I'm looking to put a 55 gallon aquarium in my bedroom on the 2nd floor of my house. My dad okayed the idea, as long as the floor will support it. After googling, I cant really find any math to do, so someone with experience is the next best thing.
The only thing that throws the ease of this ideas out of whack is the fact that the house is a ballon-frame structure which used to be a barn.
The basic 55g weighs about 600lbs when full. This is spread over a 4'x1' area under the stand, which is about 140psf. The aquarium would be placed perpendicularlly to the joists. I'd also put a piece of 1" thick wood underneath the stand to help spread the weight evenly, and it'd probably be cut about 2' wider than the aquarium to help get the weight over more joists. I'd probably build the stand itself 2' too wide as well, and have the piece underneath 2' longer than the stand.
So, stand =6' long, underlying piece of 1" thick wood = 8'.
The joists under the floor are 2x6's @ 16" on center. The flooring (no subfloor) is made of 2x8" boards which run the entire length of the room (so there are only about 15 or so boards to the entire room).
The aquarium would be placed on the inside of a partition wall which would leave the aquarium about 4" from the outside wall.
Can anyone help?
The only thing that throws the ease of this ideas out of whack is the fact that the house is a ballon-frame structure which used to be a barn.
The basic 55g weighs about 600lbs when full. This is spread over a 4'x1' area under the stand, which is about 140psf. The aquarium would be placed perpendicularlly to the joists. I'd also put a piece of 1" thick wood underneath the stand to help spread the weight evenly, and it'd probably be cut about 2' wider than the aquarium to help get the weight over more joists. I'd probably build the stand itself 2' too wide as well, and have the piece underneath 2' longer than the stand.
So, stand =6' long, underlying piece of 1" thick wood = 8'.
The joists under the floor are 2x6's @ 16" on center. The flooring (no subfloor) is made of 2x8" boards which run the entire length of the room (so there are only about 15 or so boards to the entire room).
The aquarium would be placed on the inside of a partition wall which would leave the aquarium about 4" from the outside wall.
Can anyone help?