[Lyle]

So I just want to be sure that the tank will be safe in this spot...the house seems to be raised a little bit, no more than 18" I would say...180 gallons (6'x2'x2'). On the opposite side of the wall is the garage...

Ok, so here is the layout of the house....don't mind my art skills (thats why i take pictures lol):

Here are a couple of shots of the room, first is from the entryway, second from the kitchen area:

What do the experts think?

Planning on putting some carpet between the stand and the floor to keep it from scratching, denting, etc...

Moving in on the 15th, can't wait

Thanks so much!

Oh, and btw here are my plans for the backyard:

 

[Fido]

seems SAFE but too close to teh windows IMO. Nice pad man, kickass yard.

 

[shoe997bed263]

if u want to put it near the window i would put some shades there so there is not much light on the tank so no algea build up. i think u r ok where ever u put the tank. obviously put the tank near the wall for more strength. looks like a great house. congrads

 

[Lyle]

Yeah the house is SICK, I love it. I'm getting blinds for those windows right away...it will either go there or in my bedroom, and I'd rather have it out in the main part, know what I mean? We're putting a poker table in there too...along with the alcohol shelf in the pic in my diy 180 stand thread and a red captain morgan sign heh...

Everyone else think I'm ok here?

 

[BigChuckP]

You have probably thought of this but just in case you hadnt you could go with a background on the side that faces the window just to keep more light out. Looks good, post some pics when you are set up and all.

 

[MR.FREEZ]

have you taken a peek under the house were the tank will be to see which way the

joist are running

 

[Lyle]

I haven't looked around that much, but I didn't see a way to get under the house. I was hoping someone could tell me from the position of the walls which way the joists run....I didn't know if there was a standard for positioning joists...

 

[hughie]

I would say that the joists run away from the window. By that i mean from the window, along to the other end of the room from where you took the first picture. ( i dont think it'd be any different over in America, but i am English so not 100% sure)

But i'd say you will be safe anyway in that position, as a tank that size will rest a couple of joists whichever way they run.

 

[jconroy]

Ususally the joists run perpendicular the floor surface. If this is the case, then the joists under the tank location will be parallel to the tank; meaning that the tank will be resting on 1-2 joists. This is a heavy tank. With stand, decor and water you will probably be loading the joist with almost 1,800 lbs. 1,800lbs/ 12 ft-sq = 150 lbs/sq-ft. This is a high loading on your floor/joists. If at all possible I would look under the house and see which way the joists run. In my case, same setup as you propose, I ended up:

1-Purchasing a 12" x 2" x 16 foot board and cut it into (3) 4-foot lengths
2-Then I screwed and braketed the (3) 4-foot boards across the three joists which would be carrying the tank weight.
3-I also purchased floor joist brackets, and attached them to where the floor joists tied into the carrying beam. (I have an old house that did not use joist brackets)

I have had the tank setup for 3+ years now and there is no sag to the floor. If you can get under the house and want more specific info, let me know and I will make up a sketch for you. Good luck. Any thoughts on the types of P's you are going to house?

 

[Lyle]

Thanks for the info conroy...I guess I have to find a way under the house....there IS one right? Don't you always have to have access? I hope it's not under one of the decks...

Oh btw, I'm going to do a mixed pygo group in the tank...

 

[sccavee]

Yea check under the house. I plan to add a 180 or larger this summer and I am going to add joist and add more of the steel supports that hold your main beam underneath the tank. To me it does look like you would be on 1 or 2 depending on the span of the joist. A 180 is too much for that.

You may have a crawl underneath. Are you sure you are not on a slab?

 

[anotherreject04]

from the looks of the shape of the room and so on i would say the floor joists are running the wrong way to spread out the weight of the tank the best, if this if true the weight will only be spread over 1 or 2 beams = bad, im not exactly an expert though

 

[anotherreject04]

supplies to fix this
adjustable steel columns
LPB's (laminated plywood beams)
heavy gauge hangers to fit the LPB's
and smarts

 

[Lyle]

Well I ran over to the house to drop off some sh*t in the garage and took a look through those little vents and saw a joist running the way I need them to, that is from the garage to the kitchen...so it looks as though things are good, but I'm definately crawling under the house when we get in just to be safe...

 

[anotherreject04]

where was the vent? was it just the inside of the vent? was it the apron board?

 

[Lyle]

On the outside of the house...about 10" x 5"

 

[jconroy]

On the outside of the house...about 10" x 5"

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Lyle, that's good news. As far as a mixed Pygo tank, a 180 is a great tank. If you have not kept a large mixed pygo tank before, I would suggest starting out with smaller pygo's and growing them up. Something like 4-5". With this fish, in this size tank, you have a much better chance for long term cohabitation. I've been keeping these fish for over 30 years, if you want any suggestions, just drop me a line.

 

[anotherreject04]

i think you were looking at the apron board dude

 

[sccavee]

I would still be leary putting a 180 just on joist. You have to have some way to get under the house and I would beef the support up.

 

[KrazyCrusader]

Joists run Parallel to the Trusses in a building. So if you can see the roofline you should be able to figure out the joists. It is possible to add blocking onto the outside joists over where your tank is going to sit to futher help distribute the load.