Hardwood Floor Question

[Rip2131]

I have a 24g cube that I love. However, I think I'm really enjoying learning chemistry and also wanting to get more corals than I previously have owned. I'm thinking about upgrading. My idea was a 40b, because it fits with extra space where my tank is now. I like the idea of it. I have had a 75g tank though, and it was probably the easiest tank I ever had to maintain.

I found a deal on a 75g tank package, that makes me question stepping up to the 75g. Does anyone put anything under the tank on a hardwood floor? My 24g, I put something under it to raise it 1/4" so I could air under the tank if I needed to. I"m not sure that will work with the weight of a 75g. I want to protect my floor (as I just redid them while my husband was sick with the Rona, no worries we are all good now!)

I love the idea of more room .... The tank I am looking at comes with a 4 bulb T5. I did very well with a t5 on my 125g years and years ago. Rambling on now! Please tell me about your hardwood floors!

Thanks ya'll!

 

[j.falk]

From experience, saltwater will eat through the polyurethane and into the wood. Definitely put down some kind of barrier (mat) if you can to protect your flooring.

 

[Rip2131]

From experience, saltwater will eat through the polyurethane and into the wood. Definitely put down some kind of barrier (mat) if you can to protect your flooring.

Thank you!

 

[Eleni18]

Yes....well....saltwater and hardwood don't agree. I have the same problem with a 150 gallon in my living room. I put old towels around the tank when I do water changes and always have towels handy for spills etc. Fortunately, my floors are quite old and need redoing, but I am putting it off because of the tank. Also, I have an 8 bulb T5 fixture over mine and it seems fine

 

[kenchilada]

It depends what kind of floors you have. My floor is 3/4” solid white oak and it’s very tolerant of water. Red oak will soak it up. If you have an engineered wood floor that’s even less durable.

I’m building a new tank and just bought an 8x80W Sunpower. T5 is a proven winner.

 

[stanlalee]

I had a 100g that broke from the bottom (dropped the canopy by accident) and ALL of the water went on the hard wood floor. After removing the tank and stand there was no significant floor damage. If you let water sit it will darken that area of wood if you don't keep it sealed and waxed. I'm just guessing but I'd rather have nothing than a pad or something that's going to hold water and stay damp on top of the wood for long periods. Water never got anywhere I couldn't reach.

 

[mrpizzaface]

If your floor is in good shape, and the finish is in good shape you have nothing to worry about. If and when you do spill/drip saltwater on the floor, you need to wipe it up in a reasonable amount of time. You can use a water mat when you need to service the tank to absorb spills and prevent standing water (towels work too). I would also make sure I cleaned the floor (with soap) around the tank weekly.

Aqua Sponge Aquarium Floor Mat - Large (36" x 20") - Cobalt

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[j.falk]

^ Didn't know they made those. Awesome!

 

[bsr2430]

My house in brand new.
My hard floors are engineered. I’ve spilled saltwater on them and even had a leak. Floors are still great with zero issue.
Besides the floor people messing a spot up and never fixing it.... good thing this is a new house right?
I’m going to check this floor mat out though.
I did put a shower liner below my sump in the event a leak happened. Which it did, it just dumped out a little from the liner. Only about half a gallon came out.

Now my old 55G stand..... there’s another story.... saltwater ate It up.

 

[MeMyFishandI]

IN my experience:
Real hardwood is great.
Engineered hardwood is good.
Laminate is the devil.
Tile is king.

To protect the hardwoods from denting from the stands I put a sheet of wood underneath the stands (at the same size so it wasn't noticeable) to spread out the load. I went with one inch thick pine plank. I painted the edges to match the stand so it didn't stand out)
.

 

[dennis romano]

Had a customer who had just bought a new house. She wanted the carpeting ripped up to expose the oak floor underneath. One area of the carpet was ratty. When we pulled up the carpet, the oak floor underneath that spot was black and warped. She then remembered that when she was looking at the house, the previous owner had a salt water tank in that spot. The rest of the floor was like new.

 

[Rip2131]

Thank you everyone! I do use the towels with my 24g tank! The floor is freshly done, not 3 months old yet. It's handled everything fine.

I am well aware of the water issues with older hardwoods. I had to really work on where I had my 125 years ago. IT took a lot of time to get that so it looked good now.

Thank you everyone!

 

[Rip2131]

I had a 100g that broke from the bottom (dropped the canopy by accident) and ALL of the water went on the hard wood floor. After removing the tank and stand there was no significant floor damage. If you let water sit it will darken that area of wood if you don't keep it sealed and waxed. I'm just guessing but I'd rather have nothing than a pad or something that's going to hold water and stay damp on top of the wood for long periods. Water never got anywhere I couldn't reach.

If a tank breaks on my floor, I'll have a major meltdown! Just saying!

 

[fish farmer]

I had hardwood floors in an old apartment and was putting in a 55 gallon. I put down a rubber bottomed matt, the top is carpet. I think they are found at home depot. When I moved the tank after a couple of years the floor was fine, but I was good about cleaning up spills.....although I did have my freshwater ATO send water downstairs. You can still see a little sheetrock damage in the ceiling.

I also took away my bosses old 55 gallon SW which was on a metal stand and hardwood with no protection. The tank was running for 15 years. There was some blackening in spots, probably from salt creep.

I like putting down a matt even over carpet, keeps chunks of salt creep, small spills, food spills on the matt and not the floor.