55 Gallon Aquarium on 2nd Floor?
- Thread starter paradigmcubed
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I gues that would really depend on the construction of your house... I really dont see why not...
If you are really concerned about the weight then builed some sort of base wider than the tank to spread out the weight more...
Another concern may be temperature control. I dont know what the climate is like where you live but here by me the upstairs of my house can get considerably warmer than the main level. If that is the case for you then you might find it harder to regulate the temperature of your tank.
If you are really concerned about the weight then builed some sort of base wider than the tank to spread out the weight more...
Another concern may be temperature control. I dont know what the climate is like where you live but here by me the upstairs of my house can get considerably warmer than the main level. If that is the case for you then you might find it harder to regulate the temperature of your tank.
I dont think it should be a problem. BUt if your tank comes through your ceiling dont blame me
I live in the waukesha area and my tank is on the 2nd level and the temp never goes over 80. ITs a 20 gallon and i havent had a problem but my house is like 118 years old. I 55 gallon tnak probably weighs sumthing aroung 300-400 pounds im guessing? IF im right then how can sumo wrestlers have 2 story houses?
I live in the waukesha area and my tank is on the 2nd level and the temp never goes over 80. ITs a 20 gallon and i havent had a problem but my house is like 118 years old. I 55 gallon tnak probably weighs sumthing aroung 300-400 pounds im guessing? IF im right then how can sumo wrestlers have 2 story houses?Well the temp. won't be a problem. I've got a 20 gallon upstairs and it doesn't get too hot. I'll check the floor plans. I don't have a problem with it, my parents are the nervous ones.
a 55g shouldn't be a problem at all...compare it to a refrigerator in a second floor apartment. that doesn't fall through the floor, and the pressure exerted on it per sq.ft. is probably pretty close...i keep a 55g in my second floor apt now and did last year in a different complex as well. no problems.
The Cichlid-Forum article is a good one to read....
As a structural engineer as my day job, I would say that your ok based on a couple of assumptions.
The 55 gallon tank with normal substrate and decorations (assuming your not using lead chunks as your substrate, and gold bullion as your décor) should weigh under 500 lbs. (55 gallons of water = 7.35 ft^3 @ 62.4 lbs/ft^3 = 459 lbs. add weight of décor, and subtract weight of water for volume of water taken by décor.)
Most people tend to place their tanks close to a wall. The close you are to a wall (or floor support point) the lower the moment stress on the floor support (though slightly higher sheer stress, but it should be ok).
I am also assuming that your tank stand is not four pointy legs that would each be distributing 125 pounds of pressure at a concentrated point. More likely the stand is distributing along the perimeter of the stand, or to simplify, creating two line loads at about 62.5 lbs./ft. Even if you did have a four-post support system, the flooring should be able to handle a point load of that magnitude without worrying about punching sheer.
Placing the 55-gallon would be similar to having a double wide 4 drawer filing cabinet in the same location.
As a structural engineer as my day job, I would say that your ok based on a couple of assumptions.
The 55 gallon tank with normal substrate and decorations (assuming your not using lead chunks as your substrate, and gold bullion as your décor) should weigh under 500 lbs. (55 gallons of water = 7.35 ft^3 @ 62.4 lbs/ft^3 = 459 lbs. add weight of décor, and subtract weight of water for volume of water taken by décor.)
Most people tend to place their tanks close to a wall. The close you are to a wall (or floor support point) the lower the moment stress on the floor support (though slightly higher sheer stress, but it should be ok).
I am also assuming that your tank stand is not four pointy legs that would each be distributing 125 pounds of pressure at a concentrated point. More likely the stand is distributing along the perimeter of the stand, or to simplify, creating two line loads at about 62.5 lbs./ft. Even if you did have a four-post support system, the flooring should be able to handle a point load of that magnitude without worrying about punching sheer.
Placing the 55-gallon would be similar to having a double wide 4 drawer filing cabinet in the same location.
Xeider,
I've been trying to write a good article on this very same subject for my web page. As a draftsman my knowledge of physics is a bit lacking.
Maybe you could help me clarify a few points i'm hung up on. If some stands have a point or line load, rather than being nice and flat on the bottom, shouldn't you determine what the average psi is for your flooring material. That's one thing I can't seem to find. What IS the average psi for OSB or plywood?
The other thing I really need a book for! Floor joists and trusses. You want to set your stand cross way over these so you have as many as possible underneath to distribute the weight, right? Well, how do you calculate what your joists will hold if span, centers, plus the size of the joist all play a huge part in this?
I know the longer the joist and the wider the center, the weaker the floor. Are there charts to help determine this?
Thanks!
I've been trying to write a good article on this very same subject for my web page. As a draftsman my knowledge of physics is a bit lacking.
Maybe you could help me clarify a few points i'm hung up on. If some stands have a point or line load, rather than being nice and flat on the bottom, shouldn't you determine what the average psi is for your flooring material. That's one thing I can't seem to find. What IS the average psi for OSB or plywood?
