Chances of tank flooding?

HI guys,

I was recently given a 400L (100g) aquarium by someone who needed to get rid of it and rehouse his fish. It has been set up here for 2 weeks and so far so good, BUT I do have a number of worries that I'm panicking about so some reassurance would be good...

1) I live in an upstairs flat and this is a BIG tank. I've only filled it halfway for fear of it crashing through the floor (it is lying parallel to the joists, over 2 of them). How likely is this?

2) I have put the fish tank straight on the carpeted floor with no stand. The stand that was with it was too big to get up our stairs! Is it going to be OK on the floor, I don't want it to break!

3) How likely is it that this thing could flood? We would be in heaps of trouble if we flooded downstairs newly decorated flat

4) Although the tank is flat on the floor, one corner is sitting over an area of carpet where a sofa was previously and there is a dent in it, so maybe an inch or so of the back corner of the tank is not touching the carpet. Just how dangerous can this be because I've read that all 4 corners must be supported

5) The tank took some damage moving it here, there are some chips out of the bottom corners, seems to be holding firm but just worried about them given the damage a flood could do downstairs.

See some pictures of the tank, the corner not being fully supported and a chip out of another corner






Forgot to say, was trying to work out if tank was twisted but I don't think it is, there is no difference in water level front to back (measured with ruler) and an 8mm difference left to right (measured with a ruler - this was 4mm 2 weeks ago)

 

Welcome to FishLore!

I would be a little worried about putting a 100 gallon tank that floor. It may be money well spent to get a structural engineer to take a look at it.

I would be worried somewhat about having the tank sit directly on carpet. On the one hand you would think it would be good since the carpet would compress to totally support the entire perimeter. On the other hand it might be bad because the carpet may not compress uniformly causing stress points. But it would be much better as far as maintenance (i.e. water changes) to have the tank on a stand.

Who can say. Hopefully the tank would not leak and flood the downstairs. But that is why I think (if your floor can actually support your tank) that I would like to see it sitting on a stand. I would really want to play it safe with that much water.

I would think the tank would compress the carpet to the point where it is supported all around. The tank should be supported for it's entire perimeter, not just the corners. Think of it as if you laid a 2x4 flat with the ends supported only. The 2x4 would sag in the middle.

I think the chips shouldn't be a problem

 

Thank you, I mean if it was to leak, is it something I could notice and put a stop to before too much damage occured or would it be more likely to be a gushing torrent. Only had one tank before and that was a small one which broke and soaked my floor (not enough to damage downstairs). Also the tank is not level but I read that level doesn't matter so much as long as its not twisted. Its level front to back (measured with a ruler as I don't have a spirit level so measured from bottom of glass to water level) but its not level along the long length, is an 8mm difference (was 4mm when I filled it up 2 weeks ago)

 

Its fine on the floor can be stressful to fish bc of noise and walking around.
Id watch the tank measurements if those measurement increase it means floor could be sagging. The chips should be fine as long asthey go nowhere near seals. Your pushing 1000 pounds when you fill it up and add a stand filters substate. Id try ro find a contractor that could tell you where you could put it. Also I advise that that tank is next to a load bearing walls outside corners should be able to support that weight but id ask engineer or contractor.

 

Its a tricky one as most of our internal walls were removed.Underneath from u she still has a wall about a foot away from the back of the tank, which is brick so I assume to be loadbearing, but the joists run the same way as that wall. The fish seem to be getting used to us moving around, we are out most of the day. Very jumpy when we first got them but heaps better now, even the washing machine doesn't bother them and it vibrates right across the floor. The weight of the tank seems to be damping the vibrations though because we can't feel it now either!

 

The tanks probably absorbing the vibration. If I could id put it against an outside wall on a stand. A cheap easy way to get it of the floor some is with cinderblocks and some plywood one sheet same dimensions as footprint of tank on floor blocks spaning entire tank with another sheet on top set tank on that it raises it up some and will support weight

 

Here is what i'd do and concerns.

1. Empty the tank and call your insurance company. Make sure they cover water damage from a fish tank. Then make sure you have enough insurance to cover the cost if the tank did loose all it's water.

2. Do you own your flat? If no; ask landlord for permission to have it. (You'll want to bring up your insurance in the same sentence.) Generally landlords fear water like its a plague.

