To plywood or not to plywood?
- Thread starter Seitzjh
- Start date
farfromsea
Active member
I wouldn't it just sounds like a risk what if the plywood warps over time in humidity or something. I hope the metal stand isn't just four tiny legs holding up the tank! If made properly it should appropriately distribute the weight
jbvdhp
Active member
Depending on the tank, the plywood should be between the tank and the stand.
I used those foam gym mats between my stand and tiling to 1) fill in any voids/areas that may create slight high or low spots (floor was leveled the best it could be before laying new wood tile) 2) to protect the tile.
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I used those foam gym mats between my stand and tiling to 1) fill in any voids/areas that may create slight high or low spots (floor was leveled the best it could be before laying new wood tile) 2) to protect the tile.
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I thought of using adjustable legs with nylon feet. I didn't do it because I didn't think the center of long square tube would handle the weight and possibly bow. It's 11 gauge steel.
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I originally didn't want to use plywood because of of that. But I thought about the tile cracking in spots do to the weight.
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CStrickland
New member
I have those tiles in my kitchen and they crack really easily. Ours broke in front of the door just from being stepped on. I think sometimes, especially depending on how well they are installed and if they are cheap, there can be a gap underneath so you just have to push the right way and they snap because they span such a big area compared to smaller tiles. It would be sooo annoying if it cracked after you got the water in from the added weight
Are you going to close in the stand, or will anything you put under be visible?
Are you going to close in the stand, or will anything you put under be visible?
I have extra tile just in case. I resealed the tank so I have to water test and i'll see how the tiles do. It's about 2500 lbs total weight without rock and sand. Plan is to skin it with wood.
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davocean
Active member
That's one of the reasons I would lay down ply, disperse that load a little rather than steel directly on top in a smaller surface area, I agree w/ Cstrickland, any compression where there may be voids can cause cracks pretty easily, it would be a bummer if that spider webbed out where you can't remove the tile easily for replacement while tank is still in place
Desert Sea
Member
I agree with Davocean about using a piece of plywood between the stand and the tile floor. If you can get a piece of marine grade 1/2", that would be good since any moisture will not bother it. I would also see if you can get a piece of EPDM roofing membrane, like .060, and put it down on the floor first, then put the plywood on top of that. The rubber roofing membrane will help cushion any slight irregularities in the tile surface without compressing too much and causing the stand to wobble. Get a piece bigger than the footprint of your stand and then trim it with a razor blade once you have the stand in place. For the little bit you need, a commercial roofing contractor could probably give you the remnant from the end of a roll for little to no cost.
Fish doctor
New member
Your project looks great. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.
jbvdhp
Active member
I'm sure not, doesn't appear to be any compression at the moment, but again I wouldn't mind if it did because my train of thought was that if it needed to compress, it would fill in the "voids"/dips in grout between tile/surface irregularites. Again, I got my floor as level as possible where the tank sits now, so the only weak points would be the grout, but we all know not all the tiles will be the same uniformity. That's my reasoning to buy that flooring stuff.
