[casey711]

I'm planning on buying a 55 gallon tank for my house. I've never owned a salt water tank before. My only experience is a 10-gallon freshwater tank. In considering where to put the tank (weight bearing issues on my floors) it appears that the best place for the tank would be in my bedroom.

My girlfriend is concerned about the noise level and smell. Is the sound of the pump or the filter loud enough to disrupt sleep?

 

[casey711]

I appreciate the level of response I have received. Such a warm and helpful community here. Thank you all.

You can make them run silent. It's not difficult. It'll take a lot of research and understanding of how siphons work (if you go sump),. A 55 would not be difficult at all to make silent. What I'm really wondering is why are you concerned about the weight issue of a 55g? You are looking at about 475lbs over a 4' long area. A footprint of 48"x12" leads to a square footage/poundage ratio of 118lbs per square foot. You telling me that at 150lbs or more you have to walk lightly around your home so as not to fall through the floor? You could put that tank anywhere without it falling through.

Perhaps I do not understand the dynamics of what my floors can take. The floors are wooden and the joists underneath would run perpendicular underneath the only spot in the living room where I could put the tank. The tank would sit on 2 joists underneath. The floors are not overly weak but do creak in some spots.

I've even thought about looking into more support underneath.

Even if I did have to downscale a bit I'm thinking the living room is the best place for the tank. After beginning research on the tank I read that the weight came out to be 10 lbs per gallon therefore making it 550lbs.