150 Gal On A Wood Floor

I have a 150 gallon I'm finished rebuilding and I have it on the first floor of my house. It's a wood floor and the house was built in 1938. There is a crawl space under the first floor where the foundation and stuff is. Will a 150 gallon aquarium damage the floor? I read somewhere that it will weigh about 1500lbs when filled with water?

 

Yes, the aquarium with water is around 1200ish I think and extra gravel and decor will get you up to 1500. I highly don't recommend an aquarium on a wooden floor since you most definetly will have water damage, and the weight might be too much for your floor.

 

I don’t have any of my aquariums on a wooden floor, but I wouldn’t have any issues doing so. I personally think if where the tank is, there’s no bracing under the floor then it’s not a good idea.

You are better off with this aquarium empty than you are waking up to it sunken into your floor.

 

I would not risk it. Perhaps you could sell that one and get a 50-75 gallon instead.

 

If there's crawl space underneath, I would think you'd be able to put in some basic support for the joists in that location for a relatively minimal cost, like a joist support beam/saddle or even heavy duty trailer jack. If you think about it, there are a lot of things that we have on our floors that weigh a lot that we don't think twice about....large granite countertops on significant cabinetry (then add a party and 10 people standing around it, albeit that's not 24/7), families of 8 around a dinner table, etc. Yes, they are dispersed a bit better, so I think you need to do your due diligence, but it may not be insurmountable. I put in a 500+ bottle wine cellar unit a few years ago (weighs about 550 lbs empty, and 500 bottles at 2.65lbs is an extra 1000+ for about 1500+ in the same footprint), and I was concerned about the same thing and had a structural engineering company look at my floor (same scenario, hardwood over crawl space) to be sure; in my case, the house is from the 60s and built like a tank, so after looking they said good to go, and told me the same thing. Ymmv.

 

Can you reinforce the crawl space under the Tank? I'd look into it.

 

My lodge was built in 1928. I have a a 150 tall in the corner of the foundation. The house has settled so there is a tilt but I check the joists weekly and there has been no issues in the ten months it has been setup. But I am planning to add a 6x6 cross brace with a molly poll.

 

I will have someone look at it. Sometime this week. I want to keep this tank cause I put a looooootttttt of work into it.

 

Well I'm not going to have anyone look at the floor supports caus I just asked my dad and he went ballistic on me for even asking that question like I'm stupid or something. So now in a bit annoyed. If the floor collapses then that's on him. Cause apparently it costs thousands of dollars to have someone look at it. Whatever.

 

You should be able to find a contractor who gives free estimates. It shouldn't cost anyone to come and take a look at it. Now to do it, that may be thousands, but maybe not.
Either way I don't think it's a good idea to put that tank there! The house is very old, do you know the condition of the wood? Is there any water damage under the flooring? In old homes there are lots of issues that could be under the surface that you can't see, and it could lead to a complete disaster that would in turn, potentially cost more than just a couple of thousands of dollars to fix!

 

We've had workers under the crawl space before and they said the wood and everything looks to be fine

 

Fish tank weight on a floor is VERY different then a large amount of people at your house......the weight of a fish tank is only dispersed in the four corners on something about the size of a silver dollar.....

Whereas a party at your house has the weight of 8/10/15 people spread out over a much larger area.....

The odds of those four corners landing just right on top of the joist an not between(where just plywood subfloor would support it) are slI'm to none. Just my two cents

 

You could always do a land reptile in the tank.

 

There is a great article from a structural engineer that has been floating around the internet for a long time. It was what I used to make decisions for setting things up in my house. Look for "Residential wood framed floors and aquarium weights". I am not sure what the rules are for posting links here.

Basically, concrete floors are your friend, and if it is wood - brace it first.

 

From what I see in the pic is Bruce c216 butterscotch hardwood flooring installed and if installed correctly would run perpendicular with the joist so with that said the tank is supported by at least 4 joist. Is that an outside wall or is it toward the center of your house? If it's the outside then it's strong if it's the inside check to see if it's supported by a beam of some sorts. If there is no beam or masonry support and that wall is just sitting on joist in the middle of a span then you need to support it. With it being a crawl space use masonry block and 2x's.

 

Thank you guys very much for the information. It is an inside wall. I will try to crawl under there and take photos of the sub structure so yall can look at it.