# Can I put a 60 gallon on the second floor?



## drb (Aug 12, 2011)

If four people can stand in the area of the room you want the tank without falling through it will be fine.


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

Just to be safe, have all four people jump up and down on your chosen spot.

Just to be safe.


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## plantscaper (Nov 14, 2009)

I have 2 50's stacked one on top of the other on the second floor 2 years now so far so good


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

YOUR TRIBAL BETTA IS AWESOME!!!!
That was an accidental caps lock.. but describes my feelings well..
Ok cool... 60 gallon is fine... Woot!! I get to own angelfish!!


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## sendthis (Dec 12, 2010)

Agree with the others... I would just add one tiny issue to consider though.

What material are you putting it on and what kind of stand.

i.e. if it's over tile, wrought iron stand, then you could crack the tiles or wood, or whatever. Just something to think about and for you to plan accordingly.

If you don't care about the cracking, it shouldn't be an issue for it to be on the second floor (but there are no guarantees in life --- i.e. rotting structure, termites, etc).


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## KShoes (Sep 29, 2009)

May want to verify; but I read somewhere that you need to start worrying about floor supports above 90g (assuming floor was designed and built properly and no damage of course).


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

Approximately when was the building built, and is there any reason to believe that it's not up to code?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

it was built in the 70's... no idea what kind of stand yet.. carpet now but wood in near future...


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

If the building was built in the 70's and there is no obvious reason to think that it's not up to code (i.e. it looks like an permitted addition, etc.) then you should be OK. Of course, you need to take a good look at the area where the tank will be and see if there is any evidence of water damage or some other factor that would weaken the floor, and use common sense.

If everything looks ok, there is no reason the floor shouldn't be able to support a 500+ pound dead weight. It's important to look at the surface that will actual bear the weight points, as mentioned above. But the, a well balance stand will put around 150+ pounds on each of 4 legs so there is a good chance you'll be ok. Having a carpet with plywood under it will distribute the weight nicely.

So, I'm no engineer (seriously not) but I looked into this when I was planning own tank location. My floor is 120 years old and has some deficiencies, so I put a pipejack in the basement just to help out, but that was a special situation


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

the second floor would be no different than the first floor. shouldnt be anyway. 

I convinced the g/f into letting me put a 95 upstairs since a 300lb+ friend of ours didnt go crashing through the floor


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Kewl... 60 gallon it is..


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## zenche (Feb 9, 2011)

scapegoat said:


> the second floor would be no different than the first floor. shouldnt be anyway.
> 
> I convinced the g/f into letting me put a 95 upstairs since a 300lb+ friend of ours didnt go crashing through the floor


yea, but a 95 is like, 750 lbs when filled....risky


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Things to consider:

The corners are much stronger that the center of the floor. A cabinet stand distributes the weight more evenly that a 4 legged stand. A glass tank will often weigh 4-10 times as much as an acrylic tank of the same volume. I can carry a 40gl acrylic up a flight of stairs by holding the center brace with my index finger & thumb. I would need a helper to get a 40B up a flight of stairs....safely.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Its glass.. Its going in the corner of my room which also happen to be the corner of my house...
People will be helping me... There will be no 4 legged stand.. Probably not an actual stand.. my penchant for low furniture never wore off since my childhood in japan... So in order to view the tank properly it probably will only be acouple inches off the floor... not sure hwo to support the tank like that..


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## robbowal (Mar 27, 2011)

Eldachleich said:


> Its glass.. Its going in the corner of my room which also happen to be the corner of my house...
> People will be helping me... There will be no 4 legged stand.. Probably not an actual stand.. my penchant for low furniture never wore off since my childhood in japan... So in order to view the tank properly it probably will only be acouple inches off the floor... not sure hwo to support the tank like that..


That should be very easy to do.
Wooden pallet recontructed/cut to fit the footprint of the tank and then board the sides.
That should raise the tank around 4"-5" of the ground and support it well.


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## Seedreemer (Sep 28, 2008)

We had a large antique cast iron tub upstairs in our house, which was built in 1997. I regularly filled it for baths. I can't imagine what that thing weighed when full but it was fine for years. I admit I spent the first year feeling quite nervous while soaking.  

The whole floor was on i-beams FYI (I think that was code then). The tub was on 4 feet like cast iron tubs are, it was on tile that consisted of 1-inch circles, and never cracked the tile nor even bowed the flooring. 

We sold and moved so I don't know if it ever crashed through.


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## Higher Thinking (Mar 16, 2011)

Not a problem at all. I live in a second story loft apartment. I have a 75 gallon and a rack of stands that consists of two 20g and two 10g on my first floor (buildings 2nd) and then upstairs in the loft I have a 55g. Oh and a 4g as well but not sure if that's adding too much  Any good shape building should be able to handle that no problem.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Awesome possum!! 
I feel much better knowing I'm not going to cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Awe... that sounds awesome.. how sad you had to get rid of it..
I must say that old tubs are lovely.. but infuriatingly small to me..


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

zenche said:


> yea, but a 95 is like, 750 lbs when filled....risky


probably closer to 1000, but you gotta figure that a 4 post stand is going to distribute about 250lbs per leg, and if you go with a base that touches the floor all the way around you're distributing it even more.


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## partobe (Jul 29, 2011)

def make sure it level


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Eldachleich said:


> I.. my penchant for low furniture never wore off since my childhood in japan... So in order to view the tank properly it probably will only be acouple inches off the floor... not sure hwo to support the tank like that..


I've never seen a Bonsai table that big, but some of the Kotatsu Tables might work. You could build a 2''x4" rectangle box, paint it black, place a nice table right over it. That might look very nice.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

DogFish said:


> I've never seen a Bonsai table that big, but some of the Kotatsu Tables might work. You could build a 2''x4" rectangle box, paint it black, place a nice table right over it. That might look very nice.


LOL
That would look mighty nice... I really like that Idea...
The worst part of all of this is that it comes with a rather nice stand that matches my room perfectly.. Its even the right height as a piece of furniture.. So its going to be my TV stand.. 
Weird to me that I cant get the tank on its own...


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## Seedreemer (Sep 28, 2008)

I really like the idea of keeping it low to the floor. I think that'll look awesome.


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

Maybe its just a texas thing but I wouldn't put a fishtank of any real volume on anything other than a slab of concrete but then again we don't have basements down here. So even if people mostly above the mason/dixon put a tank on the ground level it is still, for argument's sake, on the second floor. Just scary to think about it.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

How is that a Texas thing? People in warm or wet climates frequently don't have basements!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Lol.. we dont have basements.... or attics... for the most part... Well... some of the richer people here have sort of attics.. kinda.... and the really old houses sometimes have them... 
I think it would look grand close to the ground... Especially since if was higher I would have a really awkward angle...


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

My mistake, I've lived in MO, MS, IA, IL, NJ, and TX and TX is the only place that I haven't had a basement so I just figured that it was common place. My mistake.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

lol... theres no use for a basement out here in cali... or an attic.. the only things we really have to worry about is fires and earthquakes.. and a those dont really help any of those situations lol..


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