reef tank and refinishing hardwood floors.

jayjerk

New member
Hello all,

First I'd like to take the time to thank you all for reading my post and contributing to it your experiences. I have had my reef up I'm my living area for just under 3 years. It has now come time to have my hardwood floors redone.

I am wondering.g if there is a safe way to do so with reef being In the are I need redone. I am ok witht he fact that the area my tank sits on will not get attention because moving my tank is not an option at all.
I've posted this same question locally and not much of a reply. hopefully this turns out better. My main questions are as follows.

A. Has anyone had there floors redone with tank in are of work.

B. How did you protect your tank and live stock.

C. We're there I'll effects.

D. Is water based poly a safer option than oil.

E. Anything else I should know

Thank you all again for the view of the thread and for your experiences


Jerk
 
My local reefing friend dealt with this a few months ago. We moved his tank. I know you say it's not an option, just letting you know what he did. Good luck keep us posted I'm curious to see what happens.
 
My local reefing friend dealt with this a few months ago. We moved his tank. I know you say it's not an option, just letting you know what he did. Good luck keep us posted I'm curious to see what happens.

Thanks for the response. Moving my 150 is not something. I would do. I've been in a good stretch for about 1.5 yrs and don't want to fool with it. I am hoping there is a way to get it done and not disturb to much and have to essentially start over.


Thank you for your input.
 
I've refinished floors but never with a tank in the room. Solvents in varnish & polyU are an issue and could possibly harm your animals. The water based products may be better (never used them) but VOCs could be an issue. Dust from sanding could really be an issue!

If you insist on not moving the tank or relocating the animals, the only option you have is to cover the tank tightly, turn off the skimmer and ventilate the room like there's no tomorrow while doing the job. And run carbon afterwards & change it a few times. Also, don't run a commercial sander on the same circuit as your aquarium equipment.
 
Hello all,

First I'd like to take the time to thank you all for reading my post and contributing to it your experiences. I have had my reef up I'm my living area for just under 3 years. It has now come time to have my hardwood floors redone.

I am wondering.g if there is a safe way to do so with reef being In the are I need redone. I am ok witht he fact that the area my tank sits on will not get attention because moving my tank is not an option at all.
I've posted this same question locally and not much of a reply. hopefully this turns out better. My main questions are as follows.

A. Has anyone had there floors redone with tank in are of work.

B. How did you protect your tank and live stock.

C. We're there I'll effects.

D. Is water based poly a safer option than oil.

E. Anything else I should know

Thank you all again for the view of the thread and for your experiences


Jerk


Depending on how big your tank is.... Try not to stir/disturb the sand bed.....hell break loose there :)
 
i am wondering this also. moving my 450g tank that is built in-wall is not just 'not an option', it is impossible. So, tagging along for any responses that on doing this without moving the tank. i have heard horror stories of doing this wrong...
 
If I were in this situation, I would go to home depot/lowes. Build a tent over the tank the day of sanding/staining. Maybe just throw a plastic sheet over the tank and tape it to the base of the stand. Get some of that 8inch tubing that looks kind of like dryer vent tubing but bigger. Then use that tubing and an exhaust fan to draw fresh air from the nearest open window. You would have to figure out where to "cut" the tent to allow fresh air to escape...I would assume a couple of slits would sufffice....

I know I have read of people having issues after resurfacing hardwood floors near an aquarium....

And as mentioned above....vent the room as much as possible...hopefully its nice enough to have all windows open and have one or two fans blowing fresh air in along with a couple on the opposite side blowing out the window.....
 
+1 if you can't move the tent you need to isolate it from the fumes. Building a plastic bubble room vented with external air seems the best option.

And the carbon is a must.
 
Whatever you do it will be a risk. Consider a rug instead of refinishing. :)

My suggestions:

As others have said, provide fresh air and seal tank. You want to make sure there is positive pressure on the tank side and the air you are pumping in is NOT sucking up fumes from the finish.

More than just venting the room/house, power vent it. Exhaust fan so it draws outside air into tank room and away from tank. You want to create negative pressure in the house and have the tank as far upstream in the incoming air as possible.

Water based finishing products! Oils are always HIGH VOC and take a long time to stop off gassing!

Good luck. Let us know what you did and how it turned out.
 
Is this your "forever home and tank" If not, your floor will be uneven when you do move or the tank moves. I doubt it would ever look right to try and match after the fact.

Something else to keep in mind.
 
Is this your "forever home and tank" If not, your floor will be uneven when you do move or the tank moves. I doubt it would ever look right to try and match after the fact.

Something else to keep in mind.

I've considered that and don't care...lol...I'm more interested in methods to keeping reef safe thru this process
 
In the end, you have to do what you feel is the right thing. I'm sure you have some ideas. Trust your gut instinct!!
 
Tank and filtration need to remain positively pressured from outside air. Do not cut off flow in the tank. Your tank is using a considerable amount of air so use a large ducted fan (rent it) to move good amounts of air.
 
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