Large Aquariums in High Rises

[Rex]

I've been searching the net but haven't come across anything conclusive. I currently live on the ground floor of a low apartment building so this hasn't been an issue, but there's a good possibility I may be moving onto the 10th floor of a 12 floor high rise building in the near future. I'm a bit nervous about the weight of my 75 gallon. As far as I know, the construction is all concrete and brick. Should I be concerned at all?

[Quatro]

Probably not.  I had a 75gal on the 5th floor of a 9 story apartment with no problems.  If you are concerned put it closer to an exterior wall.

[karjean]

Are the legs small or spread wide? If spread wide the the weight is disperse, if the floor is cement the there is no issue.

[veron]

75g is nothing for the floor, but,, you might wanna check with the landlord and/or your content insurance holder. if that tank lets go and causes damage you might be liable.

[lost_at_sea]

+1 in insurance.

I have a 90g on the 7th floor of my condo, I flooded about 3-4gallons of RODI water over a few hours onto my hardwood flooring, doesn't sound like much but hte wood EATS up the water.

Thanks to insurance though I got my hwood floor replaced after a few months after it splintered and popped out of place.

If it had been more I would also have been liable for damages to the unit below mine.

Ohhh RODI.

[Rex]

I checked with the landlord but she had no clue. Renters insurance is required for this place so I suppose it's a question best directed to them. Never dealt with renters insurance though...is there any one company that is the best to deal with?

[karjean]

Any insurance companies sells it, their is the Cooperator's, anybody that sells car insurance have apartment and house insurance. It will provide you a piece of mind.

[SWFitzy]

in my case of getting renters insurance, my automobile policy went down 15%... now on 3 insured vehicles it makes a heck of a difference

[Brent Shaver]

Depending on the bulding, and I am not aware of any buildings that are over 6 floors that would be wood based.  All buildings for fire code and contruction are made as a concrete box apartments, the only holes are for windows, holes for piping and the door, otherwise you are completely encased in concrete and steel reinforcements.

I know for a fact that if you are in a larger building the only concern you need to address in your insurance.  If you get a leak and are not there to contain or take care of it and it makes its way to the apartment below and you damage anything, drywall, funiture or electronics in the apartment/s below you will be held accountable.

In some cases (very few) buildings will include in there lease that you may not have waterbeds, aquariums or anything that could leak and cause damage.

I actually maintain buildings for a living and deal with the laws and norms for leases regularly.

Hope this helps
Brent

[new2salt]

Depending on the building, and I am not aware of any buildings that are over 6 floors that would be wood based.  All buildings for fire code and contruction are made as a concrete box apartments, the only holes are for windows, holes for piping and the door, otherwise you are completely encased in concrete and steel reinforcements.

Correct - there are a few residential low-rise buildings of wood construction in the Provence - max height 4 floors for wood frame apartments
Weight of fish tanks is usually not an issue, unless several hundred gallons in concrete structure.
Heck there are apartment buildings with swimming pools on the roof - 25,000 gal +
Water weight about 10 lbs./gal  - 6.25 gal/cu.ft.

I would be more concerned about a large tank (150 gal +) in new residential light-weight construction.

Insurance IS A MUST - Tennant packages for upwards of 20 - 30k contents and 3rd party liability, usually are available for less than $250-300/yr. And available from most Insurance Companies. And if anything happens and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, your butt is covered.

[Rex]

Thanks for all the great information, definitely gives me peace of mind.
As I said, renter's insurance is a requirement for tenancy in the building I'm moving into, so I will look into that. I asked the worker dealing with my application/lease about the aquarium and she had no idea if it was safe or not, but she didn't voice any objections so I imagine there's no such clause for disallowing them.

My current building is a 4 story complex which does feel like it has a wooden structure (not 100% sure on that but the upper hallways sure feel rickety), so that's what caused the confusion. Never lived in a high rise so it was only an assumption that it was concrete/brick, but now I know that's definitely the case. Thanks again!