Reinforce Floor For Larger Tank?

[simko]

Hi Everyone

Ive been asking about marine tanks in the new to the hobby forum, however i feel this question is better suited for this area.

I am thinking of putting a larger tank in my main floor (~100 gallons + sump) I realize this will be quite a heavy load.

The place the tank would sit is against the wall supported by the main beam in my house (4 or 5 2x10s together). The span from this beam to the exterior wall is about 12'. My floor joists would run perpendicular to the tank and are 2x10's 16" on centre. Tank is likely going to have a 4 to 5" footprint, so it may sit on 3 joists.

To reinforce everything, can i simply use two jack posts, span a 4x4 in the basement and hold everything up with the jack posts? Is this enough?

thanks!

 

[shamous113]

How old is the house? the main beam and joists will support the weight as long as you spread the load with the tank frame, you want all of the joists to share the load. Point loading (having feet on the stand) is a big no no.

 

[simko]

House is likely 75 years old. I figure spanning 3 joists would be good enough, but id rather have some great support and a lot of peace of mind

 

[AdInfinitum]

Unless you have a lot of heavy equipment/furniture etc also bearing on those same joists, no Jack posts would be required unless the house is ancient and the integrity of the joists has been compromised through damage or alterations.

How old is the house? the main beam and joists will support the weight as long as you spread the load with the tank frame, you want all of the joists to share the load. Point loading (having feet on the stand) is a big no no.

Where spreading the load is desirable, the shear/punch resistance of flooring and subfloor sheeting is actually extremely high.

 

[shamous113]

If your going to put an extra beam in then for that span I'd go either 2pc 2x6 or if head room is an issue you you could get either a 4" I beam or 2pc of C4x5.4 (structural channel) welded back to back.

Where spreading the load is desirable, the shear/punch resistance of flooring and subfloor sheeting is actually extremely high.

I was thinking of only loading the to outside joists and the center one not taking its fair share. you could also put cross bracing in to reduce this problem and to help spread the load to the next joists either side of the tank.

 

[simko]

To be honest, the joists support : tank (although i dont posess this right now ) which im guessing will weigh ~1600 lbs (being generous), then dining room table and guests (8 people max usually). I would still like to reinforce and i think the jack posts will be easier than sistering the joists (but definately doable, no ceiling in the basement).

Shamous: I mis-typed

Tank will likely sit against wall that is currently supported by main beam. I was thinking of just adding another jack post UNDER that beam, OR, installing a post directly under where the tank would sit, and span the 3 or 4 joists with some kind of beam (the length of that beam would likely be 6 feet.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Maybe it's time to consider finishing the basement including a strategically placed load bearing wall. Easy to build and could serve 2 functional purposes... LOL

BTW a load bearing walll is what runs right under my main floor 320 gallon...

 

[simko]

Well, half the basement is an apartment, half is my laundry room, I could definitely finish off my half , But adding the post under the beam and sistering the joists would certainly be faster

Thanks to both of you for the advice, i do appreciate it!

 

[shamous113]

NP if you need some structural steel I can help out. My boss is cool with me ordering stuff thru the company and paying a bit extra for his time doing paperwork. Same goes for any one else here ( within reason )

 

[simko]

I'm going to take a few pictures from my basement, I'm no wordsmith, so I am not sure if my proposed ideas are clear or not.

Wait 'til i start showing off my ms pain skills! (uh oh!)