# Tank water shakes when walking by



## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

Didn't know what forum to put this in...
I live on the third story of my apartment building, and we have wood floors. Whenever we walk by my tank, the water (55g tank) visibly shakes. My brother is a very heavy walker, so any time he walks by it, I cringe. I try not to walk by it at all and take the long way to the couch. Anyway, I am starting to get pretty worried about this. It's been happening since June when the tank was originally set up. How bad is this for my tank? Also, I don't want this tank busting through the floor, killing the people below me, and me getting arrested and charged over a million dollars in law suits. What should I do?

*EDIT* I should mention the tank is on a piece of plywood with 2x4's running along the bottom: front, middle, back and sides. Three cinder blocks on each side support it.


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## Kworker (Oct 28, 2011)

find out which way the beams in the floor go, if your going along with them that could be why, you want to distribute the weight along as many of the beams as possible so you want to put the tank opposite if you understand... Best suggestion i have besides having to downgrade but who would want to do such a thing


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

A 55g tank should be fine for the floor, weight-wise. And as far as vibrations go, wavemakers in reef tanks are a heck of a lot more violent than footsteps, so the tank should be fine too.

I think I can picture what you're talking about in reference to the stand. It's not ideal, but as long as the 2x4's are directly under the rim of the tank, on all 4 sides, and you're confident that there's no way for them to shift, and the cinderblocks are similarly immobile, I would guess that would be okay. But if it were me, I'd build (or buy) a stand that had all structural components attached tightly. If there's no lateral support, you're missing something. Gravity handles the vertical support, but screws and glue handle the lateral support.

IMO, a 55g is on the high end of "it's pretty small, so it'll be safe", and has not quite crossed over into "I need to seriously consider the structural integrity of everything under the tank."


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

Wood floors are supposed to have some deflection in them. This makes it more comfortable for people to walk on. Now, if jumping on the floor gives you added height when you leave the ground.... then the engineer let the span get to close to its maximum lol.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys, that makes me feel a bit better. I described my stand poorly, I think...this is what I meant: (old stand of mine, same construction as the new one)


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## Taari (Jul 31, 2010)

I have a 40 breeder in my living room. I put it in an exterior corner with the hope that the floor would be stronger, but the surface still shakes when I walk by. Thankfully I don't notice it when the filter is running as it makes ripples on the surface anyway, only when I'm doing water changes. 

Floors are designed to give a little. It's going to happen unless you are on a concrete slab. Unless your appartment is of very shoddy construction (like mine...old military housing, every structural beam in the place is 22" appart) then you have nothing to worry about. A 55g aquarium weighs about 625 pounds. That's about the same as three guys standing side-by-side. If your floor can't handle that, then there's something really wrong with your floor.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

I have a feeling since your stand is loose block it's multiplying the effect of the joist deflections. Build or buy a solid stand.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

I had a solid stand, and even that shook (but it was a crappy stand). Would adding three blocks to the middle help?


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

It can't hurt.


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## Chrome (Feb 26, 2012)

Your floor should be able to handle the weight. If your really worried about it build another piece just like your top and add it under the blocks. it will distribute the weight over more floor space. Right now with the way you have the blocks on the floor you have about 300 to 350 pounds per square foot. If you add a base to it it would be more like 50 pounds per square foot.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Chrome said:


> Your floor should be able to handle the weight. If your really worried about it build another piece just like your top and add it under the blocks. it will distribute the weight over more floor space. Right now with the way you have the blocks on the floor you have about 300 to 350 pounds per square foot. If you add a base to it it would be more like 50 pounds per square foot.


:iamwithst :iamwithst :iamwithst Exactly right!:biggrin:


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## Kevyg (Jan 25, 2012)

Chrome said:


> Your floor should be able to handle the weight. If your really worried about it build another piece just like your top and add it under the blocks. it will distribute the weight over more floor space. Right now with the way you have the blocks on the floor you have about 300 to 350 pounds per square foot. If you add a base to it it would be more like 50 pounds per square foot.


Agreed, on a side note, you should put some wood under the cinder blocks (not big) so you don't completely destroy your wood floor.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

Thanks for all of the replies/advice. Appreciate it.


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## SlammedDC2 (Jun 4, 2011)

I have a 55g on a solid stand set up on an exterior wall. It shakes a little whenever anyone walks by. However I have 3 kids so it's rare that anyone walks by it. That tank shakes all day long between them and the dog. No problem yet in 6 months. 
I'll admit I was a little nervous when we moved in, but after seeing it continue to stand I forgot about it.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

If you're still concerned you could put a metal strap from that top piece and screw it to a stud behind the stand. Just use a strap on either side.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

Hey guys. So, this is still concerning me. I tend to forget about it, but then I recently noticed that it shakes even worse when anyone ever walks towards the left side of the tank, even on the other side of the room. Why is this so, do you think? It's gotten to a point that I try not to walk in that "path" towards the other side of the room. I'm so incredibly paranoid that this tank is going to just lose its balance and slam right onto the floor. 

