120 gal on 3rd floor condo

[pech29]

Ok, so I'm buying a standard 120 gal tank and my condo is on the 3rd floor. I currently have a 72 bow with about ~120 lbs LR and a DSB as well as a 20 gal sump. It is located on an internal wall(not sure if it is loadbearing or not). When I ripped out the carpet to install pergo floors I saw that the sub-floor is a concrete slab. What is the best way to go about finding out if the 120 gal will be a problem as far as structural integrity goes? Unlike my 72, it will be located half way down the wall shared between my condo and my next door neighbor. I am going to call the building inspector for my town, but I'm not sure what he'll be able to tell me. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Snidgetless]

I'm personally a fan of the "just wing it" method and hope for the best...

(edit) for those who thought i am serious...

Whats your estimate of weight for this setup? 100 lbs sand, 100 LR, water @ 8 lbs/gal thats at least 1,000 pounds right there and thats not including a sump, stand, tank weight etc...

 

[Mini4x]

120 is roughly 1,400lb.. not sure if winging it is a good idea!

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/tipsandtables/l/bltanksize.htm

Would be bad for it to end up on the 2nd floor!

 

[jc9394]

how tall is your building? If the building is build with I beam, you will be fine.

 

[jc9394]

building usually have more than 4 floors are build with I beam.

 

[pech29]

It's a 3 story building with the first floor being half underground(you go down to get to it from ground level). It was converted to condos in 1986.

 

[JayM]

concrete slab floors are usually a prety good indication of non-residential construction.

Your building inspector will *******NEVER******* give a positive opinion that could result in liability personally or for the municipality he/she works in.

It's a good bet that a partition wall between units is very probably a bearing wall.

Good luck.

 

[jc9394]

Most likely your build is not build with I beam. I will double check with the building management and you insurance first. I have a friend who is on the second floor and his 72 bow leaked, if he did not get the additional condo insurance, he will be paying up to 7k for the damage.

 

[jc9394]

It's a good bet that a partition wall between units is very probably a bearing wall.

Good luck.

Not true if the building is an old church.

 

[pech29]

I got the additional insurance when I got my 72, I'll prolly increase it now though.

I think the building was apartments before they converted it to condos. Not definite on that though...

 

[Mini4x]

concrete slab floors are usually a pretty good indication of non-residential construction.

Good luck.

Not really.. alot of condos and such these days are built that way.

 

[jc9394]

They are use for noise isolation for most single floor condo.

 

[Jim Tansey]

I would be more concerned with a flood and the damage it would cause to adjacent units. I would never set up a large tank unless it was in a single family, but thats just me.

Jim

 

[reefsmurf]

Well, I guess the question is: how much worse is a 120 gallon flood over a 72 gallon flood (or even a smaller tank)?

Once you go over 20-30 gallons of flooding water I 'm not sure you'll see a huge difference, the damage is done (?)

I hate having to worry about having a tank in an apartment building, not to mention the whole "is the floor going to collapse in a year" worry...

 

[MarkO]

Honestly, modern codes cover these loads fine. I mean we're talking about something that's less weight than a waterbed... and that's without the people.
Also, you say a concrete floor? I bet you could park a truck in your condo without any problems (although I wouldn't recommend it!)