Ideas for tank set up on Mexican tile??

[Keith_0011]

Can I set up a 92gal corner tank on a Mexican tile floor?

A little background here. I recently moved and sized down to one tank, a 36gal bowfront. (The 36 is currently on the Mexican tile, for better or worse). I am now looking to size up to a bigger tank, a 92gal corner tank.
The room where I want want to put it has a Mexican tile floor. The floor is not even by any stretch of the imagination. It has the natural dome of the tiles and grout dips down a little more. The stand for the tank is a cabinet with a solid bottom.
Is putting a tank here a possibility?

I was thinking of putting down a yoga mat material at like 3/8" to help distribute the weight or using a 1/2" -3/4" hard foam flooring like play mat for children.
Any engineers our there that might chime in?
Anyone have a big tank on Mexican tile?

Thanks for any help you guys might have.

 

[Keith_0011]

bump

 

[shaggydoo]

I don't consider my tank big but its a 60g cube with 20g sump and I have it directly on my Mexican tile floor. I was able to position the tank so the 4 corners rested on tile pieces instead of in the large grout gaps. I actually never even considered the tile a problem but it is pretty uneven now that I'm thinking of it. Maybe I just got lucky

 

[Keith_0011]

I don't consider my tank big but its a 60g cube with 20g sump and I have it directly on my Mexican tile floor. I was able to position the tank so the 4 corners rested on tile pieces instead of in the large grout gaps. I actually never even considered the tile a problem but it is pretty uneven now that I'm thinking of it. Maybe I just got lucky

Thanks.
I am just worried about pressure points, and tensile strength of the tiles....
If one of them were to break under the weight I am afraid it could break the whole thing.
My new idea is make a small "box" and pour a thin layer of concrete in it and smooth it out to create an even surface for uniform weight distribution.

 

[bblumberg]

Can I set up a 92gal corner tank on a Mexican tile floor?

A little background here. I recently moved and sized down to one tank, a 36gal bowfront. (The 36 is currently on the Mexican tile, for better or worse). I am now looking to size up to a bigger tank, a 92gal corner tank.
The room where I want want to put it has a Mexican tile floor. The floor is not even by any stretch of the imagination. It has the natural dome of the tiles and grout dips down a little more. The stand for the tank is a cabinet with a solid bottom.
Is putting a tank here a possibility?

I was thinking of putting down a yoga mat material at like 3/8" to help distribute the weight or using a 1/2" -3/4" hard foam flooring like play mat for children.
Any engineers our there that might chime in?
Anyone have a big tank on Mexican tile?

Thanks for any help you guys might have.

Perhaps consider a wood wrapped metal stand with levelers on the corners? I have a 75g corner built this way that sits on large ceramic tiles. If you choose 2-3" leveling pads, the weight distribution should be pretty reasonable, ~300 lbs on each pad, or about 100 psi for a 2" pad.

Here is my 75g stand. First pic shows stand alone, second shows stand and canopy with bottom wrap slid off and the third shows the entire stand. I am very happy with this so far. Now just need to do a good aquascape.

Bruce

 

[David Mc]

"Mexican tile", as in Saltillo?

Saltillo is pretty soft and brittle. It breaks easily. I think you'll need to spread out the load. Shims and the foam you mentioned might help.

 

[Keith_0011]

Thanks Bruce. You have a LOT of natural light there.

Thanks David.

 

[bblumberg]

Definitely. Tank back and sides are black, which helps somewhat, but that tank is prone to algae compared with my others that do not get natural light. It was down for quite a while when I was looking for new stand and I was tempted not to set it up again, but decided to give it a try. I very much like the metal stand on this one compared with various sorts of wood stands on my other thank.

Bruce