Wobbly wooden floor

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

Hello reef2reef
I was about to upgrade from my Red Sea Max Nano to a Reefer 425, but my floor is concerning me. The floor in our apartment is made of wooden planks on concrete slab with some type of foam mat between them so the carrying capacity is not of concern. But if you jump near the Nano you can see the water in the tank wobbling as the foam mat compresses. If i get the big almost 100 gallon tank im afraid the glass will be damaged due to the water moving around when people walk by, causing additional pressure on the long sides. The floor isn't level either, however after we filled the nano it was perfectly level as i guess the foam was compressed due to the weight of the tank. So what do you think? Will this be a problem or will the weight of the new tank cause the floor to rest firmly on the concrete slab? Is there something i could place the tank on that will make it more safe? I will obviously make sure the new tank is level too after filling it with water.
This is where i want the tank to be:

This is next to my current nano where you can see the foam mat has been compressed and the floor is bowing down.

dwair · May 20, 2020

Is that floor "floating"? Assuming its not glued down to the slab or anything? They are made to move/compress/expand if needed depending on weight/moisture/heat etc. I have the same type of floor that is floating. You have to think, that bigger tank is going to be even more weight compressing that floor down. As long as you are level, you shouldn't have any issues. If you aren't level, just get some Shims in there until you are. GL!~

Udest · May 20, 2020

Oof yeah I'd just watch it if it's level you should be fine but if it starts to sag anywhere you might want to try to shim it or something , I'd be more concerned over the long run if things start to change due to time .

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

So you wouldn’t be concerned about the aquarium shaking when people walk by? I can manage to keep it level but I can’t avoid the floor shaking.

Udest · May 20, 2020

As long as it's braced well that shouldn't get too bad unless it's causing a whole lot of vibration then I'd be concerned , I also live on the third floor of a building so it's a concern for me too.

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

Well it's a Red Sea Reefer so it's rimless

Udest · May 20, 2020

Oof yeah that's a concern mine is an old skool 55 long I've re braced you may conciser diy bracing it at least once across the top of you notice any rippling or bowing . A blow out ain't no joke : (

dwair · May 20, 2020

simonfchr said:
So you wouldn’t be concerned about the aquarium shaking when people walk by? I can manage to keep it level but I can’t avoid the floor shaking.

If you are on a slab with the floor with that much weight being pressed down onto the floor and it "shakes" I feel like you'd have to have a party with people jumping up and down LOL. You can always get a 3/4" piece of plywood to put underneath the tank/stand like I did to support it even more.

Udest · May 20, 2020

That's not a bad solution either you can try that before modding the tank I'm probably going to do a little more modding to the old 55 if I decide to run it again such as adding more bracing so it can support a wooden hood on top to keep the lighting in.

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

Yeah you are probably right. It's just with all the furniture wobbling when we walk by I'm afraid that would happen to the big tank, but it's most likely resting on the slab.

dwair · May 20, 2020

simonfchr said:
Yeah you are probably right. It's just with all the furniture wobbling when we walk by I'm afraid that would happen to the big tank, but it's most likely resting on the slab.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure how thats happening. You said you had a underlayment beneath the floor between it and the slab. There should be no way that the floor is "shaking/wobbling" as you are saying unless you are missing sections of an underlayment or that slab is missing sections lol. Just doesn't make sense, even forgoing the fact that you have a tank on it. Your furtniture shouldn't be wobbling.

Udest · May 20, 2020

I can understand the worry though : P I can feel my neighbors thumping around down the way when they decide it's time for WrestleMania

dwair · May 20, 2020

Udest said:
I can understand the worry though : P I can feel my neighbors thumping around down the way when they decide it's time for WrestleMania

Well you said you live on the 3rd floor, so thats understandable, he's on a concrete slab like I am with my house, this is what doesn't make sense. If that floor is floating OP and like a tongue and groove joint, I'd rip it up to see the underlayment. It's super simple to put it back down, whole point of that kind of floor. Might be worth doing before putting the new tank in, just a thought. Either way you should be fine, but it could help!

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

It's just a foam mat between the wood and slab. Like this i think:

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

I could try looking under the floor sure

dwair · May 20, 2020

simonfchr said:
I could try looking under the floor sure

I would, if you've ever had porcelain tile laid and had a tile that didn't have the glue/mortar done underneath it properly, you would hear a "hollow" sound and if you ever dropped anything on it, it would break in that particular section. This is the same thought process. You might be missing some underlayment or something that would be making the floor wobble/shake.

Udest · May 20, 2020

Ah got it yeah he should be golden then my building is a bit older so I ain't got a clue what's going on underneath the vinyl flooring.

simonfchr · May 20, 2020

I don't think the people who made this floor were very good at their job, so it's likely they missed something. There are visible "bumps" in the floor so walking around in the kitchen feels like you are walking up or downhill lol.

dwair · May 20, 2020

simonfchr said:
I don't think the people who made this floor were very good at their job, so it's likely they missed something. There are visible "bumps" in the floor so walking around in the kitchen feels like you are walking up or downhill lol.

Oh wow. I would 100% rip up the floor then and check out whats going on. As long as its a tongue and groove kind of floor, if its adhered to the slab, then thats your decision, cause that wouldn't be easy to put back down. The "locking/Floating" floors though, you can rip those up and put them back down in the same hour with no issues.