aquarium on Hardwood floor

[icon149]

Hey all, I just bought a house and would like to set up my 75 gallon aquarium, but the house is quite old (65 years) quite small, and i will have to set it up on a hard wood floor, the stand is a cabinet style stand. I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions or advice, I don't want to damage the floor because of spilling. is there anything people use to protect the hardwood floor when setting up an aquarium? and what would you recommend using to level the cabinet?

thanks so much,

 

[jsoong]

My 70+30 gal sits on hardwood floor also. I don't use any protector under the stand. Properly finished hardwood can stand a bit of water (I wet mop mine regularly), so as long as you mop up any spill promptly, it should be fine.

The problem comes when water gets trapped between the stand & floor, and the dampness will ruin the finish. Personally, I think that putting plastic or other "proctector" between the stand & floor is counter-productive. Any water that got under the plastic will sit there & not evaporate & ruin the finish is short order. I custom build my stand so there are only 6 contact points between the stand & floor, and a 3" gap underneath, so any spills will dry quickly. So far, I've not have any problems (2+ years).

Now, if the cabinet is completely closed at the bottom, you might have problem once water gets under it. Putting plastic under the stand is not a solution, unless you use something big enough to cover a 2-3 foot wide area all around the stand, so that no spill will get under the plastic. But that would look butt ugly!

Raising the stand to ensure air circulation underneath is the most effective solution. But depending on the stand's construction, may be impossible or not structurally sound. A raised stand really should be designed from the ground up. It may be possible to cut ventilation holes/slots from the back or bottom of the stand .... but make sure you don't cut any structural elements!

Failing that, I would just use the stand as is, and be careful to not get water under it. You might end up having to refinish the floor if you decide to move the tank after a few years. <But then, my floor need a refinish every 5 or so years in the high traffic areas anyway!>

As for levelling, use softwood shims. Cedar shingles work well. If you drive 2 in from opposite side of a leg, you end up with a level, well supported shim. <As opposed to the typical slanted shim driven in singly, the shim is slanted so there is actually a very small area of contact for load distributuion.> For looks, you will want to trim off the excess. This is trickly to do over hardwood without scratching the floor. You can try cutting carefully with a dovetail saw (slide a sheet of hard plastic under the cut line to protect the floor while cutting) .... but safer to mark, remover the shim, cut & reinstall (more work .... you'll have to drain the tank to lift the stand to get at the shims .... )

 

[icon149]

Thanks for an excellent reply, I may just look into a new stand, something a little more suited to the uneven floor. I was considering using like a sheet of corkboard cut to fit under the cabinet, possibly with some shims as well. The tank is not level accross the diagnol so it is really a mess. But once again with that much surface area, as soon as water gets down underneath the cabinet and the corkboard it will take forever to dry out and ruin the floor.

perhaps the easiest thing to do is invest in a new stand... Anyone have suggestions on stands for a 75 gallon all glass aquarium?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I don't have a wood floor, but do have a linoleum floor. I always place a towl against the front of the tank, so if I do get any spills, the towl absorbs it and it doesn't go under the tank stand.

Also, since many recommend styrofoam under a tank to correct any unevenness in the stand, could someone use that more dense styrofoam that you can get at Lowe's and use it under the stand to help compensate for the bit of unevenness in the floor? I wouldn't use regular styrofoam, but does anyone have any comments on the dense stuff?

I got my stand for my 75G at Petco.

 

[7Enigma]

I only have a 20 gallon tank but have hardwood floors and do as LWB does. I have a small towel that I place in front of the tank (where my bucket sits) and it protects against the errant (and 100% guaranteed!) spill.

I completely agree with jsoong that plastic will do much more harm than good.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I only have a 20 gallon tank but have hardwood floors and do as LWB does. I have a small towel that I place in front of the tank (where my bucket sits) and it protects against the errant (and 100% guaranteed!) spill.

I completely agree with jsoong that plastic will do much more harm than good.

A beach towel works great for the longer tanks.

 

[jsoong]

Depending on how much the floor is off, a new stand might not help ....

