drilling through floor

[reef tank 2.0]

for those of you that have their reef tank set up on hard wood floors. Has anyone drilled through the floor in order to run their PVC down to the basement in order to get to the water bins? If you have, can you post up a picture of what you did to make it presentable? If you have, I imagine it's behind the tank and out of site. I'm debating doing this, but, the thought of it . If I do it, I figure I'd use a hole saw, and save the plug in case I ever need to close the hole up, I'd just glue it in place.

Going through the plaster wall and down, is out of the question. It was a fight just to get a #12 romex down, Aint about to fight a PVC pipe, the access / clearance in the basement isn't there. So going through the wood floor is my only option.

 

[GaryE]

I don't want to be murdered by my spousal equivalent.. It was hard enough just to get approval for the tank..

 

[kenchilada]

Toss the plug, it will be too small because of the thickness of the hole saw blade. You're better off cutting new plugs from hardwood. A floor installer can also cut out the affected boards and install new but this is best done when you're having the floors sanded/refinished obviously.

When I cut mine it was hidden behind the cabinet so I do not have any pictures. Nothing to it, just be mindful of where your joists are. If you want the holes aligned well, mark center and tap with a punch first so you have a guide hole to start the bit in.

 

[JGT]

Yep, i did it. In a new addition with brand new floors. Did exactly as you say. Hole saw matching pipe diameter plus 1/4” for the cuts. Started with a long 1/8” bit to mark the location for all the bigger holes to make sure I wouldnt run into and joists.

 

[workhz]

How far away is the proposed hole in the floor from the wall that you had Romex trouble?

If I had to do it through a hardwood floor, I’d just assume I was going to have to replace the board in the future. A patch will likely look bad.

 

[kenchilada]

Oh and to prevent mice squeezing in around your pipes, you can stuff steel wool in any gaps. They will chew through foam.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

the distance you see here is about a foot. The stand can be pushed back or come out even more if needed. But I certainly don't think I'll need a foot. But the clearance in the basement will also dictate that.

Do you guys have two lines in the floor, one for water top off, and one for the water changes? I was thinking of running one, and turning the valve in the basement to pull water from the right bin as needed.

 

[CK00020]

Why stop there, put the sump downstairs

 

[JGT]

Agreed, my sump and all equipment is in basement. In fact l drilled through bottom of stand, through platform stand is sitting on (since i wanted tank to be higher up) and then floor. Best decision ever.

 

[CK00020]

I think I have 4 holes behind the stand, and may add a fifth for waste water. If you do it right you can’t even see them.

 

[workhz]

Had a semi brilliant idea. Just disguise it as a hvac vent if you have them in the floor elsewhere. Not really brilliant and wouldn’t necessarily do it myself but it’s an option.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

funny you say that.....the original plan was to run the pvc over to the right of the stand, about 1-2ft, and then drop down through the return vent located in the floor. That way I could leave the floor alone, but drill through the duct work, seal with foil tape and be done. BUT, the only issue I keep running into is if I need to remove the vent cover in order to clean any debris / dog hair that has fallen down. I know I'll need to, but at that point, the pvc pipe is about 3" away from the edge. I can't remove the vent with the pipe going through it. I would also have a horizontal pipe running from the vent to the stand. No way for me to hide it. I do have options, just not sure which is the best option. Here is a picture of the layout to give you an idea of what I'm up against.

The stand needs to stay between the door and the window, so that section of gray wall is my area to work with. the vent grate is on the right, as you can see. That couch with a sheet on it, is the dogs couch. So that covers the vent, but there is room behind and below the couch to run pvc, it's not in the way.

 

[workhz]

You can do the wall. I wouldn’t give up on that. I know you said you can’t but why not?

 

[reef tank 2.0]

ever since CK00020 mentioned going through a vent, which was my original idea, it certainly makes this easier. it certainly makes it easy to run the pipe down, only one hole in the ductwork would need to be drilled. I would have to cut a section of vent grate out, but were only talking a couple metal pieces.

I guess since my mind has been made up on that, I now need to get the stand re-leveled and get the tank placed on top and go from there.

 

[ZoWhat]

Cut a rectangle that exactly fits a floor vent register plate that exactly matches all your other register plates

If you move or get rid of the tank, you cover it up with a fake floor register.

MEASURE the distance from the wall to the plate on OTHER FLOOR REGISTERS thruout the house to match the exact look and feel of all the other registers

Also once your pipes are in place thru this rectangle hole, best to fix some hvac ductwork sheet metal plating to the underside of the hole

Then fill the hole with insulation foam to seal off air exchanges btwn floors. Also cuts down on noise from downstairs



.

 

[ying yang]

Get a pipe seal or can even go the whole 9 yards and get a fire stopper seal so no fire can go between floors.(mainly used in commercial /industrial settings as granted in normal house there no need as fire can spread all over easy enough but some can be used to tidy it up.
Just about go bed so no time google and link for you but you get the drift right ?
Good luck ,there many ways I've tidied up pipes going through any kind of floors.
Ones that sit flush with floor.
Ones that slightly lower than floor and some that slightly higher than floor in all kinds if materials

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

i bought a round electrical floor outlet and drilled the hole sized for it. its in a place where an end table or lamp could go in the room in the future . I have it saved in event we sell so will take a couple minutes to make it look perfect and add and outlet.

 

[workhz]

i bought a round electrical floor outlet and drilled the hole sized for it. its in a place where an end table or lamp could go in the room in the future . I have it saved in event we sell so will take a couple minutes to make it look perfect and add and outlet.

That’s a good idea.

 

[Arthacker87]

 

[CK00020]

Lots of times they just use a high temp silicone for a fire seal