Tanks in apartments?

[bronck83]

I've been wanting to get a bigger tank(between 60-75) but I'm moving into a still unknown apartment in 2 months and I heard a lot of apartments don't allow anything over like 20 gallons? Is this really true? Anyone ever had any problems/experience with this?

I know I could just set it up and hope they never have to come in for any maintenance or other issues, but I'd hate to get it all setup and running for months and then have them force me to remove it or move out. :at_wits_end:

[Demm]

i've lived in 2 apartments, i have a 6g, a 29g, and a 55g, soon to get a 110g or a 125g. my apts know about it, and they never told me nothing. maintenance has even been in here and has never said a word to me about it. they were more concerned about the chihuahua that i had instead of the fish. they didnt make me do a deposit for the fish either, but advised me to get renters insurance.

however if your on anything other then the 1st floor then make sure the floor doesnt collapse lol. i requested to be on the first floor where i'm at now. at the old apt i was on the 2nd floor and i had the 55g and the 2g side be side alongside one wall.

[captexas]

Every complex is different so it's best to ask them. Probably the main concern is having one on the second/third floors as they don't want any floods dripping down to the lower floor. Same reason they don't allow waterbeds on upper floors. The weight of a larger tank might be an issue depending on how well the apartments were built. If you are worried about it, get a first floor apartment and you will be fine.

[bronck83]

I just called the apt complex I'm leaning towards and they didn't even know what their aquarium policy is, she'd find out & told me to call back monday. Don't ask, don't tell? :ph34r:I'm looking at 3 bedrooms & when I move in the available units will be on 2nd or 3rd floors. These apartments are only a few years old and the biggest the tank I'm gonna get is 75 plus a sump, am I gonna collapse the floor?

[demodiki]

I had a 55 on the 3rd floor...nothing was ever said and they were always in there.

[copperband]

the only thing you could have a problem with is if the tank got a leak

[bronck83]

True, but that is what insurance is for. I was going to go with a used tank, but I think I'm going to get a new one built by glasscages.com, this is one of the reasons why.


the only thing you could have a problem with is if the tank got a leak

[RayAllen]

Glass cages tank will be heavier than your normal 75g built be All Glass or Oceanic, so that will only add to the weight. Problem being on the 2nd or 3rd floor is that if it leaks not only will you be paying for your apartment repairs but those under yours to. Insurance will help with this but im not sure if it will cover other peoples belongings...... Just make sure to Cross your T's and Dot your I's

[bronck83]

Glass cages tank will be heavier than your normal 75g built be All Glass or Oceanic, so that will only add to the weight. Problem being on the 2nd or 3rd floor is that if it leaks not only will you be paying for your apartment repairs but those under yours to. Insurance will help with this but im not sure if it will cover other peoples belongings...... Just make sure to Cross your T's and Dot your I's

Curious...how common is it for a tank to leak?

[captexas]

First, most insurance companies do everything possible to get out of covering for any kind of water damage. So don't count on insurance to cover you if something happens. You need to make sure your insurance company will cover a fish tank to begin with. And as stated, it's not just your belongings that will have to be paid for, but your downstairs neighbors, the damage to the flooring/sheetrock of the apartment, and the water and mold remediation.

Second, it's not so much that the tank will leak, but spilling water or having water overflow a sump or water storage tank is a guarantee in this hobby of ours. We always try to be prepared and prevent such things, but they seem to happen anyways.

[erikharrison]

I have a 75 gallon brick style withe really thick glass. I have a 29g sump underneath. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. I weigh a tad over 200. Thats 200 lbs, with all of that weight resting on two things, my feet. If I was scared of me and three friends standing in an area the size of a tank, I would not move there. :) It's all about how that weight is distributed. Oh yeah, we live on the second floor. I will be putting a larger aquarium in our apartment, unless we get a house before that. Our apartment manager stated that people had much larger aquariums than mine, so it set my mind at ease. Our apartments were built last year, and they are "nice", so I trust they are built a little better than an average apartment.

