Sub floors & preparing for your new aquarium

[Canar]

I have an engineer coming out next week.

How does the formula work though

15.5 feet is the span of the 2X10

38 inches by 10 feet is the tank

16 inches between 2X10's

If I take 6000 lbs and divide it by the number of 2X10's it is sitting on that comes to like 750 lbs per 2X10.

With this info how do I figure how many lbs each 2X10 can hold?

[Canar]

Oh and the tank will be sitting right in the middle of the span crossing the 2X10's

[Frankie]

I think you will be fine if the inspector responds well to the walls the joists are sitting on. One 2x10 header can handle over 4k. You said your doubled up in a few areas. I look forward to the engineers report!

[down and outman]

I simply crawled thru the crawlspace with some concrete blocks, some wood shims and a jack. That tank isn't going anywhere.

[Frankie]

OK, I first want to answer Woodstocks questions about caring for a wood floor under and around aquariums.
Her first question: If a flood does occur, how would I clean/dry under the stand? is not an easy one. My last tank in NY was on a wood floor. I had the stand elevated 2" off the floor with a skirt trim around it to hide the gap. I was able to get under it easy enough just for this purpose. I had four 2x2x2x2 blocks at each corner. This was a 90 gal. reef. If i had a longer tank i would have went about every 24" with blocks just like that. It made it nice to clean under their also with a swifter.
next: What type of damage would a flood do if the water was cleaned/dried from the floor within a few hours?
A lot could happen depending on the type of wood and finish. A 2 1/4" oak floor with oil based polyurethane like hers would most likely cup upwards a bit for a few days until the water evaporated. The polyurethane would protect the color but hold the moisture in. Not to worry if this happens! Most times with flooring, there milled with grooves in the bottom of the boards. These grooves are designed to allow flooring to expand and contract with a wide range of relative humidity. The boards will lay back down in time.
next: How much damage would saltwater spillage (normal tiny drips and spills) do to the wood floors?
None if cleaned regular. Water based finishes don't hold up to salt spray as well though. Salt tends to bleach out the finish. With oil and xylene finishes, (moisture cure) its all a matter on how clean you keep you floors. I like to clean up around my tank after i finish doing anything on or in it. Moisture cured floors will take a lot of beating. I use to restore sail boats and used this on all the teak. One 42 ft. Catalina i did lasted over three years with no trouble at all. For all i know it still looks awesome. Three years on the water is very good. most boats need to be freshened up every 6 months to a year.
Next she asked: If there were no floods, would the weight of the tank damage the floors?
It all depends on the wood again. Oak floors are very strong and i don't think a 600 gallon tank could crush oak. American cherry, pine, even maple (maple is dense but mars easy) can get crushed. If finished with a good hard finish these woods can also hold up to the weight. Also the sub flooring has a lot to do with how the tank is spread over the floor. If the sub flooring can't handle the weight the flooring will give also.
One thing i haven't been asked is what happens to the finish under the tank. If kept out of the light the finish will oxidize. Same thing that happens under a carpet or area rug. Ever notice how the colors change under a area rug? The same thing will happen under the tank. So keep that in mind if you are planing on a re-sale of your home. You will need to have the finish re-done to get the best possible price.
Last and best question: Is there any type of tray or protective substance that could be placed between the floor and the stand?
YES! there is a relatively new product out called quiet walk. You can even get it at Lowe's now. It is a flooring under lament that acts like a sanitary napkin. It absorbs water away from wood, holds it and let it evaporate out of the edges from where its been cut. I have seen houses flood out with this stuff under the flooring and no damage happen to the wood at all! It contains mold inhibitors and has a vapor barrier on one side.
You can also get a sheet metal company to make a tray for the stand with a small edge say, 1/2" around to hold water in it for small floods.
I hope i answered all her questions well and if not please ask and i will respond.
My cut finger hurts now so I'm off to the movies!