The other thing I really need a book for! Floor joists and trusses. You want to set your stand cross way over these so you have as many as possible underneath to distribute the weight, right? Well, how do you calculate what your joists will hold if span, centers, plus the size of the joist all play a huge part in this?
I know the longer the joist and the wider the center, the weaker the floor. Are there charts to help determine this?
Thanks!
Lets see if I can help without confusing too much.
Oriented Strand Board (OSB) - OSB is manufactured from waterproof heat-cured adhesives and rectangularly shaped wood strands that are arranged in cross-oriented layers, similar to plywood. This results in a structural engineered wood panel that shares many of the strength and performance characteristics of plywood. Produced in huge, continuous mats, OSB is a solid panel product of consistent quality with no laps, gaps or voids.
Plywood is manufactured from thin sheets of cross-laminated veneer and bonded under heat and pressure with strong adhesives, plywood has been one of the most ubiquitous building products for decades.
Each panel should have a designation on it, which determines what it is rated for. There are multiple different types of OSB and Plywood, so unless you can find trademark, it will be hard to tell the capacity of the panel. The trademark for OSB should tell you the following things about the board: Panel Grade, Span Rating, Exposure durability, thickness, mill number, and standard the panel was rated by. Typical flooring thickness for OSB are: 19/32”, 5/8”, 23/32”, 3/4”, 7/8”, 1” and 1-1/8”.
In the US APA is a good resource. Take a look at this for more OSB info.
APA rated OSB is designed for 100 psf live load, and 10 psf dead load. Unfortunetly there is no resource available (that I could find) for punching shear. One could take the shear strength of the material, determine actual size of the punching member, take the size of the OSB or plywood, and from that determine the punching shear capacity. For some shear numbers take a look at this. There is a table a little ways down with some various sheer numbers.
A good all around site is http://www.apawood.org/
For load calculation, typically for design, one would just look at a load table, find the span and load condition (psf) and pick a member size and spacing. For specific point loading on a structural member, it starts off as a static problem of applying the load to a span to determine, moment and sheer. From there you can go through a long list of factors to determine if the member you select can resist the moment, sheer and deflection from the given load.
Hope that helps some.
Plywood and OSB are very similar in their application, though they differ in there formation, capacities and cost.
Oriented Strand Board (OSB) - OSB is manufactured from waterproof heat-cured adhesives and rectangularly shaped wood strands that are arranged in cross-oriented layers, similar to plywood. This results in a structural engineered wood panel that shares many of the strength and performance characteristics of plywood. Produced in huge, continuous mats, OSB is a solid panel product of consistent quality with no laps, gaps or voids.
Plywood is manufactured from thin sheets of cross-laminated veneer and bonded under heat and pressure with strong adhesives, plywood has been one of the most ubiquitous building products for decades.
Each panel should have a designation on it, which determines what it is rated for. There are multiple different types of OSB and Plywood, so unless you can find trademark, it will be hard to tell the capacity of the panel. The trademark for OSB should tell you the following things about the board: Panel Grade, Span Rating, Exposure durability, thickness, mill number, and standard the panel was rated by. Typical flooring thickness for OSB are: 19/32”, 5/8”, 23/32”, 3/4”, 7/8”, 1” and 1-1/8”.
In the US APA is a good resource. Take a look at this for more OSB info.
APA rated OSB is designed for 100 psf live load, and 10 psf dead load. Unfortunetly there is no resource available (that I could find) for punching shear. One could take the shear strength of the material, determine actual size of the punching member, take the size of the OSB or plywood, and from that determine the punching shear capacity. For some shear numbers take a look at this. There is a table a little ways down with some various sheer numbers.
A good all around site is http://www.apawood.org/
There are many load tables out there. The problem becomes interpreting the load tables for your specific circumstance. As you mentioned, it is better to spread the load over more structural elements, so that you are no overloading a single element. If you know the direction that your floor joists are running, it is usually better to orient your tank perpendicular to the direction of the joists.
For load calculation, typically for design, one would just look at a load table, find the span and load condition (psf) and pick a member size and spacing. For specific point loading on a structural member, it starts off as a static problem of applying the load to a span to determine, moment and sheer. From there you can go through a long list of factors to determine if the member you select can resist the moment, sheer and deflection from the given load.
The longer the span, the greater the moment, sheer and deflection for a given load. (think about standing on a 2x4 spanning 1ft vs spanning 8 ft.) The charts that exist tell you for a type of wood at a certain load (psf) what various size of members at various spacing can span. (wow that’s a mouth full). One of the more common wood types for sawn lumber is Southern Pine. Look here for some load tables.
Hope that helps some.
my brother has his 55g in the second floor of my house and its right above the garage, with no supports in the garage. the tank would be dead in the middle of the garage.