Tank weight ever caused damage to floor?

HI guys, this is my first post.

I'm looking to build a tropical freshwater tank. Been doing some research the past couple of days. One concern I don't want to overlook is weight.

I looked it up and the weight for a 20 gallon tank after all is said and done (including the stand) is around 300 lbs. Has that kind of weight ever caused damage to anyone's floor over a long period of time? Are some stands better than others for distributing the weight more evenly?

Finally, this tank will be in a carpeted room. Is carpet any sort of problem?

Thanks!

 

Hello Kib...

Figure on 10 ponds per gallon. A 20 G tank is going to weigh roughly 200 pounds filled and set on a stand. If you set up a tank next to a load bearing, interior wall and away from the middle areas of a floor, this would be acceptable.

Carpet isn't a problem. However, you'll need to use a level to make sure the tank is situated evenly on the floor and set roughly 8 inches from the wall to allow for filtration devices and to allow room to work behind the tank if needed.

Old

 

Hello, I had a approx 30 gallon tank for a while on carpet and foam underlay over a concrete floor, it was on 4 feet under the tank manufacturers stand and when I changed the carpet, it had flattened the carpet and underlay but after 24hrs the underlay had bounced back, it had been there for 2 yrs at least. I now have a over 120 gallon tank on vinyl over concrete and so far no issues. Never heard of an issue on concrete but wood would make me worry a bit, you could always spread the weight on a piece of marine ply?

 

Hello, I had a approx 30 gallon tank for a while on carpet and foam underlay over a concrete floor, it was on 4 feet under the tank manufacturers stand and when I changed the carpet, it had flattened the carpet and underlay but after 24hrs the underlay had bounced back, it had been there for 2 yrs at least. I now have a over 120 gallon tank on vinyl over concrete and so far no issues. Never heard of an issue on concrete but wood would make me worry a bit, you could always spread the weight on a piece of marine ply?

Why would wood worry you? I am getting ready to put together my 55 gallon tonight and it will be on a solid wood floor. Do you think it will crack the wood? I have a stand it will go on.

 

I'm also always worried about having my 30 gallon tank on hardwood floors. Subscribing to see other people's answers.

What kind of stand do you have? Is the weight going to be on 4 legs? Or do planks run all the way around bearing the weight?

 

I was referring to floor boards upstairs as they are only 1/2" soft wood. Hard floors should be fine, will spread the load better and is stronger, just avoid spills as it will make the wood swell and split

 

I'm also always worried about having my 30 gallon tank on hardwood floors. Subscribing to see other people's answers.

What kind of stand do you have? Is the weight going to be on 4 legs? Or do planks run all the way around bearing the weight?

HI Florian,

Not sure if the question was for me directly or for someone else. I haven't made any purchases yet. Just making sure to have all my research done on the front end so if I need to scale back to something my floor can handle I know to do that now.

It sounds like 20 gallons should be fine for a normal floor. Especially because I'm doing a long tank over a deep one, so it won't be as much weight per square inch.

 

And thanks all for your quick responses, much appreciated.

 

My buddy lived in an apartment with a 75 gallon tank, which is a lot heavier than yours, and he had to pay after moving because the stand put marks into the floor, however you should be fine with a 20 gal.

 

I have a 55 gallon tank with a lot of gravel, rocks etc. My husband put it in the dining room because that way it spans our ibeam and that can take a lot more than the tank.

 

200 pounds on you floor is nothing. I way 220 pounds. when I sit in a chair, I do not fall through the floor

 

No worries op. I keep my 150 on a plywwod floor ( I removed carpet). But all of my others are on carpet 20s 40s 55s theyre all good. No worries.

 

One gallon of water is 8.36 pounds not a big deal unless your getting over 200 gallons but even than the weight isn't in a one by one inch of where ever it sits... So still not a big deal

 

Don't place the stand/tank too close to the wall on carpet. Carpet is held into place with a tack strip (about an inch out from baseboard). The tank will end of sitting at an angle if on top of tack strip.

 

As far as stands go typically you want a stand that is flush to the ground around the edges. This will distribute the weight onto the floor across the entire area of the stand. Stands with legs will distribute the weight entirely on the points of contact which can damage floors and put extreme pressure on those points.

Though with a 20 gallon you likely won't have an issue with a "legged" stand or not.