I nevertheless recall the sound. It wasn't a snap or a bang. It was a slow, agonizing groan coming from the floorboards of my third-floor apartment. I had just ended scaping a lovely 55-gallon long. It was my arrogance and joy. Id spent three months salary upon imported Ohko rock and high-grade ADA Amazonia soil. I felt taking into consideration a king. That is, until I realized my "king" setup weighed as much as a baby elephant. I hadnt used an aquarium substrate calculator weight calculator back up then. I just assumed "Its forlorn water, right?" Wrong. entirely wrong.

When you get into this hobby, you think roughly fish. You think virtually plants. You think more or less the absolute CO2 levels. You rarely think not quite the structural integrity of your joists. But if you ignore the math, gravity will eventually introduce itself to you in the most costly mannerism possible. If you desire to avoid a literal indoor swimming pool in your buzzing room, you compulsion to comprehend how to calculate the full weight of your setup aquarium. Its not just just about the glass and the liquid. It's the total of its parts. And those parts are heavy.

Lets be honest. We all eyeball things. We see at a 20-gallon tank and think, "I can carry that." Sure, empty, its a breeze. But water is a dense, unforgiving mistress. One gallon of fresh water weighs all but 8.34 pounds. Saltwater?