kathyshovel

i need help as i think i got a good buy on a tank this what i looking at buying <complete aquarium $650.00 custom made tank 6ft length ,height 28 in ,width 16 in( i think that right as we are metic 2.1 m x70cm h,40cm)(test kits ,( doesnt give thickness of glass )has 4 perspex plates for the top ,*eheim c/filter 240 v 1,000 litre /pH,(worth $1,500 new i have checked and a secondhand one was $500) *2 heto double light in own setting with reflector (doesnt say what watts)*1 water heater (does say watts)*1 battery operated automatic feeder,*2 x air stella air filter with 2 air stones ,and theres chemicals test kits food rocks (let me know if u think its a good buy? i think it is ) BUT THERES NO STAND OR CABINET so if i want in i need to know what i need to be looking at that would do the job ,so can anyone suggest what i should be looking for ? i live a long way from major citys this tank is 7 hours drive(one way) the other side of melbourne vic ,(we dont have much here in the way of shopping only the LPS,so i still have to travel long distance for what ever i want ,i am going to canberra act ,(4 hours drive one way )so i can look for something at a big pet shop ,or furnt/shop new or used and get it sent home on a taxi truck (used would be better cheaper as i want to buy other thing for the tank ) i can also put an add in the newspaper for the area i live in ,SO CAN ANYONE HELP PLEASE ,I been wanting to do this since 1998 but now the time is right i have the time and money (no children at home ),i want to aquarascape black subtrate,lots of plants and black,marble&silver angelfish thats what i aiming for ,hoping someone will know thanks for your time

FishJones

Hi Kathy, my tank is about the same size and I put it on a good, solid dresser. Then the dresser started caving in on top so bought the stand from Petsmart, had no other choice. Lot more secure than before. Just make sure you get a good, solid stand where all four corners of your tank are on the stand. Your tank will weigh easily over 1000 pounds.

angelfish220

Also I have a friend with a huge tank like that. She set up concrete blocks solid underneath the stand to the appropriate height she wanted then go my pap (a carpender) to build a wooden kind of 'sleeve' to go over the concrete, so it looks like a cabinet but actually sturdy concrete, and you know it ain't breaking!

Dozey

I personally would not use concrete blocks. They are very strong when a vertical force is applied to them. However they are extremely weak if a horizontal impact is applied to them. Concrete blocks can break very easily.

For something custom made, try a high school, college, or trade school that offers courses in wood working and/or welding. Often they will take on projects like this and your only cost would be the material.

Nick G

Hi Kathy. I'll tell you this as a builder, not a fishkeeper! A tank that size will weigh an IMMENSE amount. Nearly half a ton. Not only must you put it on something incredibly strong, you must also be aware of where it's going in the house. Put it in an upstairs bedroom and it'll probably go through the floor! Just be sure to put it somewhere with good support!

angelfish220

wait? if this is true, then why are they used to build buildings and everything with?

I'm just wondering in case I should tell my friend to get a new stand!

Nick G

Dozey is 100% correct.

soldieroffortune1974

That's roughly a 140 gallon (530Liters) aquarium,water weight is about 1120lbs (508Kg) with decor, substrate, plants? fish,equipment, it will weigh roughly 1500 lbs (521Kg)
I would go with a metal stand with a wide base.or a good sturdy wooden solid top stand. I wouldn't go with a cheap aquarium stand from Petco,Petsmart or WalMart. You definitely need to go to a furniture store.A good solid oak dresser would do nicely.

I think $600 is a fairly good deal with the eqipment,decor.It's a good find.

The stand is going to be a bit more.If you can go to swap meets,flea markets or garage sales,there's probably all types of things that would be useful. I would build my own,if you're handy. Or buy a nice solid stand with a wide base.Full,it will be top heavy. You definitely need to consider the floor where it will be sitting on.A wider base will distribute the weight better,

Dozey

They are very successfully used in foundations and concrete block buildings. Under these conditions the load on the blocks is mostly distributed down through the block (about 8” of concrete). Forces on the side of the blocks only have about ½” of concrete to deal with.

Because foundations and block building distribute the weight of the building over a larger area the loss of one and even many blocks will not cause a structural failure. Such would be the case if a car crashed through a block wall building. The building would not collapse as the load would still be distributed over such a large area.

But, if you have an aquarium standing on four columns of concrete blocks and there is a failure of just one block it would be catastrophic. If you built a solid foundation for you aquarium (which I don’t think you were suggesting) the loss of a single block likely would not be an issue.

kathyshovel

great thanks every one, have been looking online and the local furniture shop just been and had a look there some very solid entertainment unit from $500 to $700 i like as its to go in my lounge room and i will talk to my hubby about the floor ,i like to buy the stand local to try and save a little bit ,i did ring a pet store a there s was $1200 for pine not even stained way to much ,i let u all know as i am really excited and thank again

FishJones

Kathy, I respectfully disagree with SOF, $500-$700 is way too much for that. I bought my wooden stand for $200 from Petsmart and it's very sturdy and really nice. I've seen others for less than $300, that are also very strudy and nice and for big aquariums. I know you are a long way from stuff, but is a pet store 7-8 hours away from you? Check with them and maybe they can special order you one. It'd be worth the drive if they had it reasonably priced. I wouldn't use a furniture piece that isn't designed for the aquarium because of the huge amount of weight.

