Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) Flooring with Large Tank??

rowdyreefing

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Hi Guys,

I recently laid LVP on my basement concrete. I have been told by a friend that a heavy fish tank will not be good on the floor as it should float. Would love any feedback from people with large tanks on LVP. I have a 330 with a 200-300lb stand.
IMG_3473.jpeg
 

Susan Edwards

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I have vinyl flooring in 2 rooms with or had fish tanks. And consider, some furniture is also very heavy. I'll be putting the same plank vinyl in my craft room and I have a piece of furniture in there that takes 2-3 people to move. Super heavy. I had a 125 with 35 g sump in living room with vinyl plank flooring. In my office I have a 240 gal tank. the planks are "floating"

I never put anything under the tanks. Just onto the floor. Expect you'll get lots of spills. I have some "staining" from dosing. Once the old tank is out (125) I'll see about trying to get rid of those spots.
 

Gtinnel

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I use lvp for my floors under my 125g. The best answer I can give is that your friend is right in a floating floor, but it's never been an issue for me.
 

Beau_B

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It in all likelihood will be fine, but the concern is related to the expansion/movement of the floor due to environmental changes. If the temp/humidity of the space is near constant, less concern. If the basement goes cool/warm dry/damp off and on... could have some seam distortion, depending on floor type and installation.

Edit to add: Are you sure it's floating? Many LVP installs are glued when over concrete.
 

Cell

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I never thought of this before. But how would this be any different than a heavy kitchen table or entertainment center etc...?
 

littlefishy

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It in all likelihood will be fine, but the concern is related to the expansion/movement of the floor due to environmental changes. If the temp/humidity of the space is near constant, less concern. If the basement goes cool/warm dry/damp off and on... could have some seam distortion, depending on floor type and installation.

Edit to add: Are you sure it's floating? Many LVP installs are glued when over concrete.
All of this is 100% right. We have experienced this and had to replace flooring for a customer due to a kitchen island sitting on the flooring.
 

littlefishy

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If the flooring is not "trapped" between the tank and a threshold, or some other wall, if there is room all the way around the edges of the room, the flooring being immobile under the tank should be OK. It will have room to move in every other direction.
 

Tamberav

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I would assume it may do some damage due to the stand having feet instead of a square all away around the bottom. Pressure points and all that.
 

ZoWhat

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Of course luxury vinyl will leave a permanent indentation in to it..

But the beauty of luxury vinyl is to have enough of it left over in storage to CUT AND REPLACE that section if called upon..

I have grouted vinyl squares and have enough replacement tiles to repair my floor even when i go to sell the house

20211130_123306.jpg
 
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rowdyreefing

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It in all likelihood will be fine, but the concern is related to the expansion/movement of the floor due to environmental changes. If the temp/humidity of the space is near constant, less concern. If the basement goes cool/warm dry/damp off and on... could have some seam distortion, depending on floor type and installation.

Edit to add: Are you sure it's floating? Many LVP installs are glued when over concrete.
It is not glued. It is snap flooring with a tarp under it.
 

ADAM

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2500lbs+ versus 100-500lbs piece of furniture is big difference. I relation to the LVP “floating” floor a couple hundred pounds could pose a slight issue as well with rapid changes in temperature/humidity. The basement concrete slab will likely stay much cooler than the air in the room so the floor will likely expand a bit in the winter with the heat running. This could potentially cause seam distortion if room isn’t allowed for expansion by an extremely heavy load on top.

If this was my setup I would cut out or remove the area where the tank will sit permanently. Once the tank is in place I would reinstall the flooring up to the base of the metal stand and seal the edges of the planking with a caulk intended for long life life flexibility on concrete flooring. If you’re planning to use a stand-wrap or panels of some sort to enclose the stand a little trim work along the bottom edge should be plenty to hide any seams at the metal stand plank flooring meeting area.

If the floor under the LVP were wood over a crawlspace or conditioned area I wouldn’t worry nearly as much but basements can be a whole different beast to deal with in relation to temperature and humidity. Now add a few extra gallons of evaporate per day and things can get sticky in hurry.

May seem like overkill but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
 

Beau_B

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It is not glued. It is snap flooring with a tarp under it.

Then I would agree, that’s a lot of weight. The safest solution is to remove the flooring in the area and re-lay it to fit. This tank is going to be there a long time, right?
 

mdb_talon

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I agree with most people. It can be a risk on floating floor, bit usually is not. The issue if it does end up being an issue is it can cause buckles and/or separation of the joints all along the floor which could be a big issue i would not risk. I would personally just cut 6 square holes slightly larger than your stand legs to allow the floor to still float and using trim or caulk can make it unnoticeable.....until you sell the house or otherwise move tank of course.
 

dennis romano

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Look at it this way. Each 3inchx 3inch foot will be pushing down with a weight of about 400 lbs. I would recommend putting a sheet of plywood between the stand and the floor. Then put some vinyl on the plywood to disguise it, so that it matches the floor. That way, the tank's weight is distributed over a large area. If the vinyl on the plywood gets wrecked, it is no big deal. Also, the plywood protects the good floor from spills.
 

jda

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Every material expands and contract but none worse than real wood. Tanks are fine on real wood floors, and the wood in the stands. Tanks are fine on concrete which also expands and contracts a bit. The steel for the stand expands and contracts with the temperature. Tile. You name it. In the end, you are fine so just go for it.
 

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