Planning to put a 125-150 gallon show tank on hardwood floors and looking for advice

[Wahter]

I'm having a house built and I'm planning to put a 125 to 150 gallon show tank on hardwood floors and looking for some advice. I've spoken with the builder about this; he said he will go beneath the floor (the house is being built on a crawl space) and he'll reinforce the joists (from the bottom), so even if I want to position the tank along the wall and parallel with the joists (which is usually a 'no-no'), they will be okay.

My concern is that the room has hardwood floors - I don't want any water to get trapped beneath the tank stand and end up causing the wood to warp/ get damaged (not until I get my Saint Bernard puppy anyway - LOL!).

Any suggestions? I read a few of good posts here:

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=57191&highlight=wood+floor

So is the consensus to lay the stand (it will be a commercially built one - like Perfecto or some other brand) right on the floor and then have plenty of absorbent towels, etc... in case of a spill?

Has anyone used one of these "Drymate Aquarium Cleaning Mat"
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3728+14697&pcatid=14697

Thanks for your advice!



Walter

[Chad Hughes]

Walter,

I think you have the biggest part covered. The substructure of the floor is probably the most important. That being said, is the stand that you are going to be using "flat" on the bottom or does it have legs? If I understand physics and weight distribution correctly and your stand bottom is flat, you'll see little or no impact on the hardwood. Something with feet or legs would be a different story.

Hope that helps!

[Wahter]

The stand will be a flat edge bottom - so I'm concerned water will seep in and underneath the stand.

Probably just need to lay some towels along the perimeter of the stand during water changes, but I'm not sure if that's all I need to do.


Walter

[GrillMaster]

Hey Walter. Its kind of ironic seeing you asking for advice especially when you give such good advice all the time. ;) :D

If I may give a little here...How does this sound? Get a piece of 1/2" plexiglass a couple of inches wider than the base. Glue 2" uprights all the way around. It will be less unsitely than towels and people will definately know why its there. :)

Or you could not worry about it like Connie said...:)

[poconogal]

I've got my tank on oak flooring. I've had no problems with water and the floor. If your builder's floor people know what they're doing, it should be a well sealed wood floor. I just keep some paper towels handy in case of spills and if I need to work on the tank I lay a bath towel down in front of it. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

[Chad Hughes]

Would you consider a very thin bead of clear silicone around the base? You cold make it so fine that you wouldn't even see it. Since it's not a "seal" so to speak it wouldn't have to be heavy duty but it would be perfect for avoiding spills migrating under the tank. Just a thought!

Best wishes!

[Daniella]

when I do have a spill under my tank I use a flat ruler and and wrap a towel around it and drag it around undernet the furniture.

We put some pieced of carpet undernet the foot of the furniture so it's a bit higher, just enough to slide a towel underneat and it does make it much easier to slide the whole aquarium if needed. It,s 120 gallons.

My main problem is not seing small drop of water and leaving them there and then this can affect the varnish with time. So I must be extra carefull to dry around if I make any drop of water on the floor and wipe that right away. It happen very often :)



Would you consider a very thin bead of clear silicone around the base? You cold make it so fine that you wouldn't even see it. Since it's not a "seal" so to speak it wouldn't have to be heavy duty but it would be perfect for avoiding spills migrating under the tank. Just a thought!

Best wishes!

[Harriett]

My house is 110 years old with pine/fir floors. I have tanks. It has turned out to be inevitable, in my life, to have the occasional drip or puddle or on a couple of rare occasions, a few gallons of water end up on the floor. My tanks are all perpendicular to the joists close to corners of load bearing walls and most are on the 2nd floor [including the 180g].
Here is what I would suggest:
When you have the floor guys finish your wood floors, have them put an extra coat of erythane down, so 3 coats instead of 2. That helps durability.
When you are doing water changes or fooling around in the tanks, put down throw rugs [overlapping as needed] along the edge of the tank stand--I use shaggy type bathroom rugs that are past their prime; they are very absorbant and last forever. I ALWAYS keep a couple of old bath towels in the cabinet so if something happens I have what I need right that moment.
If I am planning a BIG clean up or a tank teardown [aquascaping is a serial problem], I bring in a 45g rubbermaid or 2 to put driftwood or plants or whatever in, and position things before I begin.
I make every attempt to stay in the room when I am refilling a tank, particularly for the last couple inches--that seems to be my 'distraction time' and I have overfilled on occasion.
If [when] the floor gets wet, dry it immediately--it will finish drying out pretty quickly on its own.
I think putting a permanent cloth or a barrier type mat between the floor and the tank can be double edged: it'll catch the majority of small spills but if you get a big spill or leak, it can seal the moisture in under the stand and would take far longer to dry out--that would be a concern for mildew and possibly warping.
There's always going to be something--from a tail slap when you open the lid to feed to transferring an adult discus that turns into a marlin in the net throwing water everywhere--it's going to happen. I haven't found it to be that much of a problem.
Sounds like you have taken every precaution with beefing up the joists and floor--a terrific idea!
Good luck with your project.
Best regards
Harriett

[Chad Hughes]

Harriet,

Well said! You certainly have excellent experience with wood floors! I'm glad I read this as I'll be putting wood floors in my living room soon. I never really thought about the tank's impact on the floors since they are going over a concrete slab. Thanks for all the great info!

Best wishes!

[DonMD]

Walter,

I recently posted the following:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=72105

You'll see in some of the photos my old black oak stand (90 g) that was on a hardwood floor for about 4 years. I took it off, and there was zero moisture, just some dust, even though I did regular water changes.

I also installed an additional floor joist below, since the joists run parallel with the back wall of the tank. The new 125 g seems to be just fine on the floor.

-Don

[Wahter]

Thanks all! I wanted to make sure I hadn't overlooked anything!


Walter