aquariums in manufactured homes

[Kevin Camacho]

I have a 60 x 18 rectangular aquarium. It's a 110 gallon aquarium. Would my mobile home which is fairly new hold up this much weight? Would I have to go under the house and find where the beams are ? or does it matter ? I havent put water in it yet until I'm sure it would be OK. Advise anyone ?

[jgn]

IYou are only looking at 660 lbs so it shouldn't be a big deal espically if your joists are on 16" centers. If the stand has small feet it would be a good idea to have a wider base on the stand so the weight is distributed over a wider area.

[Mark]

110 gallons of water is over 900 lbs, then you must add in the weight of the aquarium itself (at least 100 lbs if it's acrylic, twice that if it's glass), the equipment (pumps, filters, lights, etc), rocks/coral (probably at least 40-50 lbs) and then the fish themselves.

A 100 gallon aquarium can easily weight 1500 lbs when setup.

I suggest you shore up the flooring, and I make this suggestion for any frame home (ie, any home where the floor is not concrete). Get under the home, determine the direction of the joists in relation to the tank, and then shore it up using a 4x4 and one or two floor jacks.

That much weight on a wood frame floor WILL cause it to sag over time if it's not directly supported. With any luck, the location you select will have a support pier directly under it, but that's just luck.

[jgn]

Sorry I was thinking about gasoline not water and 917 lbs sounds about right. The best place to put the tank would be against an outside wall where you have support.

[rmurray]

My fish must be on a diet...together they do not weigh more than a pound......
LOL

[Mark]

In my last tank, I had one fish that was about 27" long and probably 10-12 lbs. He ate anything that fit in his mouth (and it was a big mouth!).

[Nick]

Kevin, the floor system of your manufactured home was constructed to carry 40lbs per sq foot. With that size of tank, plus all the materials and water you are overloading your home, more than 3x the amount. I agree with Mark, you should add additional support under the home in order to carry this load.

Be aware if you do get problems with the home, the manufacturer will not be responsible for making corrections of problems that can be related to the tank.

[jgn]

Nick: If what you say is true than an 80lb person cannot walk in a home because he displaces about one sf and would be over limit. How can you make such a statement without knowing joist centers, thickness, subfloor material and thickness.

[Mac]

When they're walking on it, the load is only present for a moment, rather than all the time. My wife weighs about 250 - If I'm laying on the floor, I can feel it move momentarily.