Hardwood floor protection?

[Paulsc]

Hello all,

Does anyone out there have any best practices to protect your hardwood flooring underneath your tank?

I'm just getting started in the hobby, been doing a lot of research & putting together my setup (80 gal. fowlr), & I really want to avoid ruining my floor.

Thanks for any advice!

Paul

[sawillia]

I've got Redwood floors that I just put in.

I just put a 130 on top of them and this is what I did.

I went to LOWES and got a Shower Floor Liner (PVC/Rubber material that goes under the tile on a home made shower floor)

I cut that to be over sized to go up the wall behind and out to the front.

I also went to Sams (can also find this in Lowes) go the Dense Foam floor pads. (You use them to cushion under your feet on concrete. That lock together like a jigsaw puzzle about 1/2 - 3/4 thick.

I placed that on top of the shower liner under the tank. I made sure it was level and then filled the tank up.

I covered the ugly grey liner with a rubber backed mat (bathroom kitchen type)

We'll see when I remove the tank how I did... If you need more info PM me or email me I'll take some pictures....

[ScottyDon't]

I bought a rug same size as stand and also put carpet underpadding under that.

[cccapt]

When I set up my tank, I used rubber matting that I cut about 4" wide and set it around the edges of the stand where all the weight would be. The floor is oak parquet. I just moved the tank about a month ago after it sat in the same place for about 6 yrs and there was a black rectangle (only the outline of the stand and about 4" wide) imprinted in the wood. Once I cleaned up the salt creep and splash marks on the rest of the floor that was behind the tank it looked like nothing was ever there, but the black rectangle won't come out.
When I set up the tank this time I didn't put anything under it. Wood stand directly on wood floor.

edit: The rubber matt was the industrial stuff thats used where people have to stand or work on concrete floors. It's about 1/2" think and pretty firm.

[BruiseAndy]

Just to also let you know (from personal experience) that the light your tank casts, and sunlight coming through windows usually bleaches out the floor around your tank to a degree. Not really noticable until you decide to move tank and have a 2'x4' section of unbleached floor.

[RobinsonFam1]

i have built several "pads" for people. i use 3/4" ply or osb. add tile or wood to the top of it and add some teim or easy molding to finish the edge. looks great, easy, keeps water off the good floor.
if you build your own stand you can incorporate this into the design.
also when i build stands my customers have an option for me to install that shower liner inside them to catch any water from the sump etc as well. I have a supplier that i get blue liner from instead of that grey stuff. looks much better and thicker mills too.

[goby1]

Just don't have a spill or leak....

BWahahahahahahaha!!!!

[bergzy]

from my experience...

the worse thing to place a tank on, esp a large one, is first carpet, then hardwood. spills are 100% guranteed and no matter how studious you are...water will creep under the stand and wreak havoc on the flooring.

okay, over with the johnny raincloud...

best thing to do is: call a hardwood finisher. explain your situation and listen to what he has to say. if ness, spend a few pennies on his recommended course of action (get a second opinion if it sounds outlandish) and have that piece of mind.

best flooring material for a big fish tank?

inside the house...ceramic tile! travertine and marble is an okay choice but are in need to be refinished and sealed every so often. i have marble because i love to look. just be careful if you spill water on it...can you say fractured skull from falling?

outside the house: good ol' concrete floor!!! all my equipment is located in the garage so i really have little...actually, no concern about water spills, floods and whatever havoc that comes with having two 100g sumps.

regardless of how careful i am in the house working on the main display, i ALWAYS manage to spill some water on the floor. don't fool yourself into thinking that you won't or will clean it up right away...cuz you will and you won't! ;)

[Paulsc]

Thanks everybody for the input. ccapt, your experience is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Has anyone else tried wood stand on wood floor?

I was originally going to try a carpet/rug on the floor, then put a rubber liner over the carpet, so it will stay dry. Then the stand. Any thoughts?

Paul

[Ocicat]

Paulsc I've been following this thread b/c I am in the same boat; I am planning a large tank, and I have new maple floors that I'm worried about. I am putting the sump in the basement -- and my biggest reason for doing that is b/c the thought of making water changes over my hardwood was not a nice prospect. I'm still concerned about splashing, and I know that when I have my arms in the tank doing maintenance I am bound to get water on the floor. I'd thought of putting down a rug like you mention, but it seems like over time the space between the rug and the rubber mat would be likely to get dirty and gross. The rug itself would get wet and, I'd think, deteriorate gradually... and there is no way to replace it!

Also, in general rubber is bad for a hardwood floor; we were told never to use any rugs with rubber backings.

RobinsonFam1, do you have any photos of those "pads"?

At this point I am leaning toward not putting anything between the floor and stand.

[phil5613]

What has worked for me is a piece of 1/4 inch thick acrylic cut 1 inch larger the the length of the stand its water proof and raises the stand off the floor in case of spills or mopping. I order it from the local Hardware store and just get clear so it matches the tank and floor. 3 tanks and no troubles

[brian3]

For me I put my 125 right on the hardwood floor. Then again I bought extra flooring to replace it when I remove the tank years down the road. Wood will fade in the light so you most likely will have a discoloration if the tank is there for years. If you do put some rubber or other material down and you do happen to get a tank overflow the moisture will stay under there forever and not dry - not good for wood. With a tank directly on the wood it has some air around it to dry.

[alistairf]

Why worry about the floor, the tank will become a permanent fixture in your home and you will NEVER see the floor under it again!