The thing is, however, that I could not even envision draining this thing and moving it (if I did move it, I'd move it to my bedroom, as that'd be a better place in the summer in terms of AC anyway). I'd imagine that if my brother and I moved it with as much water out as possible, we could transport it with the substrate still in, as well as the plants. But what about my fish? To even get all of them out, I'd have to remove my plants, as they would most definitely hide as I tried to net them. The only truly good way to do it would be to remove...everything...and with soil underneath my substrate, heavy root establishment, etc., well, that'd be a huge mess and not something I'd be happy about.

I really don't know what to do. My brother keeps telling me to stop worrying, "If it hasn't busted now, you're fine", but still, that fear is always there. I feel like crap for even setting it up there...all because we wanted the damn tank in the living room.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

So after laying here and thinking about it more, I think I am going to move it into my room. The floor is much more level in here, and I have plenty of shims if I need to do anything with them. Tomorrow I'll find the most level spot and plan accordingly. 

What do you think the best way to do this is? Any advice is greatly appreciated!


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

Your brother is right. Stop worrying about nothing. It's like worrying about whether the sun is going to shine tomorrow or not.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

I second that the floor is fine, but I can totally identify with your concerns: psychologically, once it's in your mind it's very hard to get get it out.

Any solution that comes to my mind is ugly...

Back to the original issue: the floor is the culprit but it's the cinder blocks that amplify the lateral movement. In other words, if you had 4 blocks, you would notice the the 'shaking' more, with 2 blocks - less. With small deflection angle from 90 degrees at the bottom, the top moves longer distance as you go higher up. That's what people experience at different floors of the same skyscraper during an earthquake.

If you want to shorten the lateral displacement (i.e. minimize the 'shaking') here is one way: you need to cross-tension the blocks: using concrete eyelet screws connect the top block on the left with the bottom block on the right with a wire with a tensioner in the middle. Reverse for the other side. Using a level vertically next to each block column, tighten/un-tighten each tensioner until each block column is as vertical as practical. If you want a bit more 'stability', you can criss-cross the cables.

best pic I could find in short time: look at the diagonal bracing: it's there to minimize lateral flex.

Best of luck.

PS: if you do decide to move the tank:
Empty ~80% of water
Cover the entire water surface with paper towels: it will keep the water from splashing/moving too much and protect the plants
If you have driftwood sticking out of the water too much - cut cardboard to the internal tank size with holes to keep the driftwood from shifting
Based on your situation, get your hands on a flat-bed dolly (you can sweet-talk HomeDepo manager to let you borrow one, etc).
Move the tank together with your wooden table top
You are still looking at 250+lb, but it's doable.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

I have an older house and where my tank sits, it shakes a little from traffic. To alleviate this, I put 2 hooks (to the stud) and used a fishing line to stabilize the top of the tank. Shaking is minimal but it's there. I have to very active children, 4, 2and a crazy puppy they run around the house, past the tank all day with no issues.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

OVT said:


> I second that the floor is fine, but I can totally identify with your concerns: psychologically, once it's in your mind it's very hard to get get it out.
> 
> Any solution that comes to my mind is ugly...
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for this post and photo. All posts have been great so far, so thanks to everyone. I'm going to have a look at this with my brother (he's good with carpentry, construction, etc.). and we'll come up with a solution, then, based on what has been said.

I appreciate it.


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

another thought, maybe you could shift the location of the tank to the left or right, and try to get it better placed over the beams in the floor? i would think that having it placed better over beams in your floor it would shake less?


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

To me it seems as if shifting the entire tank just a few inches to the left would make a load of difference and would possibly minimize the amount of shims I am already using on the right side. This would require me to move my television over as well as my couch/rug/coffee table as it'd off-center the whole room. But it's an option...


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Any updates on the results?


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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

my 40B shake most of the time when people walk/run. not only does the tank shake my PC/table does too. Im on the 2nd floor still im not worry about it. Sitting on a 2by3 stand.


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

What's up? OVT, it sounds crazy but I still haven't had a chance to sit down and figure it all out. Between work and school, I have no time to just sit back and think about things. As for now, I am just living with it, but when this semester ends I am going to start looking into what you said. Will definitely post back.


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