Setting up tank on wood floor

kac01 · 01/05/2019, 09:02 AM

Going to be setting up a 150 tank on oak wood floor. Any preparations I should do to floor and any special kind of paint to use for wall behind tank that will get water and salt creep on it. thanks

ryeguyy84 · 01/05/2019, 09:06 AM

Mines on wood floors and I didn't do anything special. Id seal the bottom of the stand with something waterproof so if there is a leak it's not going through and sitting on the floor underneath.

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lolgranny · 01/05/2019, 09:31 AM

Mines on my oak floors as well. The 400g is sitting on a steel stand. I didn’t do anything either. Some put a sheet of plastic below it.

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Cat_5 · 01/05/2019, 10:49 AM

Had no issues with tank on real oak hardwood. I did use an epoxy paint on the inside of the stand just in case. I might be a little more diligent to do something if the finish on the floor was not good.

lolgranny · 01/05/2019, 11:26 AM

Like others said, if your sump is inside your stand I’d seal it up so if and when that time comes you spill water on your floor you don’t have a puddle sitting under it all where you can’t clean it up.

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brianr24 · 01/05/2019, 11:41 AM

Nothing. Especially do not put plastic which can cause condensation you will never see until you move tank.
If anything just get one of those water alarms. Iv been meaning to get some of those for a few years now.

CAPT_Dave · 01/05/2019, 12:33 PM

You WILL spill water so +1 on sealing the stand. If I had it to do over again, I would paint the inside of mine with Flex Seal or something like it so it can actually hold water. Mine is heavily urethaned, so the wood itself appears to be protected but that is only the exposed surface. Every time I spill enough to pool it runs to the lowest point and eventually seeps through. I've had 2 such incidents in the stand over the last 4 years. I'm not seeing any structural weakness in the stand but I assume the floor under the stand is trashed. So seal it up so it can actually hold water inside it. I'd seal it all around up to the level of the doors. In my stand that would hold 15 gallons of water (48X24X3 = 3,456 cubic inches or about 15 gallons). Even assuming 10 gallon displacement for the area of the sump up to 3 inches, if I cracked the bottom of a 5 gallon top-off water container heaving it in there, all the water would be held inside waiting for my shop vac to get it out.

The second area of concern is the front of the tank. You will also drip and even spill water there when you do water changes or clean the tank, or even reach in to spot feed your coral. That frequent drip and spill on my floor there is showing it. I highly recommend a nice looking rubber backed area rug in front of your tank to catch that.

Finally. call your home insurance company and make sure they cover floods inside the house from a fish tank catastrophe. They probably won't cover the tank itself but even the loss of a high-end tank with lots of valuable coral won't come close to the damage even 50 gallons of salt water will cause to your house if something cracks. It's very unlikely that would happen but why even take the risk when the cost will be tens of thousands of dollars? There are more than a few really sad stories on RC about this one.

ryeguyy84 · 01/05/2019, 12:36 PM

I offered the advise on sealing because I didn't do mine and had a leaky reactor. Now I'm going to pull everything out.

What does everyone think of epoxy coating the bottom? Like you would in a garage?

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homer1475 · 01/05/2019, 01:32 PM

I just sealed the sides with silicone, then used epoxy appliance paint. Any water that gets spilled, just pools in the stand.

Vinny Kreyling · 01/05/2019, 01:36 PM

I sometimes wish I had done something with the wall behind because there is a lot of salt splash there. I know Sanjay used FRP a fiberglass board.

marzvt · 01/05/2019, 01:54 PM

Do whatever you can to reduce the use of buckets to 0. I have a pump the goes into the main drain and another from my saltwater bin. Little splashed won’t matter.

lolgranny · 01/05/2019, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeguyy84

I offered the advise on sealing because I didn't do mine and had a leaky reactor. Now I'm going to pull everything out.

What does everyone think of epoxy coating the bottom? Like you would in a garage?

