Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's not
that simple.

Marcus

"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message news:cNVpc.11952$7S2.5952@newsfe1-win...
Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as
works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's not
that simple.


Personally, I'd say it is nothing to do with the pressure figure you have
quote, a large women in high heels would probbaly exceed that. You are
looking at 566Kgs supported on at best 3 joists which does seem high, if you
have it orintated so that it's only on the one joist I'd say that's very
high...

Marcus Fox wrote:
Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's not
that simple.

If you made a 2.5m*1.6m plinth, then that would get you below
1.5kN/m^2

On Mon, 17 May 2004 02:52:32 +0100, "Marcus Fox"
wrote:

Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's not
that simple.

Hi,

A bath probably holds that amount of water. If it's in a corner and
across the joints and the stand spreads the load across the floor
there's less chance of problems.

Do the manufacturers have any guidance on this sort of thing?

cheers,
Pete.

"Pete C" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 May 2004 02:52:32 +0100, "Marcus Fox"
wrote:

Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a
two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as
works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's
not
that simple.

Hi,

A bath probably holds that amount of water. If it's in a corner and
across the joints and the stand spreads the load across the floor
there's less chance of problems.

Do the manufacturers have any guidance on this sort of thing?

LOL, a bath would probably only hold about 150 litres if filled to the very
brim, and this tank would hold 566 litres.

Marcus

On Mon, 17 May 2004 23:28:04 +0100, "Marcus Fox"
wrote:

Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a
two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as
works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's
not
that simple.

Hi,

A bath probably holds that amount of water. If it's in a corner and
across the joints and the stand spreads the load across the floor
there's less chance of problems.

Do the manufacturers have any guidance on this sort of thing?

LOL, a bath would probably only hold about 150 litres if filled to the very
brim, and this tank would hold 566 litres.


Marcus

Some other points for you. I can't help you on the floor loading,
but I do have an aquarium of similar size (actually 2m x 60cm x 60cm)
- approx 700 litres. The weight of the glass is not inconsiderable
either.

I have mine in a downstairs room with a concrete floor so loading is
not an issue. I built the support arrangement using three hollow
brick piers with the space inside equivalent to two brick depths -
about 200mm. Each was the full depth of the aquarium and was then
filled with concrete.

A length of wood block kitchen worktop was laid across the top of
these and levelled. A piece of 12mm sheet Styrofoam was cut to
the tank size and placed between it and the wood. This is a *vital*
step as you probably know to avoid the tank cracking.
600 litres of water on the floor goes a very long way.

This has been entirely successful and in place for a number of years.
Water has been exchanged, but the tank never emptied.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 May 2004 23:28:04 +0100, "Marcus Fox"
wrote:

Is it possible to have a 5' x 2' x 2' aquarium on the upper floor of a
two
storey building with no extra floor support? Doing the maths says that
it
will exceed by a long way the 1.5kN per sq/m in the building regs, as
works
out at about 600kg over 10 sq ft (0.92 sq m) but I have a feeling it's
not
that simple.

Hi,

A bath probably holds that amount of water. If it's in a corner and
across the joints and the stand spreads the load across the floor
there's less chance of problems.

Do the manufacturers have any guidance on this sort of thing?

LOL, a bath would probably only hold about 150 litres if filled to the
very
brim, and this tank would hold 566 litres.


Marcus

Some other points for you. I can't help you on the floor loading,
but I do have an aquarium of similar size (actually 2m x 60cm x 60cm)
- approx 700 litres. The weight of the glass is not inconsiderable
either.

Yeah I know, I added a bit onto the weight of 20 cu ft of water (566 l), and
since I doubt very much he will be filling it brim full, I added a
convenient 34kg to make 600kg. Every inch of water he leaves out will be
23.58kg in weight.

Since an empty 180 gallon 72" x 24.5" x 25.625" weighs 338lbs or 153.31kg,
(http://www.alysta.com/books/fishtank.htm - couldn't find the 5 ft tank
there though). That tank will be 2 sheets of 72" x 24.5", 2 of 24.5" x
25.625" and one of 72" x 25.625", thats 6628.625 sq inches of glass. That's
23g per sq in glass.

The 5 ft tank will have 3 sheets of 60" x 24" and 2 of 24" x 24" or 5472 sq
in. At 23g per square inch, thats 125.8kg.

Subtract the (very convenient, lol) 34kg from that, gives 91.8kg or 3.9
inches of water.

Doubtless, gravel and rocks will weigh a lot more than the water they will
displace, which must be considered and hard to calculate unless you know
quantities.


I have mine in a downstairs room with a concrete floor so loading is
not an issue. I built the support arrangement using three hollow
brick piers with the space inside equivalent to two brick depths -
about 200mm. Each was the full depth of the aquarium and was then
filled with concrete.

I don't know if I'd be able to sleep at night with a tank deeper than 14
inches on my upper floor. Depth of 14 inches gives 68 lb sq ft (plus weight
of glass). Australian building code gives 75 lb sq ft for floor loading
http://www.auspet.com/fish10.html. Couldn't find UK code in psf.


A length of wood block kitchen worktop was laid across the top of
these and levelled. A piece of 12mm sheet Styrofoam was cut to
the tank size and placed between it and the wood. This is a *vital*
step as you probably know to avoid the tank cracking.
600 litres of water on the floor goes a very long way.

Yeah I know, I filled a tank up on flat concrete in my garden. Cracked base.
Have plated base with a piece using lots of silicone sealant and tank has
been in service for a year with no leaks

This has been entirely successful and in place for a number of years.
Water has been exchanged, but the tank never emptied.

When moving my tank I did take the opportunity to scrub it clean in the
garden, as there was a lot of crud in the gravel.

