fish tank

[stuart]

I want to put a fish tank in an upstairs room, it will weigh approx 1000 lbs when full. I am concerned that the weight will be excessive on the ceiling joists. It will be against a wall and span at least 3 joists. The way I look at it is, if 6 people stood against the same wall i wouldnt be concerned, so I shouldnt be concerned about the tank, but I am. D'you think it'll be okay? Thanks for any input Stuart

[G Cadman]

Is it to be sited upstairs or down stairs? Is it against a brick wall or a partition wall?

If it is against a brick wall and the joists go into that wall I would think it would be okay. If it was upstairs in the middle of the house next to a partition wall I would be concerned.

Regards G

[Palindr☻me]

Do the joists end at that wall, or is it just a stud wall, built on top of them? Are the joists in good condition and is there any springiness in the floor at the moment? Is the floor level at that point, or falling away from the wall?

The odds are that everthing will be fine. 1000lbs may sound a lot but isn't really - houses are massively over-engineered for what they are normally used for. As long as the joists are not in mid-span, they shouldn't noticeably deflect with this load. If they do and the floor starts to show signs of any movement - you must re-think.

You could try it first with a stack of bags of sand - a bit cheaper and easier to move around than a fish tank.

Obviously you could take the load off the floor and put it into the wall

- if the wall is up to it. A piece of angle iron bolted to the wall at floor level will take the back legs of the tank and hence half of the weight. You would only be putting 500lbs onto the joists then. Adding a band around the top of the tank, also bolted to the wall, would take the entire load off - it would even be fine in my place with its old joists, springy floors and the ravages of 400 years of everything with teeth having had a go at them..

[Stuart]

Thanks for those comments, yes the tank will be going against a solid wall which will help matters, I never thought about a piece of angle iron bolted to the wall to take half the weight, thats a very good idea. Cheers Stuart

[Stuart]

Is it against a brick wall or a

Brick

So do I, but...

If it was upstairs in the middle of the house next to a

Thanks G