Habitat - Indoor :: How many gallons?

[emma]

How many gallons of water do you think a 2nd story floor could handle?

[Starchick]

Are you in a house or an apartment?

[megcornell]

That depends on a lot of things- whether you're placing it near a wall or reinforced area, how the building is constructed, how old it is... It's not a matter of which story you put the tank on, it's where you place it, and how stable things are in general.

You should figure out where the floors are reinforced and go from there.
Keep in mind that 1 gallon weighs about 8 lbs, plus the weight of the tank, when you're thinking about how much weight you're dealing with.

[emma]

I am in a house. The house was built in the 1920's or 30's. Probably near a window but I would have the curtain shut most of the time.

[Kallistos]

Probably not a lot, I mean it's probably supported by wooden cross braces. I'd say 40 gallons?

[DavidY]

Yeah a 40 or 55 gallon would probably be safe. A good way to tell how strong the structure is is to stand on the floor in the middle of a room and gently bounce up and down a little. If you can feel the floor sag or things in the room start shaking a lot then it's not very strong. There will probably be some give but it shouldn't be too noticeable. You could also get 4 or 5 adults and stand them next to each other where you would like the fish tank to go and see if the floor sags (or collapses).