Floor protection on underside of tank

[Gopi]

Now that my stands are built, they are almost ready to be moved inside. The stands both have 3/4 inch plywood fully along the bottom.

However, I need something on the bottom to protect the new floors from scratches. The larger stand will be on porcelain tile and the smaller stand (back of picture) on bamboo. Once set up, the stands better not be moving, but in bringing them in and getting them into just the right spot there will be some 'scootching' happening.

I was thinking about the sticky felt pads for furniture. The largest size I can find is 4.5x6 inches. I would need about 47 of them to cover just the bottom of the reef stand. (52x21) That's an expensive way to go. I'm uncomfortable putting them only around the perimeter since the bottom is a solid piece. Hubby was thinking we could buy a big roll of felt from the fabric store and glue that on.

What are some ways you've protected the floor from scratches?

 

[KorD]

how about them furniture coasters that are made of plastic? They slide without scratching hardwood, and also work on carpeting.

Even looks like the people moving the stuff in the pictures are having a good time!
Amazing Sliders 80-43151 Furniture Mover Assistant, Set of 8 - Furniture Moving Sliders - Amazon.com

I built my stand and once it was in place I never thought about moving it so I have nothing under it.. It sits on a hardwood floor.

 

[Gopi]

I think those are meant to be under only temporary. We need something more permanent under the tank.

 

[Skydvr]

If the felt is really heavy duty it could work, or some really short pile carpet. Most offices and hotels use carpet tiles now. Easy to replace damaged or stained sections. They have a rubber backing that could easily be glued to the stand. The carpet would slide fairly easily on the tile or bamboo, but if anything gets under there before you set it down, or if you set it down somewhere dirty before you get it into the house, it will scratch the floors when you slide it. But that will happen no matter what you use.

 

[Gopi]

That's a great idea. I was going to stop at Lowes for door trim and then hit up the fabric store for some felt...but now I'll see what they have for carpet remnants. Or I'll buy way more carpet tile than needed. (Excuse for more tanks?)

 

[Gopi]

Apparently carpet tiles are special order and they didn't have any short pile remnants. So I went to Joann's and bought a yard of acrylic felt. Glued that on to the stand bottoms. Hopefully, it'll do the trick. These guys were beastly to turn over.

 

[New2dareef]

Not to burst anyone's bubbles but if you should ever get any liquid on the floor and it got sucked into a carpet tile couldn't it cause some warpage to a nice bamboo floor? Or maybe some discoloring? I'm not a floor guy but I also have hard wood and I wouldn't use carpet tiles.
What if you used a pad just under the corner post where the main support is and let it float off the ground a bit. Then it could breath.

 

[Jc_ellis]

I used the permanent plastic furniture sliders under a 75 gallon, with a full bottomed stand and never had issues with tank stability. I was even able to move the tank and stand with water in it the few times something fell between it and the wall and I really needed to get it back. They work really well on tile floors and hold up under the weight.

 

[Gopi]

I used the permanent plastic furniture sliders under a 75 gallon, with a full bottomed stand and never had issues with tank stability. I was even able to move the tank and stand with water in it the few times something fell between it and the wall and I really needed to get it back. They work really well on tile floors and hold up under the weight.

What size/shape sliders are you using? Do you have them just on the corners?

 

[Jc_ellis]

I used the ez-sliders from the old infomercials, Home Depot carries them. I used the largest square they had, 4"x6" I believe. And I used 4, one on each corner.

 

[Rob Top1]

So did it work?

 

[Eyeage]

Old thread, but it was one of a few that popped up for me when I was researching trying to find a solution for the wood floor/water protection scenario. I figured out a solution that worked perfectly for me to ensure no water could get under my stand and protect my floors (even with my shims in place). The answer? Weather stripping. They make one that is specific to marine/automotive applications (think of the rubber thing along the top edge of your car door that prevents water from coming in). Basically it's a compressible, rubber strip that is waterproof. I put it along the outside bottom edges of my stand to create a barrier and it would appear to meet my requirements. If you coupled this with a waterproof interior cabinet I feel confident that the floors underneath will continue to be in great shape in a sump, but this solution is likely all you wound need from an AIO like mine.

 

[HuneyBear]

I know this is an old thread but thought I’d chime in about what I used for this purpose. I have a sealed concrete basement floor that I didn’t want scratched up so I just went to Walmart and bought a box of self adhesive carpet tiles they where basically the same carpet/felt as the little pads you can buy are and the box was like $8.99 for 12 sqft.

 

[don_chuwish]

Cork worked perfectly for me. Nothing to react poorly with the wood floor and seals nicely against the inevitable water spills. More than once I've accidentally overflowed by ATO container but nothing gets under the stand.
I used a 1" wide adhesive backed roll, all around the edges where the frame meets the floor, like this:

Amazon.com