Flooring??

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 22, 2015

I hope I am posting this in the right place. My husband and I are considering replacing our flooring. I know this is going to be a chore in a half, especially with having to break down the tank to allow for it. I thought that while we are still in the planning stage, I might get some advice from you folks as to what type of flooring and how to prepare it to hold a tank.

We currently have carpet. Under the carpet is the concrete foundation. We would really like to do some type of wood or laminate, but I have heard horror stories about the floor becoming damaged if even just a little bit of water or humidity is on it and not cleaned up right away. How can I prepare a wood/laminate floor to hold the weight of a reef tank? Did you do anything in particular to protect it from possible water leaks or spills? Do you recommend wood/laminate flooring at all? Is there a better type of flooring that I should consider?

Thank you for your help!

Daytonareefing · Jul 22, 2015

You could set the tank stand directly on the concrete floor and put the laminate around it. Or treat the laminate with tomphson water seal where your putting the tank. I'm sure people will posts some great ideas for you.

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 22, 2015

Daytonareefing said:
You could set the tank stand directly on the concrete floor and put the laminate around it. Or treat the laminate with tomphson water seal where your putting the tank. I'm sure people will posts some great ideas for you.

I didn't think of that...good idea! Thanks!

reefwiser · Jul 22, 2015

Just put Laminate flooring down in our whole house. First this is like moving again. It took two days to do and we had to be out of the house the whole time except for at night when the workmen finished. Wore out.:) Dogs where in boarding and they are tired too. I had to move my tank up stairs before the work was done and it was not fun. I spent two days moving all the furniture out of the way that I could move. The last step was the tank. The fellow laying the flooring said that if any flooring was water damaged that I could have just that bit replaced. As he has aquariums too.:) They also make flooring with extra coating for wet areas.

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 22, 2015

reefwiser said:
Just put Laminate flooring down in our whole house. First this is like moving again. It took two days to do and we had to be out of the house the whole time except for at night when the workmen finished. Wore out.:) Dogs where in boarding and they are tired too. I had to move my tank up stairs before the work was done and it was not fun. I spent two days moving all the furniture out of the way that I could move. The last step was the tank. The fellow laying the flooring said that if any flooring was water damaged that I could have just that bit replaced. As he has aquariums too.:) They also make flooring with extra coating for wet areas.

Yeah, I'm not really looking forward to the moving part...especially with the tank. And stressing out over my livestock, and the mini cycle I am positive will happen when I set the tank back up again. Thanks for the help!

redfishbluefish · Jul 22, 2015

Take a look at vinyl....it's not the vinyl grandma had. They have vinyl that looks just like wood....and goes down similar to laminate.

I'm also not crazy about putting wood laminate on a slab....... But vinyl, I wouldn't have a problem

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 22, 2015

Vinyl...hmmm. Might be a good idea too. We were looking at some "stone" looking vinyl for the bathroom to get rid of the "grandma" style vinyl that's there now. We haven't seen a pattern we can both agree on for the downstairs yet...maybe more shopping around is in order! Yay! Thank you! :)

reefwiser · Jul 23, 2015

They also make ceramic tile that looks like wood flooring believe it or not. [emoji3]

https://www.google.com/search?q=cer...ke+wood&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 23, 2015

Thanks @reefwiser! I had no idea about this! I found a dealer locally so I am going to check it out!

davocean · Jul 23, 2015

A good laminant w/ UV protection and a good finish, preferably 12mm(half inch) and you need good underlayment, they make a nice titanium underlayment that is my preference, but it's not the cheapest stuff.
The tile suggested will hold up better, but may cost a little more for install.

Waters · Jul 23, 2015

I would suggest just putting down a porcelain tile slap underneath the tank which will allow you to put whatever else you want to use in the rest of the room. They sell transition pieces that will allow you to go from the tile to wood/carpet/etc. I have used the ceramic tile that looks like wood that was mentioned earlier.......it is nice (and waterproof) also but doesn't look as good as a wood (or even laminate) floor.

reefwiser · Jul 23, 2015

ilovereefing <3 said:
Thanks @reefwiser! I had no idea about this! I found a dealer locally so I am going to check it out!

I learned about it while shopping for flooring. With a concrete under flooring it would work great. I have a craw space under my fiberboard under floor.

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 23, 2015

Thanks so much everyone! You all have given me much to think about, and possibly safer options! I haven't had a major tank leak yet...but it's bound to happen at some point so all your input is priceless! Thanks!