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A friend just called and said his brother-in-law wanted to get rid of a 6ft, 125g tank for $50 USD. I took it, figuring that I could always sell it for at least $50 if it wouldn't work out for me.

I'll be moving in August to a 3rd-floor apartment and wonder if it would be stupid to set up such a weighty tank there. I called the complex and they said that there were no restrictions for tanks, but I'm still concerned about safety (I don't want to squash my downstairs neighbors).

Would you take the risk? (or has anyone done this in the past?) I know the building was built in the 1970's, but that's about it. Thanks a lot!!

Andy

I am in construction,and I would say you would not have a problem,unless of course it is an old apartment building.
You would want to keep it near a load bearing wall and also would want to check and see what the floor is constructed of if you can(for eg.it could be wood or concrete)
The other problem is not if it goes through the floor but if it spills it's contents onto the floor for whatever reason,this can create a lot of damage not only in your apartment but in the apartments below so you may want to look into insurance for this.

Birger

As Birger said, it's all in the construction of the building. I'm a designer and Birger probably curses the drawings people like me produce("You want me to do what?"). The third floor could be trouble for a tank like that, depending on how the building was built. I would recommend concrete floors. You'll have close to 1000 pounds of water plus the weight of the tank plus the weight of the substrate. Will this be your only tank? Please be very careful on this.
Amanda

This wouldn't be my only tank...I'll have a 65 somewhere else in the room and a 50 somewhere else in the apartment.

I'll be making some calls to find out what the floor is made of, but more than likely I'll be trading the tank for something smaller, or some nice fish.

if the building's build in the 70's, it's likely to have concrete floors.

you can go completely off the scales with those....I've known people who stacked several 150G tanks at the 8th floor or so....concrete's very strong.

if it's wood.....well, this is easy to find out; all you have to do is walk in; a wooden floor reverbs! it's hollow.....

you're right....concrete! I just called and they confirmed that the buildings are made of concrete. That eases my mind quite a bit. thanks for all the help!

Andy