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Re: floor loading from 135 gal tank



You're lookin at around 1100 pounds for the water, some 200-300 for the 
tank (I know the All Glass 125 is 210 pounds, so yours will probably weigh 
a bit more). Then if you go with some 4" of gravel you'll displace some of 
the water but add a LOT more weight for the same volume. I'd allow at least 
1500 pounds for the tank, and that doesn't include what will probably be a 
fairly heavy stand. I designed my 125 stand to hold about 3000 pounds 
(approx 3x safety factor), and it can probably hold a lot more than that. 
Always best to be on the safe side with this!

Floor loading can be fairly complex. The load your floor can safely support 
depends on both the structure of the floor AND where the load is placed. 
You can normally put a higher load on the part of the floor near a vertical 
support than in the middle of a joist span for example. An architect can 
help you with this, or a structural engineer. The architect can determine 
the load rating of the floor in pounds per square foot and then you can 
determine how many pounds per square foot your tank will place on the floor 
and thus how big a tank your floor will safely support.

For example, with the All Glass 120 gallon tank, you have a 2 x 4 foot 
footprint which is 8 square feet. Allowing 2000 pounds for the tank, water, 
stand, gravel, and several hundred pounds of margin, you need a floor that 
can support 250 pounds per square foot. I'd want at least twice that to be 
safe though. Make sure your tank spreads the load out rather than just 
putting the load on four steel feet with one square inch of area each.

If you can access the floor from below you can double up the joists easily. 
The worst possible case for your tank is to have the tank running parallel 
to the joists (long dimension of the tank in line with the joists rather 
than across them) and in the center of a span. If your tank is running 
across several joists you will spread the load better.

         -Bill

>I'm putting in a new 135 gallon planted tank and am wondering about floor 
>loading. Experience around here says I shouldn't have a problem. The tank 
>will probably weigh in at a skinny 1200 lbs or so (depends on how fast my 
>plants grow) and I'm putting it on a wood floor, 12 inch beams, 
>plywood,  etc. How do you calculate the load? Is the tank okay as long as 
>I don't go in the room?
>I love tanks this big because bathtubs are so small these days. I can get 
>right in this tank and enjoy. Anyone know the bioload I'll be creating? 
>and what plants deal best? lol
>Cheers and thanks,

*****************************
Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator