70 Gallon Aquarium on Second floor?

[Iostream]

I have a fairly new house, and was thinking about moving my current tank to a room on the second story. I am curious if most new construction homes can hold the weight of a 70 Gallon tank filled and with all of its accessories on the second floor. Anyone have any experiences/insight? It is a Centex home if that helps at all.

Thanks,
Iostream

[New Reefer]

Without knowing all the specifics, I would guess that it would be OK, as long as you can spread the load on the "feet" of the stand.

There's an interesting way of doing a "rule of thumb" calculation in this regard in the FAQ section of my website: Hennie's Indoor Reef (http://home.gardenet.co.za/landman)

HTH:D

[Bryan]

Don't worry about it. How much do you think a couch full of a bunch of guys drinking beer weighs or a fridge full of food. Floors don't collapse under the weight of the above.

-=Bryan=-

[Wilafur]

100g on the 3rd floor over here. So far so good. :)

[johnydart]

Unless your house is "odd" I'd say "go for it"!

[ChrisIsBored]

I know a guy local who has 500+ gallons of tanks up on the 2nd floor.

70G's is nothing to worry about.

Good luck!

[madmikey]

If you want to be safe put it on a load bearing wall so over time the floor doesn't warp. I had a 55g with a 30 gallon sump on the second floor and a 125g with a sump and there were no problems at all.

[bigtank]

I have a 70 gallon tank in my bedroom upstairs, second floor. No problem. It's 700-800 pounds.

[stingray]

Thought I would bump this up since I am having the same concerns. I am about to setup a 75 gallon RR on a second floor. Neither the builder nor the city building dept can give me a straight answer. What can the flooring handle? It will be positioned against a load bearing wall and perpendicular to the floor joists. But the city said the floor can only handle 30 pounds per sq foot (for the overall room) So a 12x12 room can only hold about 4300 pounds. Obviously, the tank will weight about 900-1000. Then I have other furniture in the room, etc. Plus the fact that this is a reef ready tank AGA makes me even more nervous, since I never had one before. I just have a 55 gal. with HOB filter. What is everyones opinion on this?

Thanks

[NewMariner]

You should be fine. I live in an apartment on the 2nd floor. I have a 58G RR tank in my bedroom, I have a 55g tank in my sunroom, and I have a 75g tank and a 29g tank in my dining Room. All together I have 217g of water in my apartment on the second floor. With a total weight of probably around 2170(figuring 10pounds a gallon for rocks and water). I have had no ill effects as of yet...........

[kabala]

Just curious by City Dept? Does thier calculations mean that, guesstimating a person takes up 3' square they can only weigh 90lbs or less?

Just my thoughts:D

[Swords]

I think the biggest to fear is wooden floors and wood floors while using the ancient welded Iron stands (which can sink into the wood floor over time and then... OMG!!!
I Don't have a house per se but I own a condo built in 1974 (thank the gods I had it paid off before I got laid off today!:( ) and I've got cement floors. I have my 75 gallon in the dining room area and it's been fine for a long time. Theres a 40BR, 29 and 25 in the bedroom and I've received a donated 29 just last week which will surely be filled soon.

I think so long as you have it in a reasonable location (against a wall as stated above) and not in the middle of the floor it should be fine. For me the biggest hassle with the 75 was getting it all the way up the 12 steps by myself!

Just call me Thor! :D

[stingray]

No, a person taking up 3' would not have to weigh 90 pounds. When I called the city building department, and asked what the city code was for flooring, he said that it is based on what a room can handle. And its not listed as a certain weight per square foot. However, he said that a 12x12 room, using 2x8 joists should be able to handle around 4300 pounds. Then he said that it would break down to about 30 pounds per square foot. Obviously, someone weighing 250pounds, is not going to fall through the floor. But if you filled the room with over 4300 pounds, then the floor might become stressed. My guess is that the tank will weigh 950 pounds, I also have a large desk, 4 drawer file cabinet,lots of books,etc in the room. So I am just being cautious. I am actually more conerned about flooding, or leaks, then I am about the weight. But an acrylic tank would cost too much.

Thanks

[Raider Jeff]

I wouldn't worry about it. I had a 100gal on the second floor of a very old 6 unit building built around 1920. Had hard wood floors, plaster walls and the tank was there for the entire 5 years I lived there. Even during the big earthquake in 1994, the tank was fine and did not fall over or even spill much water.

[Chrisrush]

Where in College Station are you located?

Chris

[Angel*Fish]

My 16 year old had a water bed upstairs for 2 years - no problem..
My 30 g is upstairs and I'm adding a 20g refugium underneath it...
Your house should be built to withstand whatever incredibly heavy furniture you might have. Some tvs are pretty heavy. Bathtubs wo/the water are pretty heavy. Our hot water heater is in the attic and its ok, too..
All the examples I could think of... enjoy your new tank!!!:)

[mawinn]

I have 120g on 2nd floor in an old old Apt. no problem yet.:)

[Leopardshark]

Right now i have a 150 gal in my room on a second floor.
I want to upgrade to a 800 gal tank but i don´t know if my house would go down with the tank and sump, filters etc.
My house is a very strong one and i don´t think it would go down, but 800 gal seems too much in my mind to be confident.
What are you´r thoughts?
:eek1: :eek1: :eek1: :eek: :eek2: :D :(