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Flex seal! Or you can get acrylic pieces and silicone them together. Flex seal will be the cheaper route tho

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Joe0813 · 01/05/2019, 05:12 PM

Im on wood floors also. I just siliconed the corners of the stand and painted it white with marine boat paint.

brianr24 · 01/06/2019, 09:49 AM

I think ur over thinking it. My entire house is hardwood. I just wipe up after water changes. I use to put a beach towel down but I rarely do that anymore. I’m just careful and then clean up good.
I worry more about a leak or tank busting. That’s a different story. But honestly weather it hard wood or carpet it’s not much different. Ur screwed. Most likely have to tear everything out anyway not to mention what leaks through to floor beneath.

Turtlesteve · 01/07/2019, 06:45 PM

This hasn't been mentioned yet, but I think it's best to have a small air gap between the stand and wood floor. If the stand completely touches the floor, any water that wicks under there won't be able to dry.

lolgranny · 01/07/2019, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turtlesteve

This hasn't been mentioned yet, but I think it's best to have a small air gap between the stand and wood floor. If the stand completely touches the floor, any water that wicks under there won't be able to dry.

Luke, Are we using the force to keep the tank levitated?

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Turtlesteve · 01/08/2019, 11:49 AM

It seems my comment came across as...incomplete.

When I had a tank on wood floors I shimmed the stand at the corners to leave a 1/4" air gap and minimize contact area with the floor. This was beneficial as I spilled water on multiple occasions. Without the shims, water would have sat under the stand with no way to dry or remove it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lolgranny

Luke, Are we using the force to keep the tank levitated?

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lolgranny · 01/08/2019, 03:21 PM

I had to say it because of your photo! Haha!

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lolgranny · 01/08/2019, 03:24 PM

+1 in contacting the insurance company. With my 400g(700g total) I got ahold of them to check and see if Incase the tank broke I was covered. I’ve got State Farm, I’m covered, I had them write it out Incase something or someone tried to change their opinion. Livestock isn’t, but the house is.

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kac01 · 01/09/2019, 03:13 PM

Good points. Thanks

01/05/2019, 09:02 AM	#1
kac01 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 218	Setting up tank on wood floor Going to be setting up a 150 tank on oak wood floor. Any preparations I should do to floor and any special kind of paint to use for wall behind tank that will get water and salt creep on it. thanks

01/05/2019, 09:06 AM	#2
ryeguyy84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,753	Mines on wood floors and I didn't do anything special. Id seal the bottom of the stand with something waterproof so if there is a leak it's not going through and sitting on the floor underneath. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk __________________ Current tank: 90G mixed reef. Current Tank Info: 90 gallon

01/05/2019, 09:31 AM	#3
lolgranny The DQ King Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Chicago (McHenry) Posts: 2,414	Mines on my oak floors as well. The 400g is sitting on a steel stand. I didn’t do anything either. Some put a sheet of plastic below it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Dave Current Tank Info: 40g RIP. 300g system, 180g display.

01/05/2019, 11:26 AM	#5
lolgranny The DQ King Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Chicago (McHenry) Posts: 2,414	Like others said, if your sump is inside your stand I’d seal it up so if and when that time comes you spill water on your floor you don’t have a puddle sitting under it all where you can’t clean it up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Dave Current Tank Info: 40g RIP. 300g system, 180g display.

