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nemofish2217
12/31/2008, 09:38 PM
I will be either setting up a 65 or 75 within the next few weeks, and I was just wondering if I should need to put some supports up underneath the house. I have never bothered with this before but this time the tank will be parallel to the tank. The sub-flooring is some good looking playwood not particle or "chip" board. Any thoughts?

jenglish
12/31/2008, 09:47 PM
I had a 72 and a 75 sitting right next (about 4 foot apart) in my old house and never had a problem. But it was turn of the century (there were lines for gas chandaliers) and the joists were actually 2 inches across. So I'm not sure if newer construction homes would be as sturdy. Its the joists supporting the sub floor not the subfloor material itself that is what matters.

nemofish2217
12/31/2008, 09:59 PM
Sure, the joists are key, but the better the sub floor, the better the weight would be distributed I would assume but I could be wrong. My main concern was that the tank would be sitting parallel with the joist, hence probably only sitting on one or two versus three or four

jbird69
12/31/2008, 10:01 PM
this time the tank will be parallel to the tank

Not sure what you mean by this???

There shouldnt be a problem. Most houses are built to handle the amount your doing. The bigger the tank, the bigger the footprint (usually) which spreads the load. Of coarse if you want a huge tank it may be worth considering. If you have dryrot isuues or something similar, that is another matter.

jbird69
12/31/2008, 10:04 PM
Nemo, we were typing at the same time. If your plywood was laid right. the strans(grain) are perpendicular to the joists, Thats the beauty of plywood, it has incredible linear strength. Actually the newer OSB material such as Edgegold is extremely strong.

I wouldnt worry.

Jay

jenglish
12/31/2008, 10:08 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14053552#post14053552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nemofish2217
Sure, the joists are key, but the better the sub floor, the better the weight would be distributed I would assume but I could be wrong. My main concern was that the tank would be sitting parallel with the joist, hence probably only sitting on one or two versus three or four

The subfloor is not going to deistribute much of the weight past the footprint. Some but not much. Th real danger of particle board is it does not handle leaks well. :) Any subfloor that looked warped or rotting would definately be a danger. I will say that in my setup it sat across joists and not along them. I would think you would be in the clear if everything looks solid.

Kenmx10
12/31/2008, 11:02 PM
The thing to consider would be the size of the lumber and the length of the lumber. If they are 2x10's no longer than 12' , should be fine. If they are 2x8's 14, long, you may see some deflection in the flooring over time. You could install blocking underneath the tank area (between the joist) connecting the two joist together. This would help by locking the 2 joist together and help spread the load.

Also consider what else is in the room. You can calulate the room size, and find the live load capacity. (Live load is the load place in the dwelling space after being built.)This will tell you how much the room can handle. You can find this info online and do the math very easily . Just google, live load construction.