Cause for Concern????

sincityreefer

sincityreefer

Member
Hello Everyone,
I have had a 120gal tank setup in my 2nd story condo for almost 3 weeks now. As i know weight is an issue, so ive been keeping an eye on my floor to make sure it dosnt fall through or something terrible like that. I have had a 2' level on my floor and been watching to make sure that it didnt change, which it hasnt. However, i have noticed a small (probally less than 1/8") crack in my grout along part of the wall the tank sits on... The crack dosnt seem to be getting any larger or spreading much. But my question is, is this a sign that i SHOULDNT have this much wieght on my 2nd floor? Or is it normal to see cracks like this. I havent noticed any cracks in the drywall or in any tiles themselves, just one small one maybe 5" long no more than 1/8" thick just along one of the walls that the tank is sitting on. So i guess my main question is, should i abort this mission, or carry on, i would hate to hurt anyone living underneath me, but i would also hate to have wasted almost 2k$ on stuff that is too heavy. I talked to a couple contractors and people here on RS and RC, and the concensus seems to be that this weight shouldnt be a problem, but i just want to be sure, and know what to look for as to prevent somthing catostrophic from happening.
THANKS!!!!
-steve
 
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Brucey

Brucey

Well-Known Member
OOOOhhhhh ..... A mysterious Post .... That's a good idea, perhaps we could have a post quiz where you put a vauge title and everyone has to guess what it's going to be about
Brucey
 
sharks

sharks

Contributing Member
I say test all the water parameters so we can help more.
A water change and running some carbon never hurts either :D:D:D

Just kidding Sin :laughroll
 
sincityreefer

sincityreefer

Member
wow everyone is on point today, 5 replies in like 15 min.. cool, now anyone have any advice on my REAL cause for concern. :) Damn work always gets in the way of my posting!!! lol
 
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Curtswearing

Curtswearing

Active Member
This happened to me once, and I had a LOT more replies than 5. Feel Blessed.

Condo's usually have concrete floors and not wood subfloors over wood joists. You might need to do some investigating.

A lot of it depends on whether or not the tank is near a load-bearing wall. In addition, if you don't have steel and concrete for flooring, then the next most important thing would be if your stand evenly distributes the weight and if it was running parallel or perpendicular to the joists.

That's JMO!!!
 
sincityreefer

sincityreefer

Member
Originally posted by Curtswearing
This happened to me once, and I had a LOT more replies than 5. Feel Blessed.

Condo's usually have concrete floors and not wood subfloors over wood joists. You might need to do some investigating.

A lot of it depends on whether or not the tank is near a load-bearing wall. In addition, if you don't have steel and concrete for flooring, then the next most important thing would be if your stand evenly distributes the weight and if it was running parallel or perpendicular to the joists.

That's JMO!!!
Click to expand...

Ok i laid my tile myself, and i did see that the subfloor was in fact concrete. But i was told by pro_builder and others that this was most likely not REAL concrete, he said it was probally a lightweight concrete type stuff called gypcreet, (or something like that) that is just poored over wooden joists. The tank is placed on an exterior wall right in front of a window. My condo was built in 1989. Is there any way to tell any more usefull information?
 
ReefLady

ReefLady

Well-Known Member
Staff member
sounds like a load bearing wall then, that's good. Personally I'd have trouble sleeping at night, but that's just me. :)

T
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be concerned with the weight of a 120. I've had waterbeds on the 2nd floor of an apartment before and they're in the range of 250 or so gallons and it wasn't a problem.

As long as the tank is hitting a couple joists it should have more than adequate support, since you probably only have about 1200 Lbs. of tank (based on 120Lbs. sand, 120Lbs. rock, 800 Lbs. water, plus stand, etc.)

Now if you hear cracking noises at night then I'd be concerned. :D
 
sharks

sharks

Contributing Member
You should be fine remember that the weight is displaced over 4 feet and multiple joists. It’s no worse the some large fridges out there. Some sagging is expected but it won’t come down. I set up my 220 and there was almost ½” sag when I moved it. Mind you the house was almost 80 years old.
The fact that it is on an exterior wall helps too.
JMO
S
 
Curtswearing

Curtswearing

Active Member
Exterior wall = loadbearing.

Most houses in St. louis are rectangles and not squares. Older houses in St. Louis have a metal I-beam running down the center (lengthwise) and the joists meet up on top of that I-beam and go to the outer edge of the basement foundation. Newer houses are using these wooden I-Beam joists that are made of Oriented Strand Board. Condo's in St. Louis are typically real concrete poured floors if the level below you is not part of your condo. I have watched them be built as I lived in a condo when I first got married. However, that is St. Louis houses

I wish I could tell you one way or the other for Nevada. However, I told you what I did know. Loadbearing wall is important. Stands that distribute weight well is important. And running perpendicular to wooden joists is important. I'm gonna have to wimp out to some degree here because Pro_Builder knows a WHOLE lot more about this stuff than I do and I know NOTHING about Nevada building methods.

I would think you could go to City Hall and pull a blueprint to see what type of construction was used and which direction the joists were running. Again, I'm going to defer to Pro_builder and others. (I'm an accountant who is a construction worker at heart. However, I'm not a REAL construction worker so I don't want to give wrong info).
 
BigReepher

BigReepher

Active Member
Jump up and down in front of your tank. You'll get a pretty good idea of how sturdy your floor is. On second thought, I would do just like your doing. Keeping an eye on it and making sure it doesn't get any worse. You should be okay as long as the tank is on more than 1 floor joist.
 
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