[BigAl07]

[b]Awesome{/b] response and excellent information/advice! I was able to sit here and read your post and could visualize everything you mentioned. I like the idea of a "spill pan" under the tank. I may need to add this to my "note pad" for my next tank.

One additional point that I learned from experience is that after a large spill (not merely drips here and there) that residual moisture will gradually push salt creep up out of the floor. I had a rather large spill here and got it cleaned up VERY quickly. Next morning I had salt creep up between the floor boards. Cleaned it up. Now for the last 3 weeks I need to go back and wipe up new creep. It's much less now but it's still happening. All I can figure is that the moisture under the boards is still evaporating and lending to this salt creep.

Allen

[cioutlaw]

My new stand im building will have a sunken floor(1.5") in the sump area for this reason. They also make an alarm that runs off a AA battery that warns you of any moisture in the floor I plan to get. I have seen the underlayment at Lowes but it wont work in my situation gluing the hardwood to concrete.

Do you floor guys think I need a thick 3/4" hardwood or will the 3/8" stuff be fine on concrete?

[Frankie]

The thickness of the floor if glued to the concrete won't matter for weight. Most people glue a thicker floor down because its better for resurfacing. with a thinner floor thats engineered, the amount of times you can sand it is limited. Also you want to keep in mind that an engineered floor is capable to delamentation from moisture. Solid wood won't do this.

[cioutlaw]

Originally Posted by FFrankie

The thickness of the floor if glued to the concrete won't matter for weight. Most people glue a thicker floor down because its better for resurfacing. with a thinner floor thats engineered, the amount of times you can sand it is limited. Also you want to keep in mind that an engineered floor is capable to delamentation from moisture. Solid wood won't do this.

Makes sense..thanks

[Woodstock]

Excellent! Thanks Frankie

[Disciple882542]

Hey guys…doing a little brainstorming here. I’m wanting to move my aquarium to the front of my house, which is on a crawl space. The place I want to put it is going to be the future home of a 125-180 gallon tank. I’m thinking of utilizing a bracing system using either 4x4 or 6x6 braces. I'm planning on using 4 jacks (basicly one at each corner). Think I could use these jacks for this purpose? Have any other ideas?



I don’t think I’ll have a problem with the weight of my 75 gallon but I would like to brace it up prior to moving my tank in preparation of upgrading.

[BigAl07]

If you do utilize the jacks you'll have to make sure the earthen footing is prepared for that concentrated weight IF it's applied. In the picture you can see they are using masonry piers systems. To be honest those aren't allowed in this area by our building inspectors due to the fact they are more for small decks and not designed for heavy loads such as main structures.

Good luck and always get the advice of a licensed inspector before you get started. They can save you their weight in gold (and some of them are pretty HEAVT too )

Allen

[Disciple882542]

Thanks for the reply.

If the problem is with the footing, what if I was to use concrete blocks?

From the ground up it would go like this:

Concrete block to
1. A 4x4 or 6x6 resting on top of the concrete block horizontally (to spread the weight across the block)
2. The floor jack on top of the horizontal 4x4 or 6x6
3. The other end of the floor jack attached to a 4x4 or 6x6 that supports the floor joist

What type of footing would you suggest if this is insufficient?

I appreciate your help on this and yes…would definitely talk w/ a licensed inspector when the plan comes together.

God bless,
Chris

[Disciple882542]

I just talked with a construction buddy of mine. He suggested a 4x6 beam supporting the floor joist. Supporting the beam would be a 4x4 that rests on a poured footing. Footing would be about 2’x2’ about 10” deep. He suggested running only 1 beam underneath the tank with 3 supports.

[BigAl07]

I like the sound of this. BE sure to use a treated lumber under there just in case. Some climates don't mandate this but anything that is even remotely exposed to not only the elements but moisture period should be treated. That's one less thing to worry about.

I'm glad you're not going with the pre-made piers like in that picture. I just don't trust them at all for any significant weight loading.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress.

Allen