This is a technical and lengthy post, so I apologize in the beginning.
I recently had a center brace fail on a 72G Bowfront, which caused me to look into replacing the tank with a 75G rectangular for a variety of reasons.
I should note first that I mistakenly did not consider the center brace an integral part of the tank. In other words, it failed a long time ago. Yes, apparently I am a moron. Yesterday, in reviewing some of the forum posts, I came across a post regarding this. After reading the post and contacting Aqueon, I left the office early and emptied the tank.
However, that caused me to look into another post regarding wood-framed buildings and large aquaria (DIY section, last page). I reviewed the link written by Kevin Bauman in that post. So, my question actually relates to that subject. Here it goes:
As stated, I had a 72G aquarium located in a 2nd floor, front bedroom/office of a typical 1887 Chicago SFH, rehabbed in 2006. I mention the age because the floor joists are true 2x10s of old growth wood. Further, any failing joists were either sistered or replaced during the rehab. The tank has been in that location for the past 5.5 years. I would like to put the replacement 75G in the same location. The tank is on the front wall of the house. In other words, it is sitting parallel to the floor joists (not preferable).
On the other hand, during the 2006 rehab, a header running the length of the house was installed, bisecting the floor into 8 and 12 foot spans. The tank is located on the 8 foot section, which is a plus because an 8 foot span is a relatively short distance for a 2x10 joist. The front door is located directly beneath the location of the tank (for what that is worth.) And of course, the outer wall that the tank is placed against is a load-bearing wall. Finally, to the right of the tank (the remainder of the 8 foot span) is a closet. I mention that because the closet is empty, meaning there is virtually no live load on the remainder of the length of the joists supporting the tank.
Oh, and the final structural comment concerns the header. The tank actually sits on top of the header. While it is not centered on it, the header does run below the tank to some degree as well as the supporting column, which runs down into the basement.
With that said, does anyone have an opinion on whether the location is safe? I never considered 75G to be a large tank, so it never crossed my mind. However, after my recent revelation, I am now questioning everything.