Marcus

On Tue, 18 May 2004 02:06:05 +0100, "Marcus Fox"
wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 17 May 2004 23:28:04 +0100, "Marcus Fox"


Marcus

Some other points for you. I can't help you on the floor loading,
but I do have an aquarium of similar size (actually 2m x 60cm x 60cm)
- approx 700 litres. The weight of the glass is not inconsiderable
either.

Yeah I know, I added a bit onto the weight of 20 cu ft of water (566 l), and
since I doubt very much he will be filling it brim full, I added a
convenient 34kg to make 600kg. Every inch of water he leaves out will be
23.58kg in weight.

Since an empty 180 gallon 72" x 24.5" x 25.625" weighs 338lbs or 153.31kg,
(http://www.alysta.com/books/fishtank.htm - couldn't find the 5 ft tank
there though). That tank will be 2 sheets of 72" x 24.5", 2 of 24.5" x
25.625" and one of 72" x 25.625", thats 6628.625 sq inches of glass. That's
23g per sq in glass.

The 5 ft tank will have 3 sheets of 60" x 24" and 2 of 24" x 24" or 5472 sq
in. At 23g per square inch, thats 125.8kg.

Subtract the (very convenient, lol) 34kg from that, gives 91.8kg or 3.9
inches of water.

Be careful if you mix units. It's easy to make a mistake and much
safer to work entirely in SI units.



Doubtless, gravel and rocks will weigh a lot more than the water they will
displace, which must be considered and hard to calculate unless you know
quantities.

It depends on the type of rock. I have a marine tank so mainly use
combinations of tufa rock since it helps to buffer the pH upwards.

I don't use gravel, just a thin layer of sand, and then external
filtration.




I have mine in a downstairs room with a concrete floor so loading is
not an issue. I built the support arrangement using three hollow
brick piers with the space inside equivalent to two brick depths -
about 200mm. Each was the full depth of the aquarium and was then
filled with concrete.

I don't know if I'd be able to sleep at night with a tank deeper than 14
inches on my upper floor. Depth of 14 inches gives 68 lb sq ft (plus weight
of glass). Australian building code gives 75 lb sq ft for floor loading
http://www.auspet.com/fish10.html. Couldn't find UK code in psf.


A length of wood block kitchen worktop was laid across the top of
these and levelled. A piece of 12mm sheet Styrofoam was cut to
the tank size and placed between it and the wood. This is a *vital*
step as you probably know to avoid the tank cracking.
600 litres of water on the floor goes a very long way.

Yeah I know, I filled a tank up on flat concrete in my garden. Cracked base.
Have plated base with a piece using lots of silicone sealant and tank has
been in service for a year with no leaks

This has been entirely successful and in place for a number of years.
Water has been exchanged, but the tank never emptied.

When moving my tank I did take the opportunity to scrub it clean in the
garden, as there was a lot of crud in the gravel.

Gravel cleaners work quite well for that, but obviously can't go below
a separator mesh




Marcus


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

I can't see a problem to this if the tank is against the wall and the floor
joists are 8x2" or bigger and the joists are at right angles to the tank
long dimension. A cast iron bath is in the region of 200Kg and full of water
is another 200 Kg, then add another 200Kg for the people standing beside it,
I've not seen many bathroom floors bend much under these sort of loadings.
The loading figures you quote are for the complete floor area, you are
really talking about point loading on a floor area. A lot will depend on
the actual unsupported span of the floor joists and the position of the tank
relative to the supporting walls. The building regs gives a good guide to
the actual loading a given joist and span will support. Can you tell us what
the joists and spans actually are?
Interesting query.

Regards
Capitol

"Capitol" wrote in message
...
I can't see a problem to this if the tank is against the wall and the
floor
joists are 8x2" or bigger and the joists are at right angles to the tank
long dimension. A cast iron bath is in the region of 200Kg and full of
water
is another 200 Kg, then add another 200Kg for the people standing beside
it,
I've not seen many bathroom floors bend much under these sort of loadings.
The loading figures you quote are for the complete floor area, you are
really talking about point loading on a floor area. A lot will depend on
the actual unsupported span of the floor joists and the position of the
tank
relative to the supporting walls. The building regs gives a good guide to
the actual loading a given joist and span will support. Can you tell us
what
the joists and spans actually are?

Correct me if I'm wrong, lol, but if you put a 200kg person into a bath,
there wouldn't be any room for the water and I doubt they'd be able to get
out again.

Marcus

Correct me if I'm wrong, lol, but if you put a 200kg person into a bath,
there wouldn't be any room for the water and I doubt they'd be able to get
out again.

Marcus

Doh, didn't read you said people, not person.

Marcus

Marcus Fox wrote in message ...


Correct me if I'm wrong, lol, but if you put a 200kg person into a bath,
there wouldn't be any room for the water and I doubt they'd be able to
get
out again.

Marcus

Doh, didn't read you said people, not person.


Yes, I'd worked out that the water overflowed also if the weight of the
people was inside the bath! However, as I said, a lot depends on the
position and the run of the floor joists. ie, a span of 3.46M using a couple
of 8x2" joists with 450mm spacing would appear to be capable of supporting
432.5Kg as a distributed load. If you can get this up to 4 joists, then this
becomes 865Kg. When you get next to the joist supporting wall, about only
half of the load is transferred to the joists so 600Kg looks pretty
feasible. If you have the joists running the other way, but can get across 3
joists( add a bearer) and spread the load then 600Kg is achievable. If your
floor joists are SS grade timber( not likely!) then you can get about a 25%
increase on these figures. Remember that these are "dead load" figures, the
permissible live loading figures are about x3 on top of these numbers.

Regards
Capitol