fish tanks in apartments

[sjfishguy]

I am planning on getting a 90 gal tank, but I am a little worried about the weight. It will wind up being nearly half a ton when full. Does anyone living in an apartment have a tank this size or larger with no problems? Should I be concerned? For those of you who do have it, is it located on an outside or inside wall? Thank you.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 100 gallon in my apartment. It seems to be doing okay, but then again, I haven't checked with my downstairs neighbor to see if his cieling is cracked. I have the tank as a room divider, from my entry to my living room.

Do a search here and you will find lots of info on big tanks and the placement./weight issue.

HTH

Brett

 

[reefNewbie]

I have a 90 gallon in my apartment on an inside wall. Ive calculated the weight to be about 1600-1700 pounds. So far ive had no problem with the weight, but i was really worried at first. I have had it for about 3 months this way and have yet to hear my downstairs neighbors complain about their ceiling cracking, LOL.l

 

[mountainbiker619]

I have a 100, 60 and a 40 in my upstairs apartment..no problems as of yet (almost 2 years now). You should do some jumping up and down on your floor to check how secure and solid your floor is. At one time I even had a 150 running..needless to say, everytime I got home from work, I was exspecting to see a nice big hole in my floor and a missing 150 aquarium.

 

[MelanieF]

To anyone who has a large fishtank in their apartment I would like to give some advice...

If that tank ever goes all over the place your landlord will be looking for some reimbursement and your downstairs neighbors may want you to pay for anything of theirs that was damaged. A renter's insurance policy can save you a lot of headache. I have one w/ $10,000 coverage on my personal property and $100,000 liability coverage in the event I'm ever liable for damages to someone else's property. It only costs me $79 per year with the option to pay in installments.

I'm not trying to push insurance or anything but renter's insurance is an option for people for good reason. If you had none and the total damages to your landlord's property was too much for you to pay he/she could have your wages garnished for ten years and renew that once until they were paid in full. At least that's the law in NY State. You may want to check the laws in your area. I don't know about you but too much of my paycheck is gone before I see it already.

 

[brandon4291]

Excellent advice, not to mention replacement of the reef that caused the initial claims in the first place!

 

[Emperator]

Excellent advice, not to mention replacement of the reef that caused the initial claims in the first place!

my renter's insurance (state farm) will not cover the livestock in the tank. only the tank and equipment. my livestock will most likely cost 3-4x more than the tank and equipment. each coverage will vary from another.

btw, it costs me $360/yr. damn, wish it were only $80 like melbelle's.

 

[squeezix]

I have a 38 with a 20 gallon sump and refugium on a second floor. I have worked for and am friends with many contractors. Firstly, you can safely get a 180 as long as it's against a load bearing wall (provided termites have not eaten your joists) Secondly, make sure your sump can handle any backflow from you main tank should you have a power outage. So measur your backflow and build your sump to suit

 

[Reaper]

I've got a 120gal in my bedroom upstairs. I've been woried lately because the floor boards feel abnormal around the tank, under my feet! IT'S MY MUM'S HOUSE!

 

[Enzo]

one of my friends once had a 75, 20, 38, 2x10, and a 29 in his upstairs room. No troubles there.

 

[sjfishguy]

Thank you all very much for the informative replies. It is greatly appreciated.