To put a 360 litre fishtank in a upstairs bedroom

[Clappingforjoy]

So ds wants to upgrade his tank and my dp will not allow him to put the tank downstairs. Would it be dangerous to put this much weight on floorboards upstairs.

Do you have wooden floors? Mine are concrete & would cope. Idea is no more than 100 kg is on any one spot.

Water weights 1kg per litre, so you've got 360kg of water before you start.

By the time you've considered the weight of the tank, stand, filtration and other equipment, you'll be over 500kg - half a tonne.

Not only that, you and someone else could be standing in front of the tank admiring it - that could take you to two thirds of a tonne or more which will likely be spanning one or two floor joists.

I'd be inclined to put it downstairs, as that's where it will end up, but without the massive insurance claim when it comes through the ceiling.

I’d be more worried about getting a tank that size upstairs. Should be fine though - just make sure it’s on a proper stand and check with your insurance that you would be covered for any mishaps.

I wouldn't. That's about twice the literage of the average bath

@Fcukthisshit I honestly wouldn't term floorboards collapsing, with a deluge of 80 gallons of water crashing through your house, plus dead or distressed fish, as a 'mishap'

I'd call it a 'catastrophe of biblical proportions' and would prefer to avoid all that, even with an amenable insurance policy.

You really need to check whether the bedroom floor will need to be reinforced.

On top of that, how do you plan to handle water changes? Soggy carpets spring to mind. DH has a 450 litre downstairs and we have wooden floors for the inevitable puddles.

We put ours downstairs (450 litres) and my son reinforced the wooden floor.
It can be messy when you change the water/ clean filters etc but it s on wooden floor.
That would be so hard upstairs as we let the water out via kitchen sink (room next door). Upstairs is all carpet.
Why wont DH let him have it downstairs? Best solution and the fish are wonderfully relaxing to watch (except if you think they ll be falling through the ceiling soon).

360 litres will be v heavy once the gravel, rocks and everything are added to it. Can you check what your floor is actually made of to see if it would take the weight safely?You could position the tank across various supporting joists to spread the weight better rather than just blindly positioning it if you see what I mean. I mean most floors probably. wouldtake the weight if positioned carefully - but do you really want to take that risk. Downstairs would be better. That said, I did once have a 250 litre tank in a static caravan and it was absolutely fine . What sort of fish out of interest?

Oh dear not sure what to do we have had a big argument with dp tonight because he doesnt have any interest in a fishtank and refuses to have it on his sight.

He has a Jack Dempsey, 2 Oscar's, 2 catfish, and 2 loaches

Do you have a garage or a outbuilding with light and power is could go in?

Unfortunately not

So your ds has his tank downstairs and wants to upgrade. Will he keep his current tank? If not, why not put the new tank where the current one is?

Why does h not want the new tank downstairs?

@oddboots - there is little point keeping fish in a garage or outhouse. The whole point is that people can see them!

Why doesn’t dp want to support ds’s interest by having the new tank downstairs? Is he usually so awkward?

I don’t think I’d be happy with a 420-litre tank upstairs - that’s big and heavy, without 80kg of gravel and water...

You need a lot more than 360 lts for what you have tbh the tank will last you about 8months and the fish will out grow it

NO..

To put your mind at rest I think it would be sensible to chat to an architect or structural engineer.

There are quite a few factors to consider besides the near half ton weight of tank, water, gravel and observers.

I think you tell DS he can have the massive tank in his own place when he has one, but I hate to see creatures of any kind in captivity; perhaps your DP feels the same.

A fish tank is such a dominant presence in any room before you even think about the physics of placing it upstairs. Ideally you'd want a structural engineer to cast an eye over the proposed site but unless you know one, that could be expensive.

Why not encourage DD to plan ahead with a view to seeing tropical species in their habitat? I did some rough and ready snorkelling a few months back in the South Pacific (free lost property gear from a tiny island resort/plantation, wade in to waist-depth, plonk face in water) and what I saw in that half hour or so was better than any fishtank, better than the GBR with its bleached corals and crowds.

It's my top go-to place for sleepless moments and difficult dental appointments now.

Get a structural engineer to assess how the floor will need reinforcing.

Don't do it. The movements of the floor cause the tank to shift and it will crack. It happened to us. All I did was walk past it, heard a sound like a gunshot, ended up with gallons going through the floor in a catastrophic gush(it was a 4 foot tank) . We had a bath full of tropical fish for a week.

No. Too heavy.

I wouldn't.

How old is ds?