aquariums and remodeling

[sillygoose]

Well we are taking the plunge and doing a kitchen redo and a carport close-in. I'm concerned about how this will affect my tanks. My 90 g is right by the door to the kitchen and I'm hoping to just seal it with plastic. The other opening from the kitchen is much wider and is around the corner - a potential problem.

The bigger issue is that we are replacing the carpet with some kind of wood. The tanks are on tile that is right next to the carpet. Are there any safe prodcuts to use as glue if we go the solid wood route? I know some of you have horror stories.

(OT - any recommendations for a good durable wood product - preferably green - please PM me if so. I'm especially interested in woven strand bamboo - looks like a cross btw hardwood and bamboo.)

 

[xpertrifle]

Don't get real bamboo, it needs high humidity or it will dry and crack in this climate after some years. Home Depot stopped warranting bamboo floors when I worked there, unless the customer installed a whole home humidifier. Go with real wood if you can afford it. If you get laminate, use the very thick rubber pad under. If you don't it can make a very artificial hollow clopping sound.

 

[mattsummers]

if you have concrete slab you dont want to use solid wood. you want to use engineered wood



Matt Summers
Tucson Home Renovations

 

[scubabum1983]

be careful when cleaning up the glue with denatured alcohol. the fumes wiped out my old reef. i love my bamboo floor. its 100% more resistant to scratches and gouges than my home depot engineered wood. really look at the hardness of the wood you buy( not saying matt doesnt have a point, because he does have a good point). my office engineered wood takes half the abuse of the bamboo in my bedroom, and my office looks twice as bad. besides dont most of us have x number of gal humidifier in our home.

 

[sillygoose]

Good food for thought everyone. Thanks - and any more advice is welcome.

How about general dust and stuff? We will be gutting a kitchen and closing in a carport. Do I need to put my tanks in some sort of plastic sheet bubble? Will the reduction in air quality during this process (cough) be a big or small problem? Have any of you remodeled with tanks in the near vicinity?

 

[scubabum1983]

also the amonia comming from drywall mud is bad news, id cover it with plastic, and be cautious when your skimmer is on so it doesnt suck in too much dust and crud.

 

[xpertrifle]

That's a great idea to put a cloth or something over the skimmer intake.
Also to keep the floor from drying out you will just have to get a bigger tank.
Do they make the bamboo floors that come here from drought tolerant bamboo, of the more tropical type?

 

[Bifferwine]

I put (real) bamboo in my kitchen and two bathrooms last year. My only complaint about it is with 8 animals, it got all scratched up really fast. It's a pretty soft wood. If there were only people in my house, I don't think it would have been a problem, but I have 2 big dogs and 6 cats. The bamboo I used was a floating floor, so there was no need for any glue. Very easy to install!

I also put engineered hardwood in my office. It was the glue-down type. Engineered wood is still real hardwood, but as someone already pointed out, you don't need to install a subfloor to use the engineered wood. I had no problems with the glue impacting my tank, and my 90 gallon's equipment is in the office, with the tank in the room next door (it's plumbed through the wall). Using the glue was messy, but overall was pretty easy. I never used any denatured alcohol for clean-up, so maybe that's why I didn't have problems.

 

[aquaph8]

I just removed all the tile from my kitchen last week and kicked up a lot of dust. My tank didn't seem to have any problems at all. Maybe I just got lucky.

 

[Mr. Right]

I’d honestly cover the tank and disconnect the skimmer. The skimmer will go nuts with the pollutants in air and also may help introduce them into the water IMO.

 

[scubabum1983]

yea i have 3 dogs, and the floor takes a pounding. i agree if it was just humans and fish in the house it would be fine.

 

[Bifferwine]

Dog claws suck Would have chosen different flooring if I had realized how easily it gets scratched.

 

[mattsummers]

while the work is being done put wet towels over tank and sump for about 1/2 hour after dust settles. This will filter the dirt and fumes, but let air through

 

[richpoolboy]

as for humidity, do you have a swamp cooler or A/C exclusive?

 

[sillygoose]

We have both but our cooler needs to get re-wired. It's been down for a couple of years but should be up and running soon. May as well take advantage of the low humidity and run the cooler. As for a humidifier, I have a couple that pump out about 10 gallons total a week - they double as a hobby:lol2: