I have a bowing floor

[MrHumphries]

Sup all,

Well I was just doing a WC on samsons tank, I noticed when I stepped down from the stool, the floor board moved, Its never done this before. So i went down and took a look at the joists, and low and behold, I can see them bowing Its lot a huge amount, but enough to cause the floor to move.

For now I have only filled his tank to about the 3/4 mark, I have a eheim that will work at that level, Can i run my tank this way for a bit Can I even run it at 1/2 filled if I needed too, that would make it a 90 gallon till I decide what to do?, We are moving sometime in june, and I was hoping to find a place with a finished basement? I don't want to have to give this tank up it is a good tank and I got it at a great price.

On a lighter note, Samson will now sit in my hand he's so soft! he'll sit in it for a while looking up at me the whole time , and then float out, his fins flutter and touch my fingers as he leaves my hand, feels so cool And he loves belly rubs too!

I could never give him up now

Any advice would be welcome, well any that doesn't include me giving Samson up LOL!

Don

[Brent]

Keep the tank 3/4 or 1/2 filled until you move? If you don't have another tank handy, that's about your only option.

[MrHumphries]

Keep the tank 3/4 or 1/2 filled until you move? If you don't have another tank handy, that's about your only option.

Thats is my thinking as well, the only other tank big enough has my daughters oscars in it, and looks like she won't being getting anything bigger till we move either , okay I will leave at 3/4 for now, next change I will drop it to 1/2 I just wasn't sure the Eheim would work at such a low level?

Don

[Nick]

put 4x4's under the joists to support the tank?

[Brent]

put 4x4's under the joists to support the tank?

I don't think that works after the floor has already bowed.

Not sure on the Eheim.

[Flutter]

Yeah, it doesn't work once the floor has bowed. As long as the intake is fully submerged I don't see a problem with lowering the water. Do you have the tank against an outside wall? I thought you had but I'm getting the impression that it isn't. It really should be as the inside walls won't be load bearing ones.

[J-P]

strange ... I thought I replied to this ...

When we did our basement reno I noticed a cracked floor joist for the kitchen. We had to jack it up a bit then laminate it. The jacks are super cheap ($40~60)

[MrHumphries]

Yeah, it doesn't work once the floor has bowed. As long as the intake is fully submerged I don't see a problem with lowering the water. Do you have the tank against an outside wall? I thought you had but I'm getting the impression that it isn't. It really should be as the inside walls won't be load bearing ones.

Yes the tank is agaist an inside wall, I found out after a bit of investigation that under the rub is a wooden floor composed of wood slates and its one of these that have broken free, under that is a normal plywood floor, I also went down with a ruler and checked the bow, and its really not that much.
but for now I will keep the water lvl at 3/4s till we move.

Thanks to everyone that replied to this thread.. , I will also try and get a pic or vid of samson sitting in my hand, its by far the coolest thing ever

Don

[Pufferpunk]

Is there a basement under your tank? I've got metal joists holding up my 125g & 90g.

[Dadof4]

For my 180 and my 250 I had to reinforce the floor. I used 4x4's and adjustable jack posts. One tank runs parallel with the direction of the joists. That one needed 2 sections of 4x4 run perpendicular to the joists, and long enough to cover 3 joists, with one Jack post per 4x4 section. The other tank runs perpendicular to the floor joists. This one I ran one long 4x4 directly under the tank with 2 jack posts to support it. I could put a small elephant on there. Here's the posts I used http://www.tigerbrandjackpost.com/

What concerns me is the stress that that bow is putting on the tank. Tanks that size need to be level so as not to put too much force on one pane of the glass, causing it to crack or the seam to burst. Even at 90 gallons, that's a lot of weight shift even at 1 degree of tilt. Also the pressure that puts on the stand is tremendous. Stands are built so they tank the weight of the tank straight downward, the little shift in weight puts pressure on areas that are not meant to bear that much stress and will eventually give out.....

[Flutter]

So the fact that my floor is crooked is more trouble than I thought?

[MrHumphries]

My floor is not crocked LOL! and the bow, is hardly nociable, maybe I made it out to big a big bow, I am sorry. The board that is loose is the hardwood, not the ply wood, of the main floor, i also checked the level of my tank, ist is perfect from front to back and side to side..

I am still worried about the weight, So I will lower the level in my tank till we move... its still a HUGE tank so runnning it as a 90 Gal is still big for him right now.

Thanks everyone I am grateful

Don

[Flutter]

No, MY floor is crooked. The left end of the tank is lower than the right. I never thought it was a problem but it sounds like it might be.

[MrHumphries]

No, MY floor is crooked. The left end of the tank is lower than the right. I never thought it was a problem but it sounds like it might be.

Oh I see LOL!

[Pufferpunk]

No, MY floor is crooked. The left end of the tank is lower than the right. I never thought it was a problem but it sounds like it might be.

Great way to crack a tank.