125g on a third floor apartment

[mj1333]

I know this has probably been discussed before, but I'm gonna try anyways. What do you guys (and girls) think about a 125 with a 30g sump on the 3rd floor? The maintenance guy said 1000 lbs would be maxing it out, but I know there have been cases here where there was more weight than that. (even though all the weight wasn't in a 6' space for the whole time.) I've heard everything from "if the floor can't hold that weight, then the builing shouldn't even be there." to "Don't even try it." I'm trying to find out what the building codes say about floor load limits, but haven't had any luck. Just looking for opinions and any links that might help out. Thanks

[luistwentyone]

myself, I would not do it.

thats 1000 lbs of water alone, not including sump, the rocks, sand, stand, etc, etc...

[SoMoney]

Make sure you paid your Home Owners Insurance if FULL before you try that one.

If I was going to do it I would probably get an idea of the floorplan bellow me and work out somthing that stradles over a wall section. Not to mention a flush bottom stand to distribute that kinda weight!
You may want to consider building a false raised floor section 4x the size of the tank to show case it and distribute the weight to boot.

Why not just move? ;-)

[Dakota]

Most floor joists can't handle that kind of weight. . . If you could somehwere re-build the floor, maybe. I woudln't put more than a 40-50 gal on a second or higher story.

[GoTakuF1]

If you can overcome the weight problem, then you have to worry about flooding your downstairs neighbors, water changes, etc. It's not impossible but you gotta ask yourself if it's worth it to go big now. Best of luck to you though :)

[mj1333]

Make sure you paid your Home Owners Insurance if FULL before you try that one.

If I was going to do it I would probably get an idea of the floorplan bellow me and work out somthing that stradles over a wall section. Not to mention a flush bottom stand to distribute that kinda weight!
You may want to consider building a false raised floor section 4x the size of the tank to show case it and distribute the weight to boot.

Why not just move? ;-)
Insurance is paid up. I have a flush bottom stand and i am waiting to get the floor plan from maintenance to find a structural wall. Anyone know where i can find biulding code load limits? Oh yeah and by the way, we just moved :(

[jwelch87]

I had a 125g glass on a second story. I did not have any problems, but I caution you that different locations build to varing qualities. Check the specs. of the building. If the building is quality, you should not have a problem. You will have other issues to deal with, flooding, water changes, when you move to a new place, etc... I believe each gallon of water weighs 8 lbs x 125g = 1000lb + 240 lbs(sump) + 100 lbs of sand + 150 lbs of rock=1490+/- lbs. Good luck.

[farrington300]

assuming that your tank is 6 feet and you run it perpendicular to the joists and you keep it close to a load bearing you should be fine. residential homes require a min of 40 pounds per SF, but an individual spot can hold more than 40PSF due to several factors. A 6 foot area should be able to hold about 2500-3000lbs. To me the danger comes when there is an earthquake, but that is another story. Lastly dont quote me on what i have said, it was a little simple math and i didnt double check it, ha!

[mayhembulldogs]

do they allow water beds on your floor?? a water bed holds more wait then your 125 will!! i had two 125's, a 240 terr., two stacked 60 terr., and a min. pond all on the second floor of where i use to live!!:D I also maint. a guys 125gal. & 40gal. on the four floor of his place!! All you have to worry about is any type of flooding (power outage or any pipping coming apart for any reason:eek: )

[Trickman2]

Go with acrylic to save some weight.

[lucubrator]

Go with acrylic to save some weight.

An empty 125 glass weighs ~200lbs, and an acrylic tank is nearly half that. If you're concerned about 100lbs (7% of the total final weight) you really shouldn't keep the tank.

[mj1333]

Well, the setup is up and running. So far it dropped about 1/16" on the right side, which is wierd because there's more weight on the left side with the sump. Besides that, the biggest problem is the noise from the overflow, which was like niagara falls before i put a standpipe in it. Now that I see it set up, I really want to make it a reef instead of FO.

[SoMoney]

1/16" Hmmmmmm, The countdown begins?
You were worried about weight and your talking a reef setup now!? That means you need another 75-100lbs of Live Rock/Sand and 25lbs +/-10lbs of corals. Thats risky, You got brass ones my friend... I never want to sit next ot you at a black jack table!