Fla_Larry

and even on an upstairs floor if the footprint of the stand is even half the foot print of the tank, that is only a 1 lb /sq in load, ( most stands have a solid base on the bottom generally larger than the base area of the tank) that would give you 72 x 16 = 1152 sq in of area, figure 10 lbs / gal for the complete tank weight = 1400 lbs so your floor load is 1400/1152 = 1.21 lbs /sq inch.

as a comparison calculate the sq in area of your husbands feet. we'll use 12" long x 5" wide ( approx) that is 120 sq in area for both feet and lets use a weight f 220 lbs.
so 12 x 5 x 2 = 120 sq in so 220/120=1.83 lbs / sq in. is the load he presents to the floor just standing, but if he walks all his weight is now on one foot so nw the calc becomes 220/60 = 3.66 lbs / sq inch now would you expect that if he jumped off a chair onto the floor it would apply a dynamic load to the floow in excess of excess of 2x , would you expect anyone to go through the floor? just walking? or if he jumped. If so, you probobly need to move out lol. But most floors can easily handle that weight.

I had a 300 gal in a second floor apartment, with no issues whatso ever.
and 300g is a full ton and a half, The stand makes all the differance.

Put it in and enjoy it. no worries. well except for leaks that is

and the concrete blocks... have great compressive strength, just very poor shear strength, thats why concrete gets poured in along with rebar added to create a "shear wall" every 6' to 8' from top of wall to the foundation thats how structures work with the CBS with out crumbleing at the first "strike" top two rows ( well in fla anyways) are also poured solid.

agabr123

make sure you look on that stand, most of the time furniture stores will put somewhere on the info ticket how much weight the stand can hold, and with yours i'd make sure it's at least 200 over the calculations that people have given you (which i would mostly agree with). i woul call the store and make them give you some kind of guarantee that the stand you are purchasing (if they say it can hold that amount of weight) will actually hold that amount. if not you are going to have some really incredibly serious damage to your home. also i have to disagree with Fla_Larry, make sure it's on the bottom floor! i've heard of many, many people who have even put 100 gallon tanks somewhere on their upper floors that have caused serious damage. i guess it all depends on the structural integrity of the house/apartment and also the weight distribution of the stand, but still, i say better safe than sorry with that much water to worry about.

angelfish220

No I meant like a solid block of concrete not just at the corners.

Fla_Larry

yep, leaks are a real b***h on upper floors, i had a 30g blow out a seam on me one day, the antique shop below me was NOT happy ( actually i think he was grumpy, and I never did get to meet his 6 other partners either).
but if you know people whose 100g came through the floor.... well i personally would not dare enter that area, from a structure point that would be scarey.
weight distribution is the overall magic to larger tanks.
most flooring must meet code of well over 400lbs/sq ft, and am sure that is differant for differant areas.
not many multi levels in Fla well except for apartments,
and dont confuse total load with load handeling, two completely differant animals altogether

jdhef

I would like to respectfully disagree on the statement that "flooring must meet code of well over 400lbs/sq ft".

According to the "International Building Code" and the BOCA Code, residential floors are designed for 40 pounds per square foot.

Fla_Larry

ooops a little fat fingering there, 40 psf for residential is correct. so if i remember this all correctly as an example a 2x6 joist spanning 14ft on a 1ft center would yeild you a 300 lb load per joist evenly distrubuted ( I think i did that right it has been a LOOONG time). Live load x size x span.. look in tables for material type
ahh heck i think thats right, but.....


as we are dealing with a stand here, i would assume ( and ya know what happens when you assume) that the stand is on at least 2 joists minimum( running with the span), that gets you a 600lb load capability, but it is the water leaking i would more worry about.
besides you can also figure in the realistic as opposed to evenly distrubuted load presented and on and on and on.

Assuming a sound structure, only one tank ( not running a tank farm upstairs ), and Her Husband isnt running a small Golds Gym up there, and sitting just off wall, the upstairs floor should easily handle it.

But then i am also no strucural engineer, and it aint my house. So my opinion carries about as much weight as ..... oh Billy Mays Hayes ( The Oxy Clean Guy ), or that Sham Wow guy..

Im just here for the fish

jdhef

I've never heard about the "Live load x size x span" thing, but I do know that generally floor joist are spaced at 16" centers.

Fla_Larry

well live load v dead load, dead load being the permanent weight on the joist, walls sub floor etc, live load being any temporary load, beds, dressers etc etc, in effect i guess your furnishings, I'm sure some building inspector would ( find a way to disagree).
and yes, most joists are 2x6 or 2x8's spaced generally 16" or 24" on center.
and with a short span. but the spacing only comes into play for calculating total capacity.
the 40psf load cap. is for a single joist so is load x size x span
essentially 40 psf per joist evenly distributed.
so for a 2x12 joist spanning 20' the calc is 40 x 1 x 20 = 800 lbs

Material selection is sized by the span to attain the required 40psf.

Jeez just reread that mess and im even confused, the calc is done based on material capable of supporting a 40psf load over a given span ie a 2x4 - 2x8 aint gonna do it over 20' but a 2x12 will. there are the look up tables that tell you what size material are needed to attain the 40psf per joist over a span, ( unless your a sadist and wish to manualy calculate it) the above calc simply gives you the safe capacity for a single joist @ 40psf

But this is now dangerously way off topic, and now I'm also talking way over my head.
sorry OP for the thread theft

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