Vibrations

Scrumf

Premium Member
Hello to all i have a question to ask. I have my fish tank on a hardwood floor i want to get the floor redone but the guy who came to do the floors told me that the fish could die from the vibration's from the machine they use to sand the floor. He had also said to me something like the vapor's from the sealer can harm the fish also. Any truth to this matter???
 
The vibration part is bogus, but I would worry about the vapor from the sealer. I'll ask a more knowledgeable member to comment.
 
I would be concerned. The vapors are really stong from the stains and sealant. The last time we had our hardwood floors redone, we left the house for a few days. Supposedly the newer sealants are less toxic, but your floor guy should know. The warnings on the product containers should say if there are dangers from the fumes.

I wonder too about the vibration thing, but the other consideration is that those big sanders throw a lot of dust in the air that you sure wouldn't want sucked in the tank.

I'm interested to hear other's input on this,too as my hardwood badly needs to be redone, but I've been afraid to try it with the tank.

I might not be the best to answer though because I'm careful to the point of paranoia. I won't even spray insecticide in the house because of my kids, fish and birds.
 
My father had his hardwood floors redone a few years back. He closed off the tank real good and had no ill affects from the floors being done. But just recently he lost interest in the tank and gave it away, but when we moved the tank from its spot the floor was a completely different color and some places had started to lift from getting wet though the years under the stand. Just wanted to share some personal experience. It might be a good idea to move the tank out so you won't have to worry about it and the floors can be done correctly.
 
How big of job is it going to be
1 day sanding ?
2 days of poly ?

Some guys can sand and do a coat of poly in one day then another day for second coat of poly.

You will have to shut down your skimmer
I Would cover your tank with plastic real good

Jason
 
If you cover your tank to keep out the fumes, it would be protecting them from fumes but it would be the same as putting a plastic bag over a kids head.

Whatever you do, I would put in a large ammount of carbon.
 
Just a silly thought, but if you end up covering the tank tightly with plastic, could you get an aerator pump and a long piece of hose and run the airpump from a remote location outdoors?
 
I think it's 1 day of sanding and 2 day's of coating with the poly but i ask him to use a water base it dry's faster then the oil based poly and it should cut the fumes down. I think when he leave's for the day i will uncover the tank and then re-cover in the morning i guess????
 
just had mine done

fumes are bad but not as bad as they used to be- and w/ the kind of poly you are using I would not worry too much just cover up real good.

dust from the sanding was the thing I was thinking- they took 2 bags of sawdust from my floors and there was still alot left as dust on ledges and such

I know its apain but why aren't you moving the tank-is it not on the floor your'e getting done?

as far as vibration - I would sure up any loose rock structures evene if only for the moment

runnini the hose would work but not sure if ya need it- in between "fume times" you can open the tank

yes run carbon and this may be a good time to take off the skimmer give it a good cleaning and let it do its thing after the floors are done

I must admit I am jealous since my floors got done the fiance and I decided not to have the tank on them( in a main viewing area)so now I am working on plans for a fish room downstairs

how will you deal w/ spills?

ok I'm done!
 
My 46 is on the hardwood floor in our house. The new 90 that will be here tomorrow is going into the family room. The hardwood floor issue will go away. The family room is on concrete. The only real issue is water on the carpet. But that is a better problem than on the wood floor.

My house is 2 years old and when they did the wood floors, front door through the hallway and the complete kitchen, they made everyone leave the house. It was nasty stinky smelly stuff.

I will have to wait until I move to do my floors again because unless the stink is far, far less than when installed, I wouldn't want to take the chance.

Regards,

Pat
 
I would consider moving the tank during the duration of this project. I know that sounds like overkill, but the floors will look consistent in the future, as all areas will be the same. Plus you'll get sealer on every part of the flooring, including where the tank will be again.

The fumes will be a problem, guaranteed. You can aerate the room and seal the tank in a wrapped bubble of positive pressure, but the risk is still there.
 
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