 7ft long and very solid. However, as I was heaving into the tank the 35kg of substrate, large lump of wood, a few rocks & the 200lt of water, I started to worry - that's a huge amount of weight for the floor to be holding up! I've set it up against a wall, which I believe should help, but my partner (who is a builder and assures me I'm just being a bit neurotic about it all) is not sure if its a load-bearing wall or not. However, he thinks that the flooring should be strong enough (should - argh!) to support it all, especially given that the weight is being spread a little by the fact its on a 7ft long stand. Anyway, I guess what I'm asking, is has anybody ever had problems with their floors giving way, or am I just being paranoid? Given that my partner, as I've already said, is a builder who knows what he's doing, I guess I can trust him (!) but he's not yet an expert tank-owner, so any info/advice/good stories (to allay my fears)/horror-stories (gulp) would be really great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Ground floor should be OK, but on upper levels... heh. Can you get under the house and have a look at where the piles are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Hello Pink_Fish and welcome to the world of fish-keeping... it's one big worry after another! :lol: I think your tank should be absolutely fine where you've got it. Assuming your floor doesn't have any major structural problems such as rot or borer (which your boyfriend will have noticed), then a wooden floor (especially a state house wooden floor) will hold a lot more than a three-foot tank before you have any problems. As your boyfriend said, having the load spread over a large area will also help, assuming the stand is nice and solid. OK so now you can stop worying about the weight and start worrying about the next thing. Here are some things to worry about: - will my fish be compatible with each other? - why is the water murky? - have I chosen the right background? - is that fish meant to be swimming that way? - why is there algae growing on the glass? - yesterday I had five fish and today I can only find four. Has one jumped out?! :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 If a tank that size falls through the floor you have serious problems with the house. Maybe 300kg? Two large adults on a couch. You dont worry about that right. With really big tanks you need to put some more thought into the foundations, but for 200-300l any floor will hold them. If it doesn't, well I would be nervous jumping on that spot myself. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 This was brought up recently in a thread and this link was interesting http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/a ... weight.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 The above info is for the USA. The dimensions of components in the floor structure here are quite different. The critical measurement is the height, as that is what determinines the force on the floor. It will be fine if you spread the load as evenly over the joists as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoody Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Ive got a 200l in my house (old state house) and had NO drama's at all. Infact that's part of what appealed when I brought the place was how sturdy they built them! Oh, and once you have ha few mate's around you can easily have 400-500kg's in a small area just standing in the kitchen?! I would'nt be stressing at all 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Ive got a 200l in my house (old state house) and had NO drama's at all. Infact that's part of what appealed when I brought the place was how sturdy they built them! Oh, and once you have ha few mate's around you can easily have 400-500kg's in a small area just standing in the kitchen?! I would'nt be stressing at all 8) And when your mates have had a few beers and start dancing, that's when you really find out what your house is made of! Thank goodness the punky pogo stage has passed us by... :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 There's people that weigh more than that tank.... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pink_fish Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi guys - thanks so much for the advice and info - and thanks, supasi - that US website was really interesting thanks! My partner is this minute under the house (in the rain - bless!) checking out the joists And he's going to read the article shortly. alanmin4304 - The tank water level will be at a height of 45cm (the whole thing is quite a bit taller though if you count the 15cm or so of lighthood & filter, etc.) & I've just checked - its 100cm long and about 50cm deep - ok yah/no? Re the fact that people can weigh more - this is true, but they don't stand still in one spot for several years, lol (imagine _that_ party!), so I'm gathering that its still important to check out what goes on underneath the house. Thanks all again - will report back the underfloor situation of the pink_fish in due course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 You also need to keep in mind that under current tenancy agreements, no pets are allowed - I'd make sure they know about it and okay it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pink_fish Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 lmsmith - thx - its an 'ex'-state house - I just noted that it was one to give people an idea about what kind of house/structure we were dealing with. Current status is that my partner is going to strengthen the stand and add some bearers to the joists - yay for having a builder as a partner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 All good then. And the plus side to that is that when you have a stronger floor, you can get a bigger tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoody Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Or have a bigger party?! 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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