55 Gallon Tank on Main Floor Questions

[lucius]

I did a quick search and found an older thread about a similar subject.  It suggested that I start another thread rather than reply to it...so here it is.

I'm thinking about setting up a 55 gallon tank on my main floor.  I read on here and other sites that the tank should be located near an outside wall and ideally be perpendicular to the floor joists.  

1.  The spot I selected has the garage on the other side.  So is this still considered an outside wall?

2.  The floor joists run parallel but there are two floor joists close together, about nine inches apart.  Since the 55 gallon is 12 inches wide, do you think that would be OK?  There's also an 18 inch gap between the floor joist and the basement/foundation wall that I'm worried about.  Here's a pic.

Thanks.

[exv152]

Ideally you would place it perpendicular to the joists, but a 55g is not that heavy. If it was a 75 or 90 I would suggest otherwise. If you really want you can always reinforce those joists to put your mind at ease, but essentially 400-500 lbs is like having two adult sized men standing on your floor, if the floor can't handle that you've got bigger problems.