3. As for structural integrity. Check the requirements that must be met when building a house/flat/whatever. Call your local office for advice. But, generally the housing codes requires the floor to hold x amount of weight. (should be well more than your tank's final weight near a load bearing wall. I'd avoid placing it against a false wall.

4. The change in it's leveling concerns me. Either the floor is sagging or you have a pressure point that could lead to total failure.

 

she still has a wall about a foot away from the back of the tank, which is brick so I assume to be loadbearing, but the joists run the same way as that wall.

By definition, a bearing wall would be supporting joists. So that wall is just a partition wall. That doesn't mean that the partion wall isn't as strong as the bearing wall, but since the joist are not bearing on that wall, the wall will see no load. In theory you could knock that wall down and the floor would be fine, since the floor framing is not resting on it.

 

By definition, a bearing wall would be supporting joists. So that wall is just a partition wall. That doesn't mean that the partion wall isn't as strong as the bearing wall, but since the joist are not bearing on that wall, the wall will see no load. In theory you could knock that wall down and the floor would be fine, since the floor framing is not resting on it.

One problem with that. False walls are weaker than load bearing walls. The reason to place the tank against a load bearing wall is the support for the joist.

Example: Say you have a 20 by 20 square foot room. One wall is load bearing, another is not. The false wall's joist is bearing weight from one bearing wall to the next bearing wall it comes into contact. So it depends how long that joist is between the load bearing walls. So if your tank ends up somewhere near the middle of that section you could experience sagging. Against a load bearing wall you're right there at one end.

Lay a board over your end tables. A thin board. Then put something heavy near one of the end table (bearing wall) Now pretend there is a false wall in the middle and move that weight there. Sagging.

 

It's 10mm glass and by only filling halfway I'm hoping this will reduce the risk of the glass cracking or a seam busting. We can't get insurance like that in the UK and can't get buildings insurance because we are renting

 

One problem with that. False walls are weaker than load bearing walls. The reason to place the tank against a load bearing wall is the support for the joist.

That is not necessarily true. A typical house has walls made of 2x4's spaced @ 16" on center. All the walls are the same 2x4's @ 16" c/c, whether load bearing or non load bearing. The difference is that the joists are bearing on the load bearing wall, whereas there are no joist bearing on the non bearing walls, so those walls never see any load (other than wind load if an exterior non load bearing wall).

 

It's 10mm glass and by only filling halfway I'm hoping this will reduce the risk of the glass cracking or a seam busting. We can't get insurance like that in the UK and can't get buildings insurance because we are renting

You can't get renters insurance?

Eleanor: Hi, my name is Eleanor. How may I help you?
ss: yes, I was wondering if your insurance covered water damage if my aquarium leaked.
Eleanor: OK, I have never actually come across this question before!
Eleanor: I am just double checking with one of our senior specialists.
ss: The thing is I live in a flat on the 2nd floor. So that's my concern. If i'd be covered in that situation.
Eleanor: OK so are you concerned about the damage to the other flats?
ss: Yes, and my own. I know here in the United States some insurance companies don't cover water damage if caused by an aquarium. So, when I move to the UK i'd need insurance that covers this situation.
Eleanor: OK how big is the aquarium and is it a fixed aquarium?
ss: Fixed, as in on an aquarium stand?
Eleanor: Yes.
ss: Its 100 gallons and is fixed.
Eleanor: If it was to leak due to mechanical failure then we wouldn't cover it. But if it was due to something like accidental damage and you have included in the cover then we would.
ss: Okay, if one of the seams (what holds the glass together) were to break, is that covered?
Eleanor: No we would class that as wear and tear so we wouldn't unfortunately.
ss: okay, thank you very much for your time.

So if the failure was due to you 'breaking' the glass it would be covered.

 

That is not necessarily true. A typical house has walls made of 2x4's spaced @ 16" on center. All the walls are the same 2x4's @ 16" c/c, whether load bearing or non load bearing. The difference is that the joists are bearing on the load bearing wall, whereas there are no joist bearing on the non bearing walls, so those walls never see any load (other than wind load if an exterior non load bearing wall).

- Maybe i'm not explaining it clear enough, but this supports my 'theory.'

 

You can't get renters insurance?