The best design for uneven floor is the GARF style stand (plans in the DIY section). Since the stand rests on legs, you can make the legs different lengths (or shim them) to even the stand. But that means you would have to custom build the stand yourself.

The typical particle board stands (Walmart, Petco) is supported along the entire perimeter, so it is risky to just shove a shim at one corner & let the rest of the stand "hang". <Certainly not with a big tank & particle board .... > You'd have to put in enough shims to support the stand along the entire perimeter. Doable if you are a little off, but not if it is way off.

I have seen solid wood stand at the local Big-Al's. Some looks similar to GARF stand in design. You might look around locally for one similar. Another alternative is a cast iron stand. Again, these rests on legs, so are much easier to shim. But I have not seen cast iron stand for big tanks.

 

[7Enigma]

Depending on how much the floor is off, a new stand might not help ....

The best design for uneven floor is the GARF style stand (plans in the DIY section). Since the stand rests on legs, you can make the legs different lengths (or shim them) to even the stand. But that means you would have to custom build the stand yourself.

The typical particle board stands (Walmart, Petco) is supported along the entire perimeter, so it is risky to just shove a shim at one corner & let the rest of the stand "hang". <Certainly not with a big tank & particle board .... > You'd have to put in enough shims to support the stand along the entire perimeter. Doable if you are a little off, but not if it is way off.

I have seen solid wood stand at the local Big-Al's. Some looks similar to GARF stand in design. You might look around locally for one similar. Another alternative is a cast iron stand. Again, these rests on legs, so are much easier to shim. But I have not seen cast iron stand for big tanks.

I would be scared to death to use a cast iron stand. I have one for my 20 gallon and it is very wobbly if bumped. I would be horrified to imagine a 55 gallon or larger! There is something to be said about having the entire perimeter helping to support the weight and more importantly the inertia when bumped. Not to mention the psi on 4 cast iron legs!

 

[wideglide]

How about placing a thick rug or something similar under the stand? You're placing something between both pieces of wood that would allow moisture to evaporate. Kind of like placing your rinsed dishes on a towel to dry but on a much bigger scale. Also, if you spill any water it's going to stay at that spot and not run anywhere. Just a thought.

 

[7Enigma]

How about placing a thick rug or something similar under the stand? You're placing something between both pieces of wood that would allow moisture to evaporate. Kind of like placing your rinsed dishes on a towel to dry but on a much bigger scale. Also, if you spill any water it's going to stay at that spot and not run anywhere. Just a thought.

I'd be worried of a wicking action that would allow water to get into the middle of the carpet. The wood could then warp. I think the large blanket/towel is probably the safest option as it can be removed immediately if a spill happens, whereas the carpet could only be partially cleaned/dried.

 

[wideglide]

If I had a hardwood floor and a 75g tank w\ wooden stand I'd definitely want something between the floor and the stand for a few reasons.

1. If you do happen to get water in the seam it's going to be next to impossible to get it all dry. It will enter the surface pits of the wood and without anything to carry it away either soak into or stain one or both surfaces.

2. If you happen to get a tiny grain of sand between the two surfaces of wood all that weight will most definitely make a mark in one or both surfaces. If it marks the floor then you've probably lost some of the protection the finish was providing, possibly causing more damage or discoloration or at least increasing the risk of such. Especially with moisture.

3. Without anything between the surfaces of wood, if you do happen to need to scoot the tank for some reason, you're most definitely going to mark your floor up. Just bump into it when it's not full and if that tank and stand moves you're going to get scratches worse than if there was something with a little give in between.

Then again I've never done it so I can't say any of the above is right. I would consider the possibility though.

 

[icon149]

I am leaning heavily toward using cork board to try to take up some of the imperfections, it should also prevent physical damage to the hardwoods (from sand, sliding like wideglide mentioned). Then i guess it will just be a battle to keep the spills to a minimum. Perhaps a few extra localized coats of polyurethane underneath the stand will help seal and protect the floor from the errant spill as well. I am pretty sure that the floors will be refinished when i remove the aquarium anyway. but i still have to keep damage to a minimum.