How do you protect your floor?

[Ocean Lotion]

Looking for ideas how to protect my floor from water damage. Going to set up a new 90 on a new wood floor. Have any ideas how to protect it?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Are you thinking on the lines of occasional spillage from water changes or other normal day to day work on the tank, or from catastrophic failure of a seam, sump or pipe leak etc.?

 

[Ocean Lotion]

From normal small spills. I will be lining the bottom of my stan with pond liner rubber for sump leaks but for spills doing water changes and such are my worries.

 

[Bob Lauson]

I have my aquariums on hard wood floors for several years with no issues. Just make sure that the floor is properly stained and sealed (like all hard wood floors should be). I get plenty of spills and just make sure I wipe them up immediately. I also usually mop up the area around the tank using just clear water to make sure all the salt is rinsed off then I dry by hand.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Best way to avoid spills is to have a manifold off the return side line and have a valve with a tube that you can open to drain off up to say 5 gallons at a time. You can also put a small tarp or plastic sheet down when ever you're working on the tank to avoid spilling on the carpet or wood floors.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Best way to avoid spills is to have a manifold off the return side line and have a valve with a tube that you can open to drain off up to say 5 gallons at a time. You can also put a small tarp or plastic sheet down when ever you're working on the tank to avoid spilling on the carpet or wood floors.

 

[rkpetersen]

We have new-ish hardwood floors. Our boards are prefinished, not finished after installation, so while water spills won't hurt the boards at all, I am slightly concerned about water seeping between them. I have had no major spills onto the floor yet, so I can't say if this concern is valid or not, but I imagine it will happen one day and I'll find out then.

In the mean time, even though small spills and spots won't actually hurt the floor, they're always pretty obvious in the light and a pain to keep cleaning up all the time.

So I've put down a section of this waterproof slipproof material in front of my tank, extending 2.5' front to back, and off to both sides of the tank by 1.5'. It's very thin, and when placed on hardwood, will not move at all, and also leaves no marks. I covered it with a section of reasonably attractive commercial carpet runner. This stuff is easy to clean, doesn't get moldy when wetted, and is not waterproof, so small water spills largely go through and are caught by the layer below. Very easy to keep this setup looking nice, even if you're in and out of your tank a lot.

 

[Ocean Lotion]

We have new-ish hardwood floors. Our boards are prefinished, not finished after installation, so while water spills won't hurt the boards at all, I am slightly concerned about water seeping between them. I have had no major spills onto the floor yet, so I can't say if this concern is valid or not, but I imagine it will happen one day and I'll find out then.

In the mean time, even though small spills and spots won't actually hurt the floor, they're always pretty obvious in the light and a pain to keep cleaning up all the time.

So I've put down a section of this waterproof slipproof material in front of my tank, extending 2.5' front to back, and off to both sides of the tank by 1.5'. It's very thin, and when placed on hardwood, will not move at all, and also leaves no marks. I covered it with a section of reasonably attractive commercial carpet runner. This stuff is easy to clean, doesn't get moldy when wetted, and is not waterproof, so small water spills largely go through and are caught by the layer below. Very easy to keep this setup looking nice, even if you're in and out of your tank a lot.

So the waterproof piece is 1 piece and under your stand also?

 

[Big G]

I too have a 90 and new oak flooring. I use a cheap "Wally World" yoga mat to protect the floor when I am doing cleaning, w/c, etc. Works great. Rolls up into a small easily storable size.

 

[C-Reefer]

I just put down a towell when I'm working, and have rags on hand to quickly mop up any small spills. I have prefinished hardwood

 

[rkpetersen]

So the waterproof piece is 1 piece and under your stand also?

Nope, just on the floor. It's not supposed to protect against a catastrophic leak, just normal spills and splashes from working in the aquarium. Nothing splashes or drips behind my tank or under my stand, and barring a major disaster, I don't expect it to. I do however have leak detectors concealed under the corners and center of the stand, just in case.

 

[Ocean Lotion]

Thanks all for the ideas. This is going to be a little nerve racking.

 

[mta_morrow]

I’m setting up my new RSR on hardwood as well and started a thread just like this one!

I chose to go to Lowe’s and bought a 5’ long foam grill mat. It rolls up nicely to put away when not using it and is nice and soft to stand on when working on your tank.

 

[ludnix]

We have new-ish hardwood floors. Our boards are prefinished, not finished after installation, so while water spills won't hurt the boards at all, I am slightly concerned about water seeping between them. I have had no major spills onto the floor yet, so I can't say if this concern is valid or not, but I imagine it will happen one day and I'll find out then.

It sounds like you've already mitigated any risk, but I think you could always try using a wood protecting wax on fine cracks between floorboards to help prevent water damage to the unfinished sides and undersides.

 

[Young@Heart]

Probably not what you are looking for, but I have a Peninsula Tank (180 Gall, Custom Base and it is on Carpet, but I use Moving Blankets while I am doing the Water changes and other Maintenance on the sump.

 

[rkpetersen]

I used moving blankets at first, but found them to be too slippery on new hardwood, and too likely to catch a toe as I walked back and forth over the edges.

 

[Ocean Lotion]

I am thinking of a rubber bottom rug I can get at any big hardware store. Will absorb water but not let it soak through.

 

[docs911]

I had pool liner in cabinet, rubber mat under the tank, and carpet runners in front of tank. Had it on wood floor for almost 7 years. Went away for a long weekend...came back and return got clogged and auto top off kept going. Spilled maybe 50 gallons on wood floor.

Fast forward to today. Had to replace the entire first floor hardwood since I could not match the wood in fish room. New floor was darker....hmmmm....wife gets new cabinets. I was gently forced to move tanks to garage. Only good thing was that I got a deep dimension tank instead of a traditional 220 gallon.

If I were to do it all over again from the beginning. I would not have placed on wood floor. I may have placed tile in fish room or used the garage from the beginning,

 

[rkpetersen]

I am thinking of a rubber bottom rug I can get at any big hardware store. Will absorb water but not let it soak through.

Yes I would have done this if I could have found one that was exactly the right size, thickness, and color. I did not.

 

[LoneStarReef]

We have brand new wood floors as well. I had my tank manufacturer build a custom PVC liner in the bottom of the stand under the sump. That way if anything spills in the stand or if the sump overflows the tray will catch it. I also have a leak detector in the tray connected to my Apex. Another thing I do is have a spray bottle of wood floor cleaner that I have near the tank so that if SW drips on the floor I can wipe it up fairly quickly. Auto water changes also eliminate the need for hauling and pouring large jugs of water that can potentially spill SW all over the place.

Some random thoughts....hope it helps!