PVC tile for basement fish room floor?

[Special_K]

Did some searching but didn't find much info on this topic so here it is. I'm planning on a sump-filtration area in my basement and I would like to put down something on the bare concrete floor before the build starts. Researched a little bit and found epoxy is difficult to apply and all the acid and fume is difficult to deal with, so, will flexible PVC tiles work? something like this:

Will this stuff work in the basement on concrete slab? Will salt water sip through the seam and cause damage and odor? If this is a bad idea, what will work? Thank you my fellow reef junkies!

 

[reefndude]

Water can seep through but I dont think it would hurt anything. Just wipe up any excess water and all will be good

 

[Special_K]

So.... it all depends on how much water can get through the seam. Anybody tried this before?

 

[DayMan]

My fish room is also a basement setup. If I could do it all over again I would insulate the bottom of my sump. I'm in Chicago area so winters are cold and heaters run often to keep up with cold basement floor. I painted the floor with a white epoxy paint and placed a 4'x4' fatigue mat in front of tanks. I like having concrete floors with removable floor mat so once a month I can sweep and mop. I also installed a 700 cfm fan to vent humidity and possible odors. This is vented out a window well insulated panel I DIY'd. Maybe that rubber mat you mentioned would make a good insulation for sump?

 

[BlueCursor]

Cement floor is fine. If your sump/refugium sits on the cement just put a piece of the pink styrene (sp?) insulation board under it. The 1/2" or 1/4" stuff. You never want to sit a plexi sump on bare cement anyway. You can end up with cracks.

You will have spills. Those spills will ruin lots of flooring materials or get under it and make matters worse. Water will get through those puzzle pieces. Then you get mold, stink, etc. Bare floor is better. Only put down things you can easily lift up do allow floor to dry.

If you have carpet that goes up to the basement utility room door on the outside of the door, take some caulk and seal the metal strip where the carpet meets the cement. When your utility room floods, water won't go under the carpet, or at least not as much. If your utility room walls are bare 2x4s and not sheet rocked, seal along the wood base plates so any water in the utility room can't escape into the rest of the basement. Someday, you will be really really glad you did this.

 

[Special_K]

You will have spills. Those spills will ruin lots of flooring materials or get under it and make matters worse. Water will get through those puzzle pieces. Then you get mold, stink, etc. Bare floor is better. Only put down things you can easily lift up do allow floor to dry.

This. I think I will go with bare floor. Shall I paint / coat it? The previous owner coated the concrete and it peeled off making a mess. I don't want to make the same mistake.