basement concrete paint/epoxy for fish room

Devaji

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Hey R2R!

I wanted to ask here as we have a great and smart group of reefers

so I have a unfinished basement with my fish room down there. the basement is around 1K SQ
I have been sprucing up the space down there as part of my "honey do list"
we will mostly use the space for storage and projects but wanted to do the floor.

here is what we have done so far:
~taken out the old nasty layers of flooring.
~ scraped the floor free of adhesives
~ cleaned the floor
~ pressure washed the floor
~ radon sealed the floor.

so now I have a for a 90 year old clean basement floor looking to paint/epoxy.

I priced out the 2 part epoxy stuff and it would be well over 1K more then we want to spend.
so we are looking into some concrete floor paint.
what have you guys used did it hold up worth the effort?

the floor is uneven so LVP is out. + its rather expensive for a unfinished basement.

open to suggestions and ideas...

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Jekyl

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Epoxy is still going to be the best route. Simple paint like a drylok and such will scrape off quite easily. This seems like it would get the job done.
 

chiefifd

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Honestly, I'd avoid paint or epoxy for your fish room floor.
I'd think about a tile floor instead, if you can do the tile work yourself it can be done reasonably.
Paint or epoxy can be slippery, I know you can add silica to either to make them non-skid but....
Good luck in whatever you decide.
 

kzenoni

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As a contractor I would say #1 epoxy
But another alternative that I install a lot of ( including my house and screen porch) is foam core floating laminate flooring. Water proof , durable and fairly inexpensive if you shop around. Be sure to put plastic or under lamente as a vapor block from moisture coming up through the concrete.
 
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Devaji

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Epoxy is still going to be the best route. Simple paint like a drylok and such will scrape off quite easily. This seems like it would get the job done.

we saw that it's on the short list.
 

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Make sure what ever you put down will adhere to the concrete with the sealer on it
 
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Devaji

Devaji

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Honestly, I'd avoid paint or epoxy for your fish room floor.
I'd think about a tile floor instead, if you can do the tile work yourself it can be done reasonably.
Paint or epoxy can be slippery, I know you can add silica to either to make them non-skid but....
Good luck in whatever you decide.

the "fish room" is only 10'x5' area of the unfinished basement so need something for the rest. plus the floor is quite uneven they was an old french drain there at one time. in the fish room.
we did a 1/5 year reno on the house so lot looking to spend that much time or money on the project.
 

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I would take precautions to prevent the paint fumes from entering your tanks until it dries. ie: shut off skimmer, cover tanks with plastic, shut off any air pumps etc…
 
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Devaji

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As a contractor I would say #1 epoxy
But another alternative that I install a lot of ( including my house and screen porch) is foam core floating laminate flooring. Water proof , durable and fairly inexpensive if you shop around. Be sure to put plastic or under lamente as a vapor block from moisture coming up through the concrete.

we did that for the 1200 Sq on the upper level. unless we can find one heck of a deal that not gonna happen.
got any good leads to find 1K sq of the stuff?? :D
 
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Devaji

Devaji

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I would take precautions to prevent the paint fumes from entering your tanks until it dries. ie: shut off skimmer, cover tanks with plastic, shut off any air pumps etc…

good point! the sump is still on the main level just the mixing station will be down there. and all fish stuff. but yes got to keep that in mind.
 

kzenoni

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we did that for the 1200 Sq on the upper level. unless we can find one heck of a deal that not gonna happen.
got any good leads to find 1K sq of the stuff?? :D
Where are you located?
 

kzenoni

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I deal with Lowe’s a lot. I can usually pick up Shaw flooring for 1.50 - 2 $ a sq ft.
 

Jekyl

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good point! the sump is still on the main level just the mixing station will be down there. and all fish stuff. but yes got to keep that in mind.
I would consider a basement sump if at all possible. I have my fish room in the basement and water changes are a workout.
 
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Devaji

Devaji

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I would consider a basement sump if at all possible. I have my fish room in the basement and water changes are a workout.
when we redid the floors down to the joist I added in 4 -1/4" RODI into the wall for AWC done via the DOS . the GF did not want me to but more holes in the floor. ha

might some day tho.
 
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Devaji

Devaji

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I deal with Lowe’s a lot. I can usually pick up Shaw flooring for 1.50 - 2 $ a sq ft.
still $1500 -2k + the floor is very uneven so time and money to level it 1st. IDK for an unfinished basement its not gonna happen right now. wih I could just finshe it out with a big FOWLR down there!
 

kzenoni

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still $1500 -2k + the floor is very uneven so time and money to level it 1st. IDK for an unfinished basement its not gonna happen right now. wih I could just finshe it out with a big FOWLR down there!
True, only other option I would have is some porch and patio paint. A few Gallons and presto.
 

dennis romano

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If the floor is so uneven, put down self leveling cement. Easy to do but you have to move fast. Last year, I put down self leveling, then a vapor barrier then laminate. Just curious, you state that you took out the old flooring. What kind was it? I hope that it wasn't 9"x9" tile. There is a good chance that it could be asbestos.
 
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Devaji

Devaji

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If the floor is so uneven, put down self leveling cement. Easy to do but you have to move fast. Last year, I put down self leveling, then a vapor barrier then laminate. Just curious, you state that you took out the old flooring. What kind was it? I hope that it wasn't 9"x9" tile. There is a good chance that it could be asbestos.
nasty carpet, vinyl but yeah I am sure there was asbestos in the work we did.
 

Ocelaris

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We had a similar scenario, 9x9" "unknown" tiles; removed them, sanded, acid bathed it, neutralized, then epoxy coated (2-part). I have porch/patio paint in the boiler room, and it's peeled off after a few years and salt getting on it.

Any flooring under a tank is going to collect moisture/mold eventually IMHO, I would stay away from that. we had the click flooring (not waterproof) and it got destroyed in a flood. Anything removeable will trap moisture in the case of spilled water. Tile is expensive, probably the most expensive short of wood. Epoxy is IMHO the way to go (just mix in the matte finish and it's not too slippery), but floor paint is probably fine; just make sure to prep well and buy the good stuff. It will eventually come off, so just expect that and be prepared to repaint. We also used concrete leveler, and it worked ok, but it's obvious in a few places where it pooled and dried unevenly; however it hasn't cracked or anything.
 

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