Eleanor: Hi, my name is Eleanor. How may I help you?
ss: yes, I was wondering if your insurance covered water damage if my aquarium leaked.
Eleanor: OK, I have never actually come across this question before!
Eleanor: I am just double checking with one of our senior specialists.
ss: The thing is I live in a flat on the 2nd floor. So that's my concern. If i'd be covered in that situation.
Eleanor: OK so are you concerned about the damage to the other flats?
ss: Yes, and my own. I know here in the United States some insurance companies don't cover water damage if caused by an aquarium. So, when I move to the UK i'd need insurance that covers this situation.
Eleanor: OK how big is the aquarium and is it a fixed aquarium?
ss: Fixed, as in on an aquarium stand?
Eleanor: Yes.
ss: Its 100 gallons and is fixed.
Eleanor: If it was to leak due to mechanical failure then we wouldn't cover it. But if it was due to something like accidental damage and you have included in the cover then we would.
ss: Okay, if one of the seams (what holds the glass together) were to break, is that covered?
Eleanor: No we would class that as wear and tear so we wouldn't unfortunately.
ss: okay, thank you very much for your time.

So if the failure was due to you 'breaking' the glass it would be covered.

Interesting, I didnt know they did such a thing here but it looks like just contents insurance, that wouldnt pay for any damage to the flat downstairs.

 

Interesting. I just chatted to them too and they said that any damage caused to a downstairs neighbour by my property, including a fish tank would be covered up to £1,000,000. Weird £6 a month

 

Interesting. I just chatted to them too and they said that any damage caused to a downstairs neighbour by my property, including a fish tank would be covered up to £1,000,000. Weird £6 a month

Its cheap here in the USA to. I pay 97 dollars for full coverage on 1 car and home owner insurance. My coverage covers up to 300K for the property and its like 9 dollars a month.

 

I have an opinion on this. I wouldn't have a used tank in that situation. Especially a clearly damaged one.

This is because I was given one and it leaked.

It would have to be a new tank for me on a proper stand or at least on polystyrene.

I wouldn't have an external canister filter either as I know three people who have had floods due to canister filters pumping out the water..

I have got rid of my canister filters for this reason.

I believe in reducing risk sensibly and avoiding disasters, particularly those that can be predicted!

 

Please remeber these are your experiences you can set cannisters in a tub if your worried about that you can also make sure when taken apart as with any filter inspect it for damaged rings etc...
And from what I remeber they siad it was damaged during the move id just watch it for leaks. And leaks and mistakes and malfunctions is a risk we all take keeping tanks. We learn from our mistakes just check everything when your cleaning itll be alright

 

Yes it was damaged when we moved it and tried to heave it up the stairs. It was full of water and fish when I went to get it so I knew it didn't leak at that point

 

Just to jump in on the canister comment, the only time I've had my canister flood was due to my own stupidity as a new canister owner...I have however had 3 different aquaclear hobs that either overflowed or leaked causing multiple gallons to flood my kitchen before it was noticed. Fwiw. These things can happen with anything is all I'm saying.

 

Just want to bring to attention the main point that's bothering me right now and that's the one corner being unsupported. (its the second photo in my original post). there's enough space under that corner to not just slide a piece of paper under but a pound coin, or even 2 if u squash the carpet down. Have visions of coming home finding that corner of the tank has collapsed and downstairs is a goner

 

Just want to bring to attention the main point that's bothering me right now and that's the one corner being unsupported. (its the second photo in my original post). there's enough space under that corner to not just slide a piece of paper under but a pound coin, or even 2 if u squash the carpet down. Have visions of coming home finding that corner of the tank has collapsed and downstairs is a goner

Uneven surface. This is why you need a stand. On the carpet you could have 1+ high pressure points and wouldn't know it.

 

It's been there a month now and no accidents. Am I out of the woods now?

 

No increases in listing leaning or gaps?

 

No still 6mm right to left and now 1mm front to back

 

Still have the gap under one corner though

 

If you want to do anything about it you could shI'm it to take away the gap. Or just keep an eye on it .

 

well its not on a stand, just straight on the carpet, so I can't really shove anything under that corner, just the corner sits over a dent in the carpet where heavy sofa legs used to be

 

I wouldnt worry about it enkoy your tank