Hi all.
I am really new here and hoping that someone has a few ideas for me.
I will be moving soon into an old house, and am insisting on bringing my beloved fish with me, of coarse.
Does anyone here have any experience with reinforcing floor supports to hold weight of the tanks? I have an 80 gallon that I want to upgrade to a 125 gallon before I move, so that will be the weight to be accounted for. Anyone else have this concern?
Any tips? Anything?
Thanks so much!

Hmmn, I'm living in a 1930's built house with regular floorboards and I've got a 210ish gall tank that's fine. I've got it lined up so there are as many joists supporting the weight as possible. dunno if that makes sense, I'm not good at explaining carpentry, what I think are the joists are the planks that run perpendicular underneath the boards.. I figure they're the ones doing most of the work of holding the floor up. When I was installing it, that's what the guys who moved it said (although my brains been a bit scrambled over the past 9 months!)

Maybe someone else more floor savvy will be able to help..?

Oh, BTW a big warm welcome to Koko's seen you on other goldfish board, we're not all "police" here!

LOL....you made me laugh with that one!
My brother will be the Project manager on the redo of this house, and he was the one concerned. I will pass this info along to him. Any other ideas or input will be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks for the welcome!

Bruce is correct. Most houses that are constructed in standard practice will have joists that are capable of supporting a tank. Go downstairs and take a look at the joists if they are exposed. If they are not, you can use a "stud finder" or your amazingly wonderful brother to find out which way the joists run. You want to put the tank so that it is supported by as many joists as possible - so do not align it lengthwise along a single joist, instead put it perpendicular to the joists so that the weight of the tank is supported over many, just as Bruce stated.

I also welcome you!

I demand fish pictures, however....

That's correct; a tank should be run along as many joists as possible. What a joist can actually support depends upon the age of the house, as well as the strength the floor was intiially designed for. The maximum number of joists you can position the tank over, as well as the strength of the joists varies, so it's hard to say.

While the width of your tank plays an important part, tanks can also be supplemented by plywood beneath them to extend their footprint to further distribute the weight.

Unfortunately, without inspecting the house, or knowing the building requirements in the area, there is no definate way of determining what will be supported where. Talk to your brother!


And welcome!