[Henry]

I had a 215 in my apartment, granted i was on the first floor. I had a 75 on a third floor apartment. no problem, its all about distribution of weight.

as for the apartments being built better because they are nice, I believe that is far from true, all apartment are built pretty much the same. The only nice things are the finishing details which have nothing to do with the structural components of the buildings. I did construction on numerous homes and apartments and it didn't matter what the sale price of the house was going to be, the construction was all the same. same finger jointed studs were used in the 5000 sq ft house that were used on the 1200 sq ft house no different.

[RayAllen]

Curious...how common is it for a tank to leak?


The tank leaking is not what Id be concerned about; Its isnt a common occurance. Its your tank or sump overflowing that would cause the real damage. Just make sure to do your plumbing and sump correctly to prevent any overflows.

[erikharrison]

I agree whole heartedly with Ray. My biggest fear is of a sump overflow, but there are ways to cut that chance down, if not eliminate it. My return is near the surface of the water in the sump. I also have an auto top off that keeps the sump level in check as to not run the pump dry. The top off only runs at night, and that is when I am home. If the siphon managed to break, which isn't that likely, the display can handle the excess water pumped from the sump until the pump starts to run dry. If the return got clogged, the sump can handle the water from the tank since my float switches are set at the lowest point to allow for more water in the sump. Then the only way that it could overflow is at night, when I am home. It would be the ATO topping off and something else failing as well. The ATO makes a loud beep while it is on, so it would wake me up before the situation got out of hand.

There are other ways around it, but planning is better than having it all dump on the floor.

[chapel210]

I agree whole heartedly with Ray. My biggest fear is of a sump overflow, but there are ways to cut that chance down, if not eliminate it. My return is near the surface of the water in the sump. I also have an auto top off that keeps the sump level in check as to not run the pump dry. The top off only runs at night, and that is when I am home. If the siphon managed to break, which isn't that likely, the display can handle the excess water pumped from the sump until the pump starts to run dry. If the return got clogged, the sump can handle the water from the tank since my float switches are set at the lowest point to allow for more water in the sump. Then the only way that it could overflow is at night, when I am home. It would be the ATO topping off and something else failing as well. The ATO makes a loud beep while it is on, so it would wake me up before the situation got out of hand.

There are other ways around it, but planning is better than having it all dump on the floor.

I have had an overflow happen, and I live in an upstairs apartment. Luckily nothing happened downstairs, but it was caused by my maxijet that's hooked to my uv sterilizer. The power went out, and the pump kept siphoning out the water. I wasn't home, and lost half of the tank water. Like I said though, I was lucky because their was no leak downstairs. :nailbiting: I moved the maxijet into the sump to keep that problem from happening again. I did get lucky, and I run a 75g tank. Upgrading to 100g.

[PeeJ]

I have had an overflow happen, and I live in an upstairs apartment. Luckily nothing happened downstairs, but it was caused by my maxijet that's hooked to my uv sterilizer. The power went out, and the pump kept siphoning out the water. I wasn't home, and lost half of the tank water. Like I said though, I was lucky because their was no leak downstairs. :nailbiting: I moved the maxijet into the sump to keep that problem from happening again. I did get lucky, and I run a 75g tank. Upgrading to 100g.

1) Why did it siphon water out of the tank? Was it pumping out of the tank, through the UV and into the sump or something?
2) I'm shocked that 30 gallons of water on the floor didn't cause major damage.

[chapel210]

Yea, I was pretty dumb to put the pump in the aquarium. So it worked as a siphon to a certain point. Like mentioned above though, I moved into the sump to prevent that from happening again.

[PeeJ]

The fact that you run it from the tank isn't dumb. The fact that you were pumping water from the tank into the sump makes me scratch my head a bit. How long did it take you to get the return pump to match without a flow differential?

[chapel210]

It didn't really make a big difference because I use a maxijet 400 which gives it a slow flow into the sump. So the water in the sump barely raised.