Aquariums on the second floor

[Fire eel 18]

Has anyone dealt with Perry homes for fish tanks on the second floor? When i contacted them about how much a second story floor can support they said "All second floors are designed for 40 pounds per square foot Live Load. A Live Load is anything like people, furniture, fish tanks, etc." i cant believe this! That has to be a joke... right? The tank is 75 gallons. I've heard of people putting 100 gallon tanks upstairs. I just dont believe it.

[Ballinxalex]

idk but i wouldnt do it even though i dream of a tank in my room upstairs i dont wnanna come home to a hole in the floor with glass everywhere

[mistahoo]

Possibly 40lbs/sq.ft. or more? I would also think it depends on where exactly is the tank placed. Certain spots on the second floor have more support.

[johnnymisty]

Might even depend on wich way the support beams are going set it right they should hold more thats there estimate going low to save from lawsuites

[NDsuperduty]

Aquariums on the second floor

If they said a flat 40lbs per foot then that means anywhere on the floor, i.e. the weakest spot, so if you put it over the supports on a supporting wall it would be much higher. But I wouldn't go over a 40g upstairs without more certainty.

[troy tucker]

the chances of finding a load bairing wall in the right spot to put a tank will be slim. By building code second floor must hold 40lb pqf but that sounds lite to me. but I haven't built a house in 20 years. I don't think I would trust it...

[NDsuperduty]

Aquariums on the second floor

I had a 75g in a 3rd story apartment for 2 years with no issues, but that's also a commercial building

[mnemenoi]

Live load also refers to dynamic weight (i.e. jumping jacks, running, falling, ect.) while static weight covers things such as furniture, aquariums, beds. Moving and shifting weight (live loads) are much less then static loads such as furniture.

As an aside, the minimum live load that Texas requires on all resedential dwellings is 40 pounds per square foot, so they are really telling you absolutely nothing other then they broke no laws in building it. It is likely far more substantial, but they do not want to accept any liability should it prove false.

[Jason]

They probably just said if for insurance reasons.

I'm sure you put more than 40 lbs per sq ft every time you walk.

[L&M]

Aquariums on the second floor

I can stand in a square foot space and I weigh more than 40 pounds.

[Fire eel 18]

I can't imagine how much i would have to pay to get a structural engineer to figure this out. Thanks Perry Homes.

[Ogrodii]

Re: Aquariums on the second floor

I have a 150g on the second story.
No problems but it is also on the main supporting wall

I guess I just have balls.:)

[sountfc]

We have a 125G on one side of our second story bedroom and a 75G on the other. No issues whatsoever. I kept a 135G on the second floor of a condominium for years and never had a problem.

[Timber317]

I have a 210 in my upstairs with no problems. There are support walls close by but not directly underneath it. Guess I have balls too. I also have a 65 with no support whatsoever up there too and for good measure I also put a 125 just to test the integrity of my builder. They have been there for 10 years or more and with no problems. I say go for it!!!!

[New_Cichlid11]

I have a 175 bow on a second floor and is not on the main supporting wall structure. So far so good.