How Much Tank Can My Floor Hold?

Maybe peace of mind. Measure distance in basement of the bottom of the beam to the floor before the new tank and then after. If the beam does sag you may want to support it.

 

Thanks, guys! I'm beginning to feel much better about this! So, adding support after the tank has been installed is possible?

 

Thanks, guys! I'm beginning to feel much better about this! So, adding support after the tank has been installed is possible?

Once tank is in place you can no longer add support. You need to add support before the load is placed to prevent the sag.

And the span (length of beams between anchor points in wall or similar) and where you put the tank along the span matters. If you place tank on wall directly where beams start you will be less likely to have issues than in the middle of a 25' span, regardless of perpendicular/parallel.

Consider the issue is not so much "tank will fall through floor" but weight of tank will make floor under tank uneven and add stress to the glass as it tries to conform. The could lead to catastrophic seam/glass failure. This would lead to an exodus of 125 gallons of water, fish, sand, and plants from the confines of the glass. I guarantee this will cost more than the $80 piece of mind to fix.

 

Understood (Well, sort of!). Thanks! So, in short, I should be fine up to 125 regardless, but for piece of mind, for anything over 75 gallons, I should just spend $80 to add support without really spending the time and aggravation to measure more, get contractors involved, etc. Yes...?