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Author:	Admin [ Fri Nov 27, 2009 4:42 pm ]
Post subject:	tank weight and floor safety

tank weight and floor safety

a customer stated:
"We have a 54 gallon that is only 44" long (had to
build it ourselves due to weight-bearing beams limiting length)."

I replied:

water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon,
with the glass and the gravel I estimate 10 pounds per gallon
per aquarium

any standard oriented tank
(long and relatively shallow
as opposed to tall and narrow)
should be safe on any floor
that is safe to walk on

for example
a 5 foot 120 gallon tank will weigh about 1200 pounds
the 1200 pounds is spread out over 1.5+1.5+5+5 feet
...so
if the floor can hold 93 pounds per linear foot foot
...or 7.5 square feet
160 pounds per square foot
it is safe

if we orient the tank the other way
(and no one should want to)
2.5 feet Long x 1.5 feet wide x 5 feet high
then we are putting
the 1200 pounds on 3.75 square feet (320 pounds per square foot)
and that is probably not safe on the average built floor

an alternative example:
can 4 football players stand
wherever your 120 gallon tank is going
forever
without falling through the floor ?
I think so.

Author:	Admin [ Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:16 pm ]
Post subject:

found this article interesting:
http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm

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