How BIG is to BIG for my APT!??

[Birdhawk23]

Alright Reef Goers, so time has come for me to make another impulsive buy and explain to the room mate how it is absolutely "necessary" to have yet another humongous tank in the living room...
So I live in a fairly new (4 year old) second story apt... I currently have a 150, with 40 gal sump. 72, with 55 refug setup along one wall. My overall goal is to remove these tanks and replace it with one BAD@$$ reef tank!
What are the largest you guys have seen in apartments? I want to go AS BIG as possible, of course without my tank ending up in the downstairs apartment.
Does anybody have a clue how big is to big?? And how much will I expect my electricity bill to go up with a full fledged reef tank, sump, frag tank, big lighting, all the bells and whistles...
Start nagging me now please :)

[NyReefNoob]

id do a mareineland 200g dd 4x3x27 i do believe

[Birdhawk23]

That is similar to what I want to do. I was thinking it should probably have more of a wide based footprint so that I wouldnt hurt any of the support of the APT

[kcress]

I think anything over 100g is asking for a lot of trouble. I sure wouldn't go over 150! The two hundred you propose,(two thousand five hundred pounds), needs to be supported with building modifications to prevent sagging beams, jamming doors, jamming windows, wall cracks, forming a 'footprint', and to prevent everything that can roll from ending up against the tank.

One of these days the landlord is going to have to inspect your apt. He's going to have a gold-plated-COW! You would likely be required to remove it. Heck, you're going to have to remove the 150 when it's discovered.

Why don't you focus on making the tank you have a BAD@$$ reef tank?

[PCFisher66]

You could ask if you are rated for a hot tub, that will give you some idea of the rating of the floor joist.

[Chromey316]

Is the floor poured or lumber.

Poured will handle At least a 300... I installed one at my Sister joint 2 years ago and its still their.

[sfsuphysics]

Depends how good the apartment is built. You can't simply ask how much is too much, because there can be a ton of difference in structural load between a properly built housing structure and one which just barely passes code.

As to electrical. Eh, depends really. If the apartment is small, the tanks will likely heat the apartment and the difference between ambient temp and water temp would be small to the point that you don't need to pay much to heat the tank. Then again you'd have to deal with a hot humid apartment.

Honestly if you're asking how big is too big, you're probably already past how big you should have.

[2Quills]

Hmmm...I say good luck. FWIW, my wife manages apartment complexes and most properties have rules against aquariums in the apartment because of the possible damages that could occur from one failing. Not only to your apartment but to any of the apartments around or below you. Often times they have the same rule against water beds in apartments. If you have renters insurance they may let you do it. Then again if you don't tell them then you may just get away with it. Usually most places go around every couple of months to do pest control and filter changes in your apartment. If maintenance never says anything to management you might be good.

We used to live on one of the properties my wife managed at one point and I actually had a 55g that sprang a leak on a bottom joint. I woke up to find all of my african cichlids laying on the sand bed, dead. Fortunately it happened on the first floor of our townhouse and i was able to get it cleaned up to where no one could ever tell that it happened.

I would think 200g pluss sump is pushing it a little much with the weight. A small tank they probably wouldn't enforce the rules. But it would be rolling the dice IMO.

[fanandy8]

I live in an apartment and asked when I signed lease if I could have an aquarium and they told me only if I had renter's insurance and limited to 55 gallons. I would be afraid that if you had to call the landlord to fix something they would see it and have a fit and make you remove it ASAP or evict you.

[reefmanmatt]

ok , you already have more than 200 gallons on that wall ... so whats the difference ???

[reefmanmatt]

go long and you wont have any problems , its the short tanks(4 ft) that only hit 4 joists that cause a problem/ wobble . a few thousand pounds is nothing on a well built floor so give it hell -

[albano]

ok , you already have more than 200 gallons on that wall ... so whats the difference ???
I would think that, if the apartment has wooden floor joints, there could be a big difference, between 200g spread over 12' and 200g in 4' of space

[2Quills]

go long and you wont have any problems , its the short tanks(4 ft) that only hit 4 joists that cause a problem/ wobble . a few thousand pounds is nothing on a well built floor so give it hell -

Longer would be better. But unless he's going to open up the floor and determine how the floor is built then he could already be causing a lot of stress to the structure. I'd be curious to know how much the floor is already deflecting. Deflection can cause stress on your stand and stress on the joints of a tank. Tanks can and do fail from this very same reason.

Poured concrete comes in different compressive strengths. While concrete has good compressive strength it has very little tensile strength. Size and spacing of joists in the floor also play a roll on how much load bearing capacity a floor can handle.

Apartments are a business and odds are most owners are only going to pay for minimum code and not much more. While the building may not be yours and you may not care what kind of shape it is in when you leave it, you might care a little more if 200g decided to let itself out in the living room. Damage to the apartment, neighbors apartment will all be on your hands. So all you people who are installing large tanks on second floors and think it's just fine, you may want to think again.

[Birdhawk23]

You have a very good point there 2 quills. But with my 150 already setup, don't you think it wouldnt have an issue handling 50 more gallons... or so?
Maintance man is cool as anything, always comes in to check on us, and I'll open the fridge to his beer belly if hes thirsty so we got that under check!
Is there any other way to find out what the floor is made of?