How much weight can a floor handle?

[Abercrombie6202]

I'm just wondering becuase i live in a pretty big apartment building and if my tanks went through the floor i'd feel bad for all the people under neith me.

I live on the top floor

[discuskrib]

you shouldn't have to worry too much about the tank weight on the floor in a big apartment building. if it was just an upper apartment in a house then that'd be a different story.

[Carol_Roberts]

The floor is strongest along the outside walls ;D

[barron]

Hi

Most big apartments, use steel I beams and concrete.

If this is what you have, then tank the walls and floor.

If you have wood, then like Carrol said the outside wall are strongest.

Barron :)

[stygian7]

If I'm remembering right, the average breaking strength of a single 2x4 on edge is >1000 lbs. Floors are usually 2x6 or larger beams. With that said, keep in mind that that is a static load and that your aquarium isn't the only thing on that beam (or set of beams). Your (and others at the same time) walking across the floor generates a substantially greater load than just standing in one place (imagine running across the room). You can see this if you walk across a scale. Have one person watch the dial as you walk over it-it will peak at much more than your actual weight.

I have a 125 gal with a 50 gal sump (currently the sump is being used as quarantine, so is full and separate from 125. They are against the wall where they have additional support from the vertical beams. I don't think that I'd feel comfortable putting much more of a load on the floor. I'm probably being conservative, but I don't want to go to jail for involuntary manslaughter. ;D
-Kevin