01/05/2019, 12:33 PM	#7
CAPT_Dave Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego Posts: 157	You WILL spill water so +1 on sealing the stand. If I had it to do over again, I would paint the inside of mine with Flex Seal or something like it so it can actually hold water. Mine is heavily urethaned, so the wood itself appears to be protected but that is only the exposed surface. Every time I spill enough to pool it runs to the lowest point and eventually seeps through. I've had 2 such incidents in the stand over the last 4 years. I'm not seeing any structural weakness in the stand but I assume the floor under the stand is trashed. So seal it up so it can actually hold water inside it. I'd seal it all around up to the level of the doors. In my stand that would hold 15 gallons of water (48X24X3 = 3,456 cubic inches or about 15 gallons). Even assuming 10 gallon displacement for the area of the sump up to 3 inches, if I cracked the bottom of a 5 gallon top-off water container heaving it in there, all the water would be held inside waiting for my shop vac to get it out. The second area of concern is the front of the tank. You will also drip and even spill water there when you do water changes or clean the tank, or even reach in to spot feed your coral. That frequent drip and spill on my floor there is showing it. I highly recommend a nice looking rubber backed area rug in front of your tank to catch that. Finally. call your home insurance company and make sure they cover floods inside the house from a fish tank catastrophe. They probably won't cover the tank itself but even the loss of a high-end tank with lots of valuable coral won't come close to the damage even 50 gallons of salt water will cause to your house if something cracks. It's very unlikely that would happen but why even take the risk when the cost will be tens of thousands of dollars? There are more than a few really sad stories on RC about this one. __________________ Dave Current Tank Info: 120 g mixed reef

01/05/2019, 10:49 AM	#4
Cat_5 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 9	Had no issues with tank on real oak hardwood. I did use an epoxy paint on the inside of the stand just in case. I might be a little more diligent to do something if the finish on the floor was not good.

01/05/2019, 11:41 AM	#6
brianr24 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: P.A. Posts: 256	Nothing. Especially do not put plastic which can cause condensation you will never see until you move tank. If anything just get one of those water alarms. Iv been meaning to get some of those for a few years now.

01/05/2019, 12:36 PM	#8
ryeguyy84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,753	I offered the advise on sealing because I didn't do mine and had a leaky reactor. Now I'm going to pull everything out. What does everyone think of epoxy coating the bottom? Like you would in a garage? Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk __________________ Current tank: 90G mixed reef. Current Tank Info: 90 gallon

01/05/2019, 01:32 PM	#9
homer1475 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 5,313	I just sealed the sides with silicone, then used epoxy appliance paint. Any water that gets spilled, just pools in the stand. __________________ 80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work"

01/05/2019, 01:36 PM	#10
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	I sometimes wish I had done something with the wall behind because there is a lot of salt splash there. I know Sanjay used FRP a fiberglass board. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

01/05/2019, 01:54 PM	#11
marzvt Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Vermont Posts: 52	Do whatever you can to reduce the use of buckets to 0. I have a pump the goes into the main drain and another from my saltwater bin. Little splashed won’t matter.

01/05/2019, 05:12 PM	#13
Joe0813 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Boston strong Posts: 2,766	Im on wood floors also. I just siliconed the corners of the stand and painted it white with marine boat paint. __________________ Joe and Jenny Current Tank Info: 180 reef

01/06/2019, 09:49 AM	#14
brianr24 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: P.A. Posts: 256	I think ur over thinking it. My entire house is hardwood. I just wipe up after water changes. I use to put a beach towel down but I rarely do that anymore. I’m just careful and then clean up good. I worry more about a leak or tank busting. That’s a different story. But honestly weather it hard wood or carpet it’s not much different. Ur screwed. Most likely have to tear everything out anyway not to mention what leaks through to floor beneath.

01/07/2019, 06:45 PM	#15
Turtlesteve Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Upstate South Carolina Posts: 478	This hasn't been mentioned yet, but I think it's best to have a small air gap between the stand and wood floor. If the stand completely touches the floor, any water that wicks under there won't be able to dry.

01/08/2019, 03:21 PM	#18
lolgranny The DQ King Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Chicago (McHenry) Posts: 2,414	I had to say it because of your photo! Haha! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Dave Current Tank Info: 40g RIP. 300g system, 180g display.

01/08/2019, 03:24 PM	#19
lolgranny The DQ King Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Chicago (McHenry) Posts: 2,414	+1 in contacting the insurance company. With my 400g(700g total) I got ahold of them to check and see if Incase the tank broke I was covered. I’ve got State Farm, I’m covered, I had them write it out Incase something or someone tried to change their opinion. Livestock isn’t, but the house is. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Dave Current Tank Info: 40g RIP. 300g system, 180g display.

01/09/2019, 03:13 PM	#20
kac01 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 218	Good points. Thanks