Ryan S June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 I asked my condo manager if there was a maximum size allowed for fish tanks in my condo. This was her reply: "On a another note, there is nothing in the Cavendish By-laws that addresses the size of a fish tank. section 3 page 29 of the By-laws on pets state; (a.) No pets or other animals of any kind shall be kept, bred boarded or raised at any time, temporarily or permanently in any unit or on the common elements, except in strict accordance with paragraphs (b) and © of this Section and the RULES AND REGULATIONS of the Board of Directors. (b.) Common Household Pets: The board of directors may by Rule or Regulation permit the maintenance and keeping of common household pets owned by the unit Owner or other person entitled to reside in the unit, but no Rule or Regulation of the Board of Directors shall permit the maintenance, keeping, breeding, boarding and/or raising of any animals, livestock or poultry of any kind, regardless of number, except as aforesaid. ©Rules and Regulations Permitting Pets: Rules and Regulations permitting pets may be based on size , type number or any other classification. The Rules and Regulations may permit some, but not necessarily all, types of common household pets." I interpret that to mean, I can have any size tank I want. The condo is an older building, and I believe the floors and wall and concrete (not wood). So I think the unit could probably hold a large tank. I have renter's insurance already as well. But I don't want to risk anything either. Is there anyway to be sure the floor can hold large tanks? Do any of you have a large tank in a condo? If so, how large? I was considering getting back into the hobby with a 180g or a 210g tank. Maybe a 150g. However, if they are pushing it, I could always get back in with a 75g or maybe a 120g? Thoughts? Thanks, Ryan
karavak June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 I would probably, just to be safe, tell them the size of tank you were thinking about getting. I had similar rules for an old apartment but they thought we I said fish tank it was going to be a 20-30g thing.. not 65. I could tell they weren't happy about that once they learned it was there. I don't know any way to test the floors except to put things on it till it cracks!
jason the filter freak June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 I wouldn't excede a 75 gal all in one, or a 40 breeder with a sump enclosed in a stand. Keep in mind they usually hold you responsible for water or fire damage related to the tank. Buy or borrow a stud finder and make sure your tank goes across the floor joists not in parallel with, if you're not on the ground floor.
El Camaron June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 My friend lived in a nice con/apartment that had all concrete floors and i dont think it had a restriction on tank size, he had a 125 or 180, i cant remember but it was a nice big tank. I would say that if you have concrete floors then you are good but if you have wood floors, proceed with caution.
Der ABT June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 or tell them dimensions not gallons of water, makes it sound not as bad...yeh its a 4 foot tank
BowieReefer84 June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 Honestly, if you are renting I would not go that large. At some point you are going to move, and moving a large tank out of a condo would be a pain if you try to take all the livestock and set it back up. If this is a condo you are purchasing I would consult a structural engineer, and have them STAMP drawings. This will take all the liability off of you, and place it on them. They will need to know exact location and stress points of the stand blah blah blah I am sure. Even with concrete you need to check. If the beams are 40ft apart and you are right in the middle it "could" be an issue. Only way to know is for an engineer to crunch the numbers. I don't think it is possible to be too cautious with tenants underneath you.
Chad June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 ...I have renter's insurance already as well... Also, please make sure you understand what your renter's insurance does/does not cover. Renter's insurance is intended to fill the gap in what homeowner's insurance covers (structure and belongings of the homeowner) and your stuff. When I looked into a very similar question with my renter's insurance (the T on the water supply for my RO unit broke in the middle of the night and put two inches of water on the whole lower level on my place), my renter's insurance covered anything that was mine, but covered nothing that was structure or rented with the condo (the washer). In other words, the damage was not covered at all by my renter's insurance.
Guest thefishman65 June 8, 2011 June 8, 2011 (b.) Common Household Pets: The board of directors may by Rule or Regulation permit the maintenance and keeping of common household pets owned by the unit Owner or other person entitled to reside in the unit, but no Rule or Regulation of the Board of Directors shall permit the maintenance, keeping, breeding, boarding and/or raising of any animals, livestock or poultry of any kind, regardless of number, except as aforesaid. What ???? Ok have I got this the board can create a rule that will allow you to maintain and keep a pet. but none of those rules shall permit you you to maintain or keep that pet. Even if you could keep sounds like you can't feed it (isn't that the boarding part), and it must be dead (can't rasie animals). And finally you will have things breeding like crazy in a tank. So I think you are out of luck . On a more serious not I would keep it small to if you are planning to move.
Ryan S June 9, 2011 Author June 9, 2011 Thanks for the comments everyone. I am going to move, eventually, but maybe not for a year or two. Moving the tank in and out is definitely a consideration. It's a lot of work for sure. I moved my old 135g into and out of my last condo, and it was a pain, to say the least. I am pretty sure the floors of the condo are a foot of solid concrete. You can jump up and down and there is no wood sounds or movement. The walls are concrete, they are solid when you knock on them, and you can't hang any pictures up with nails, so I think we're good on that front. My renter's insurance can cover water damage. I have to pay a little more for it, but I asked them if it can cover a fish tank and the guy said yes, he said it covers "water pumps" or something to that affect. However, if damage happens, as you mentioned Chad, would they cover everything? I am sure they wouldn't. I can see them saying the water pump was sewer related, not aquarium related (even though they may have sold it to me saying otherwise). Or they'd only cover my property and nothing else, etc. So I am definitely not going to hold my breath on renter's insurance covering a 150g water dump in my unit or anything. I just have to put in enough fail-safes to make sure that doesn't happen! I am going to keep my eyes peeled on craigslist, and when the right tank comes along, jump on it. I'm thinking smaller would be easier to get back into the hobby with, to move when the time comes, etc. Maybe a 40g breeder with a nice stand and canopy. So we'll see if anything pops up!
BowieReefer84 June 9, 2011 June 9, 2011 a 40 breeder would be nice. However, have you looked at Mr. Aqua tanks? They offer a 60 gallon rimless, and make nice stands you can stain anyway you like http://mraqua.net/products/frameless-aquariums/ma-61-cube-glass-aquarium-2/ You could get away with a single metal halide for nice full coverage, where you would definately need two on the 40 breeder (or T5's)...
Ryan S June 10, 2011 Author June 10, 2011 For $500, this looks like a fun tank, if it wasn't so far away: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2000345
Chad June 10, 2011 June 10, 2011 Just because I am a pot stirrer by nature... Pick up a full size pickup truck from enterprise (~55 dollars a day) on Friday night. Google maps says that is ~17 hours a direction for 34 hours of drive time (doable in one shot with 2+ drivers). Get in and have the tank packed up by ~5pm the next day. Find cheap motel (usually ~$50 in BFE, US). Leave after a solid sleep of 8-10 hours. Get in late day Sunday and return the rental truck (which you put ~1100 miles on and probably gets 18mpg so that is ~$250 in gas). So for you and a buddy, a quick weekend trip and ~$1k total, you can have a steal of a tank
zygote2k June 11, 2011 June 11, 2011 FWIW, I work on a 450 gallon tank in a 5th floor condo. I'm sure it was signed off by a structural engineer too.
BowieReefer84 June 11, 2011 June 11, 2011 Check this out... http://cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65859
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