Flooring options under 210G tank

[Phyxius]

I`ve been in the process of starting my 210g in this thread:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1316118

I`ve see some people who take up flooring and etc when these larger tanks are put up to install something more durable under it. The section of my house this is going in has a concrete slab so weight on the floor is ok. My concern is the wife wanted new carpet put down before we put the tank up. With 2000lbs plus after installed I would think it would permanently flatten the carpet in that area after a short time. My other option and one that would get the tank up faster is to put 6x6 porcelain tile under the tank area directly down on the concrete slab. This way I can have the new carpet put down up to this tiled area.
I figure I would build a small wood frame for the area and poor leveling compound down first so I know its perfectly level in that area. Then put down some tile mortar and the tile.

Wanted to get some opinions on this from someone who may have gone this route also. Will the tile hold under this weight??

Thanks for any help or pointers.

 

[FishTruck]

I would advocate a tile border around / under the tank for the spills and drips. The tile will easily hold the weight... if it is distributed well enough. The trick for you is that looks like a traffic area and you will probably need this to be done professionally to weather the tank and the feet. I might run tile around the tank and to the front door. This would be nice for wet boots and muddy shoes as well. A nice slate mosaic would look awesome.

To level your stand... use the leveling compound. Then, shim your stand with resin shims. To finish it off, run trim around the bottom to hide the shims.

Glancing at your build page and where you put the tank I would ask... what can you do to minimize carrying buckets through the display room? Also to avoid the necessity of running hoses that might overflow if unsupervised? Also, safeguard agains sump / skimmer overflows during power outages etc..?

Hope this isn't too obvious.

Looks like this will be awesome.

Ryan.

 

[Phyxius]

FishTruck,
The pic shows the tank in a temp location right now. It will be moved to a wall in another room at the time I break my 90g down. I just cant move it to perm location till I get the floor thing worked out.....I had no plans to have the tank in the walkway area since I really didn't want any damage to tank with it being there. It will be on a wall in the dining room area with minimal traffic when done. Nice observation though on your part.

With 3 other reefs I already have the knowledge of extra capacity in sumps for back flow and etc during total power shut downs and the stand(sealed/caulked) will hold about 15 gallons of water before it crests the lip around the bottom. All major lines will have small air holes to break suction as needed also. I have brute cans on wheels I use for water changes and will have a 15g tank for top offs I will fill via 5g water jugs as needed. Only major water leaks from reefing has been me leaving the RO/DI unit on and flooding the washroom area so far..


Have done a bunch of tile work from sun rooms to bathrooms and our kitchen so its been something I have had a bunch of practice in. I just wanted to make sure the weight wouldn't crack the tile since you usually don't tile something and cover it over with a heavy fish tank like this. Planned on trimming it all out with oak around the tile and then having the carpet mate up to this.


BTW: It should read pour in my first post not poor..........

 

[tbittner]

If it helps to know, I have a 1,000 lb wood burner with four legs sitting on four separate slate tiles. Slate is a LOT more fragile than ceramic is so I would imagine that you'll be fine having the tank on ceramic tiles. I think it would really look great to have a different floor around the tank. Not to mention, carpet really stinks when it gets wet. Trust me, it WILL get wet. :lol:

Ceramic usually won't bust unless it's struck with something or something heavy is dropped on it.

Maybe another option is to pour the leveling cement to create a raised area and then just put down vinyl tiles. Then you don't have anything fragile under the tank and no worries...

 

[FishTruck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12776227#post12776227 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Phyxius
FishTruck,
The pic shows the tank in a temp location right now. It will be moved to a wall in another room at the time I break my 90g down. I just cant move it to perm location till I get the floor thing worked out.....I had no plans to have the tank in the walkway area since I really didn't want any damage to tank with it being there. It will be on a wall in the dining room area with minimal traffic when done. Nice observation though on your part.

With 3 other reefs I already have the knowledge of extra capacity in sumps for back flow and etc during total power shut downs and the stand(sealed/caulked) will hold about 15 gallons of water before it crests the lip around the bottom. All major lines will have small air holes to break suction as needed also. I have brute cans on wheels I use for water changes and will have a 15g tank for top offs I will fill via 5g water jugs as needed. Only major water leaks from reefing has been me leaving the RO/DI unit on and flooding the washroom area so far..


Have done a bunch of tile work from sun rooms to bathrooms and our kitchen so its been something I have had a bunch of practice in. I just wanted to make sure the weight wouldn't crack the tile since you usually don't tile something and cover it over with a heavy fish tank like this. Planned on trimming it all out with oak around the tile and then having the carpet mate up to this.


BTW: It should read pour in my first post not poor..........

Sounds like you have it under control. I wonder if tile has specs for PSI until breakage occurs?

Ceramic would probably be more appropriate for North Carolina style vs. slate.

Yes, the RO.DI leave on water mess is classic. I ruined a hardwood floor doing that... and I have since found that I am not the only one.

 

[Phyxius]

Well next part is done and one step closer to getting this tank set up. I wanted the tile at least 2ft larger in width and length on all sides of the tank but wife wanted it closer to size of stand. I ended up with a 6` 7" length and 34" width for the base. Ended up using 1/2" backerboard over the slab and then the tile to make the base sit higher than the carpet when done. The trim pieces are in the picture that will frame the tile and complete the base. Just needs to dry a few more days and then seal it and tank can finally be moved to its place

Just wanted to thank my fellow reefers for the help with this project so far and I dont even have water in it yet!!

 

[BigJay]

I would have still fought for the larger tile area. So long as it matches, who cares?

You are going to get water on "her" carpet.

Lots of it.

It's unavoidable.

Good luck with your tank mate.

 

[Phyxius]

You are going to get water on "her" carpet. Lots of it.

She knows that as it has happened in the past over the last 3 yrs with the 5 other tanks in the house

She has control over the inside of the house and it took awhile to get her to agree to a larger tank so a compromise was worth it I guess a tile pad on her floor isn't going to match the decor and the new carpet being laid down soon LOL

 

[FishTruck]

You da man! That looks good.

 

[BigJay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12813882#post12813882 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Phyxius
She knows that as it has happened in the past over the last 3 yrs with the 5 other tanks in the house

She has control over the inside of the house and it took awhile to get her to agree to a larger tank so a compromise was worth it I guess a tile pad on her floor isn't going to match the decor and the new carpet being laid down soon LOL

I got plenty of wife aggro the other day due to salt creep from yet another small spill on her new hardwood floors.

Sometimes keeping an SPS tank is easier than keeping a wife happy.