Strengthen floor for aquariums

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Im sure its still nailed to the studs you will just have to pry it up. its probably going to mess up the floor a little not much you can do about that. you may even have to notch out a small section to get a large pry bar in.
 
Thanks for the reply. I wanted to see if there was something else I could do before busting out the pry bar.
 
You could try a thick putty knife , by itself or with it under the prybar. You could also buy a thin prybar for trimwork.:)
 
Thanks for the tips inspectorD. I'll be going down today or tomorrow to work on it some more. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
We have got the floor up, and we have commenced digging the dirt out, in search for hard dirt. The top layer was pretty hard and too a bit to get through it and it seems to be getting softer as we go down. I don't know if this is normal, and if so how far do we dig?

Thanks for the help.

ETA: The joists are 2x8s 16.5" apart center to center. There is a beam in the middle of the floor, about 12' from the wall we are putting the aquarium by. The aquarium will be running perpendicular to the joists.
 
Well, if you can get to the areas of the floor you need support under, try a beam.
You can dig a 12 inch deep by 24inch square piers to set it on. Then at least a 4x8 beam with 6x6 under that for posts. Also put some solid blocking in between the joists, on top of the beam to make the whole thing solid. This way you have the weight evenly distributed to the beam below.
I am no engineer and you should get one, but I at least want you to do it the best you can.
Have fun under the house, and wear some respirators....you will thank me later.:D
 
I am just about ready to start with the concrete and having never done anything with concrete am looking for advice and tips on how to best do it.

I got some of the 12" diameter round forms on the advice of my uncle, and some 1/2" rebar. If I am understanding what I have read, I make X's with the rebar.

My main concern is with mixing the concrete. I got one of those plastic tubs that lowes has by there concrete. I was guessing that that was what they were for. Link to the tub.

Edited to fix link

Thanks for the help, you guys have been great.
 
you dont need a perfect mix for what you are doing. just take you time in mixing though. dont use the whole bag of cement so you will have more to add when you add to much water. only add a little water at a time. you will know when you get it right.

As far as rebar goes i dont know to much. just that it can cause more trouble that its worth sometimes when it rusts. I normally only use it to spaning a distance with the concrete or connecting 2 sections of concrete together(seperate pours)
 
True, you don't need rebar for this application.

When you mix the concrete, keep the dry concrete pushed to one end of the tub and pour water into the other end. Then pull some of the concrete into the water, mix it in, pull a little more, mix it in, and keep doing that. This way you keep the mix consistent and manageable.

Be sure to clean that tub when you're done. It comes in real handy for gardening and many other purposes. :)
 
Thanks for the tips. Now I have something to start from. I'll keep you posted on how things go, it may be a few weeks it's finals time and so things are pretty busy at school.
 
I got it all done. I wanted to show pictures of how the reinforcements looked and stuff, but I kept forgetting the camera as I put them in, then when I finally remembered to bring it the batteries where dead. I really appreciate all the help, I couldn't have done it without your help. The tank is level and the floor is holding great.

Thanks again.
 
Thats great news glad everything worked out
 
Glad to see the site helped you out. :)
And thanks for posting those pictures so folks can understand what was goin on.;)
 

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